2020 Olympics: Meesseman and Belgium go on a strong fourth quarter run to beat Australia, 85-70

The Belgium women’s national basketball team blew out Australia, 85-70 on Tuesday afternoon in their first Group C match in the 2020 Olympics.

Most WNBA fans probably anticipated that the Australia would beat Belgium because of FIBA ranking or more familiarity with their players. We here at Bullets Forever, or maybe just I happen to zig when everyone else zags. I thought it would be a close game, but I also thought Belgium would win. I too am surprised at how it all happened.

Washington Mystics forward Emma Meesseman scored 32 points, grabbed 9 rebounds and dished 5 assists in the win. She scored 22 of those points in the second half when the Cats turned a one-point deficit into a commanding victory.

All-in-all, this was a game where the Cats started out mediocre but got better with each passing quarter. They were behind at halftime 41-37, which was only possible after an Antonia Delaere three toward the buzzer and finished the game with 17 points. Indiana Fever guard Julie Allemand scored 16 points and dished 11 assists.

For the Opals. Mystics guard Leilani Mitchell only scored 2 points, both from free throws. That said, she had a great passing game and had 7 assists which helped keep Australia in the game. Seattle Storm forward Ezi Magbegor led their scorers with 20 points.

Now that Belgium has passed their toughest test in group play, their next game is on Friday, July 30 when they play Puerto Rico at 9 a.m. ET local time, which means it will be on Thursday, July 29 at 9 p.m. ET. Australia will play China at 8 a.m. ET on Friday.

Other women’s basketball matches in the last 24 hours

• Japan beat France, 74-70 in their first match in Group B last Monday.
• Team USA beat Nigeria 81-72 in their first Group B match. Diamond has the recap here.