ISTANBUL
France beat Serbia 88-74 to finish at the seventh spot in the Fédération Internationale de Basketball World Championship for Women held in Istanbul on Sunday.
The French women players were able to clinch the win despite the fact that one of their key players, Sandrine Gruda, was not part of their team because of a knee tendon injury.
Initially, both teams were off to a high-scoring start. In the first quarter, Serbia was up 18-11 just seven minutes into the game. France later made a run at the end of the first period, trailing only by a single point, 19-20.
The second quarter was a high- tempo game as well, where France was able to open up a seven-point margin at the half, 41-34, thanks to a strong inside presence by center Ana Maria Cata-Chitiga.
Small forward Diandra Tchatchouang scored five points in the third quarter for France to help her team protect the lead after the third period, 60-53.
Although Serbian women players tried to narrow the gap in the first three minutes of the deciding quarter, shooting guard Paoline Salagnac proved just too much for the Serbs.
Salagnac scored 12 points for France in the fourth quarter to secure her country’s seventh place in the tournament.
Cata-Chitiga, who recorded a "double-double" with 16 points and 13 rebounds for the France, was the top performer in the match.
Another classification match has begun in Istanbul, where Canada and China will be fighting for the fifth place.
The third place match will be between hosts Turkey and Australia at 7 p.m. local time (2200GMT) and the final will see the U.S.A. against Spain at 9.15 p.m. local time (0015GMT)
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