Germany beats Belgium 93-74 to reach women's FIBA World Cup semifinals. US to play Spain in last 4

BERLIN (AP) — Buoyed by partisan home fans, host Germany upset Belgium 93-74 on Thursday to reach the women’s FIBA World Cup semifinals, where the United States will play Spain.

Leonie Fiebich scored 17 points and had 10 rebounds to lead Germany to a showdown with France on Saturday. Nyara Sabally also had a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

“Everyone stepped up today and we did it from the first second to the very last,” said Alexandra Wilke, who contributed 10 points.

Megan Gustafson scored 16 points and led Spain to an 89-66 win over injury-hit Australia in the last quarterfinal, ending the Americans’ wait to learn their next opponent. The four-time defending champions routed Hungary 108-56 in the first quarterfinal to stretch their winning streak in the tournament to 34 games.

Australia was without forward Ezi Magbegor, who tore her right ACL in the win over Italy, and Alanna Smith, who re-aggravated a leg injury at the start of the tournament.

“It’s really hard to compete against the best in the world when you don’t have all your best players, but I think it was a great experience for all our younger players,” Australia coach Sandy Brondello said.

Brondello is married to Germany coach Olaf Lange and she said she was “really proud of my husband, which is very weird to say,” after what Lange had called the “ best day in German basketball ” as Germany progressed.

“I was a little teary out there, I went and watched the end of the game,” said Brondello, who previously also coached some of the German players.

Germany breaks new ground

Germany had never reached the semifinals before. The players screamed and whooped in celebration.

“I can't quite believe it yet,” forward Frieda Bühner said. “We're among the best four teams in the world. I can't believe it. It's crazy.”

Germany had lost its opening game by 30 points to Spain, but bounced back with impressive wins over Japan and Mali before routing South Korea in a playoff to reach the quarterfinals.

Egged on by fervent commentary from the announcer, fans cheered, jumped and waved Germany flags at the Berlin Arena to help the home team keep its momentum going.

“It's always really cool to play in front of such a crowd,” Sabally said. “I couldn't have wished for more, especially in Germany. It's really cool to see that there's so much hype and the whole venue is caught up in it. It's really, really cool.”

It’s the sixth straight World Cup at which the host has made the final four since China failed to make the semifinals in 2002.

Belgium, the European champion, was one of three teams that advanced through group play without a loss.

Emma Meesseman led Belgium with 29 points and added eight rebounds, but her team was unable to regain the lead after Bühner made it 20-19 toward the end of the first quarter.

Germany did not qualify for the World Cup since the unified country's only previous appearance as host in 1998. East Germany's women's basketball team finished fourth at the 1967 tournament.

France routs China

Marine Johannès and Janelle Salaün led France to the semifinals for the first time by beating China 90-61 earlier.

Both Johannès and Salaün scored 15 points while Gabby Williams contributed 14 as the Olympic finalists put themselves in contention for a first World Cup medal since the inaugural tournament in 1953, when France finished third in the final round.

“It means a lot,” Williams said of reaching the semifinals for the first time. “We want to be one of the greatest teams ever to put on the French jersey. Obviously we have a big goal this tournament, but it’s great to check this off the list.”

Chants of “Allez les Bleues” rang around the Berlin Arena before Williams opened the scoring, and the French supporters made sure they were heard for the rest of the game as their team dominated on the court below. France has been fluid and free-scoring, beating its four opponents so far by a combined 156 points.

The team set a tournament record for 3-pointers in a single game by netting 22 in its final group game on Monday. The French players connected on 14 of 37 attempts Thursday, with Johannès and Salaün scoring three triples each.

“We are lucky because we are a group that have known each other for a couple of years now,” Salaün said of France's team spirit. “We went through a lot of things, the Olympics, training camp(s), so we just know each other and we know what we want. We have a goal and we want to do everything to get to this goal.”

Salaün had an ice pack bound to her right knee. France coach Jean Aime Toupane told The Associated Press it was just a precaution.

Zhang’s impact limited

The French defense limited the impact of China’s 7-foot-3 Zhang Ziyu, who had the attention of two French players any time she received the ball. The 19-year-old sensation was held scoreless over her 7 minutes, 18 seconds of play in the first half, though she contributed in defense with three blocks before halftime.

There was nothing Zhang could do to stop Johannès from scoring successive 3-pointers in the third quarter, when she also got on the scoreboard. Zhang finished the game with seven points, eight rebounds and seven turnovers.

Han Xu, who had a double-double in each of her four games at the tournament, again led China with 21 points and nine rebounds.

__

See AP’s full WNBA coverage here