Spain beat Serbia 68-54 to move on to the gold medal game and secure their first-ever Olympic medal in women’s basketball.
The Spaniards used a 13-3 run to close the first quarter to put a distance between the two teams that Serbia could never overcome. Serbia did inch within two points of Spain in the second quarter, but Spain responded with a 6-0 run to reassert their dominance. The Serbians would never again get with 5 points of the victors.
Alba Torrens was the high-scorer for Spain with 14 points to go along with eight rebounds, three assists and a steal. She didn’t shoot well in the game, going just 3-for-11, but she was deadly from the charity stripe where she collected half of her point total.
Spanish center Laura Nicholls was a beast in the paint, collecting 12 rebounds and three blocks to add to her 13 points. Anna Cruz, who hit the buzz-beating game-winner in the quarterfinals, scored six points.
Serbia struggled with their shot all game long, hitting just 31.3% of their attempts from the field, including an abysmal 18.2% from distance. Sasa Cado and Sonja Petrovic paced Serbia with 12 points apiece in the losing effort.
Spain will move on to play the winner of the semifinal game between the United States and France for a chance at the gold medal. Serbia still has a shot at a medal, and will play the loser of U.S. and France for the bronze medal.