|
   | | 27 | Pts | 14 | | | 7 | Reb | 4 | | | 0 | Ass | 4 | | | 1 | ST | 5 | | | 2 | BS | 1 | | | 33 | Min | 27 | |
| | |
| 19/61 | FG M/A | 26/66 | | | 15/44
(34.1%)
| FG2P M/A | 19/54
(35.2%)
| | | 4/17
(23.5%)
| FG3P M/A | 7/12
(58.3%)
| | | 19/23
(82.6%)
| FT M/A | 11/12
(91.7%)
| | | 42
(15-27)
| Reb (O-D) | 42
(14-28)
| | | 8 | Ass | 16 | | | 24 | TO | 21 | | | 12 | ST | 15 | | | 4 | BS | 7 | | | 15 | PF | 18 | | | 61 | Pts | 70 |
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| The Czech Republic held off a resurgent French side in the second half to edge them out 70-61 and take third place at the U18 European Championship for Women.
Afterwards, Czech head coach Romana Ptackova expressed her delight at the team's performance and their ability to focus on the game after a tough loss to Russia in the semi-finals.
"We knew that in order to perform well in this game we had to forget what happened on Saturday (losing  | | Diandra Tchatchouang led the way for France with 27 points and seven rebounds. |
their semi-final 62-60 against Russia) and the girls did just that," she explained.
"Michaela Stara had a great game and got us off to a great start in the third quarter. She then made key plays at the right time in the closing minutes."
"This is a very important result for the country and our basketball culture. It will be celebrated all over the country."
This was the Czechs' best result in this competition since they finished third in 2002.
Renata Brezinova had a team-high 16 points, Stara added 15 and Karolina Elhotova chipped in with 14 for the winning side. Diandra Tchatchouang had a game-high 27 points for France.
The Czech Republic were the quickest out of the gates as they took an 11-5 lead before France cut the deficit to two, 17-15, by the end of the first quarter.
But the pair of Elhotova and Brezinova were hitting from just about everywhere on the floor as they combined for 19 points and helped the Czechs re-established control as they stretched their advantage to 33-27 by half time.
And Romana Ptackova's girls looked to be headed for a certain win early in the second half when Stara scored 10 of their first 12 points for a 45-37 lead.
France though showed their resolve and used a 12-2 run to take a 49-47 lead with 3:25 left in the period. The run was sparked by the outside shooting of substitute Pauline Thizy, who hit two three-pointers, the second one putting Les Bleus in front.
Howevever, the Czechs answered with a run of their own, reeling off nine unanswered points to end the quarter with a 56-49 advantage.
Tchatchouang almost single-handedly kept France within striking distance in the first five minutes of the final quarter as they tied the game at 58 all with 6:14 left to play.
But Stara and Brezinova hit timely three-pointer thereafter to put the game out of reach. | | |
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| France will look to bounce back from their most lopsided defeat of the tournament to finish third in the U18 European Championship for Women on Sunday.
In what was arguably their worst - and only their second - defeat of the tournament, the French fell behind early on and appeared to be a shadow of their former dominant/confident selves as they were humbled 68- | | France will need more from Diandra Tchatchouang if the hope to finish with bronze. |
45 by Lithuania, the last undefeated team in the competition.
Les Bleus made only four field goals in the first half and only got their first basket with seven minutes left in the second quarter.
There is little positive Gregory Halin's girls can take from their first-half performance on Saturday. While Lithuania were, to their credit, playing airtight defense for long stretches, it is undeniable that France missed shots they had made regularly and almost automatically in their first six games - which were all wins.
Les Bleus must rediscover the aggression and sense of urgency they displayed so well earlier in the competition, when they would use a huge run in the first half to take a sizeable lead and force their opponents to play catch up, which most failed to do.
Diandra Tchatchouang was shut down by the Lithuanian defense and she must bounce back if France are to have any chance of claiming a stake for the bronze medal, which would be their best result in the U18 since a silver in 2002.
Their perimeter shooters must also do a much better job as France made only one of 16 three-point attempts against Lithuania with the lone make coming late in the fourth quarter when the game's outcome was already known.
France must look to establish their low post game early on and take full advantage of their height, length and power advantage over a more compact Czech side.
The Czech Republic couldn't have put on a much better effort than what they did against Russia. They were two minutes away from reaching their first final at this tournament.
Romana Ptackova's girls got to the free-throw line early and often which enabled them to get Russia into foul trouble as well as keep the tempo of the game as they like it - manageable.
Much like France, they will have to improve their outside shooting (five for 24 from long range). In addition, they must try and keep their aggression going, attack France's interior players and get to the charity stripe where they were consistent (19 for 25) against Russia.
These two teams do have a past history as they met at this stage of the competition in 2005 in Budapest. France won that time on a score of 77-66. | | |
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