Germany women's basketball beats Japan 74-58 for first World Cup win

The German women's basketball team celebrates their comfortable victory against Japan. Source: TOBIAS SCHWARZ/AFP

After a crushing defeat against Spain, the German women's basketball team delivered the perfect response against Japan at the World Cup. Following the win, the team has everything back in their own hands.

The German women's basketball team celebrated their first win at the World Cup, getting back on track for the knockout round. One day after the 53:83 debacle against medal contender Spain, the team of national coach Olaf Lange won 74:58 (34:29) against Japan in Berlin and now has its advancement in its own hands.

In the final preliminary round game, after a day off on Monday, they face Mali. With another win, Germany is definitely through. The group winner advances directly to the quarterfinals, while the second and third place teams play in the Play-Ins for the last tickets to the round of the best eight.

Against Japan, which had won 102:97 against Mali in the opener, Frieda Bühner was Germany's top scorer with 19 points. Additionally, Nyara Sabally (18), Marie Gülich (11), and Emma Eichmeyer (10) scored in double digits in front of 8,367 spectators in the sold-out Max-Schmeling-Halle.

Further Setbacks

Unlike the day before against Spain, the German team started the game with a lot of energy. "It was also a bit of a wake-up call for us," said captain Gülich about the debacle against Spain. "Recover, eat, sleep, and then full focus on Japan," leader Leonie Fiebich had set the course for the pivotal second game.

Leonie Fiebich led the way against Japan. Source: Maja Hitij/Getty Images

And Germany indeed seemed to have shaken off the disappointment after the false start. The hosts had to cope with another piece of bad news before the game. Playmaker Alexis Peterson was out due to an infection and had stayed directly at the hotel.

Furthermore, Mali had surprisingly won 82:73 (32:34) against vice-European champion Spain in the first game of the day, increasing the pressure on the German team. For Mali, it was only their second win ever at a World Cup. In 2010, they had celebrated their only previous success at a World Cup in the classification round.

Strong First Quarter

But the German Basketball Federation's selection also overcame these two setbacks and showed a significantly better performance than in the World Cup opener. The German team quickly took a 7:2 lead and thus gained confidence in their own actions. Towards the end of the first quarter, Sabally and Bühner caused euphoria in the Max-Schmeling-Halle with three consecutive converted three-pointers. Germany led by 17 points after ten minutes (28:11).

After that, the momentum waned somewhat. Germany struggled to exploit its height advantage under the basket because the significantly smaller Asian players defended with great effort. By halftime, the German lead had shrunk to five points.

Good Start to the Second Half

During the break, the national coach managed to get his team back on track. Germany pulled away to a double-digit lead again in the third quarter, also because the Japanese, unlike the day before against Mali, shot poorly from distance. Against Mali, they had made 20 three-pointers; against Germany, only one of 21 attempts found its way into the basket in the first three quarters.