Ezi Magbegor had the most effective game in Olympic women’s basketball history on Sunday, helping Australia win the bronze medal.
Magbegor scored 30 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, leading the Opals to an 85-81 win over Belgium at the Paris Games. Her efficiency rate of 45 was higher than the previous record of 44 held by another Opals star, Penny Taylor.
Magbegor also blocked three shots and had two steals in the big win. Teammate Lauren Jackson, who is 43 and playing in the Olympics for the first time since 2012, said Magbegor was simply amazing.
“She knew what she had to do, and she did and that was special to watch,” Jackson said. “It was incredible to be a part of just. Yeah, she was just amazing. She’s freaking amazing.”
This is the Opals’ first Olympic medal since winning bronze at the 2012 London Games. Australia now has three bronze medals along with the silvers won in 2000, 2004, and 2008.
Jackson earned her fifth Olympic medal, tying her with Sue Bird and Teresa Edwards for the second-most medals ever, although Bird’s medals are all gold. Edwards won four golds and a bronze. Jackson now has three silver medals and two bronze.
Jackson mentioned that being on the bench for most of the tournament, instead of playing a lot, will help her remember everything better compared to when she played many minutes in past Olympics.
“I’ve been on the sidelines,” Jackson said. “I’ve been supporting the girls, and I think that’s, yeah, it has been one of my favorites absolutely.”
Belgium was trailing 81-78 when Steph Talbot blocked Anna Delaere’s 3-pointer with 25 seconds left.
Tess Madgen secured the bronze by making four free throws in the last 16 seconds, and her teammates started jumping with excitement on the bench. As soon as the game ended, they huddled, jumping and celebrating.
Alanna Smith added 13 points and 12 rebounds for Australia, Sami Whitcomb scored 14 points, and Tess Madgen had 10 points. Smith had talked a lot of trash to other WNBA players before the Paris Games, making this medal even more significant for her.
“Oh, absolutely,” Smith said. “I think going home empty-handed would have been devastating.”
The Belgian Cats will leave the Olympics without a medal for the second time, but they have a promising future with players like Emma Meesseman.
Julie Vanloo led the Cats with 26 points. Meesseman scored 23 points, and Delaere added 15 points.
The Belgians, who finished seventh in the Tokyo Games, won the EuroBasket championship last year. They missed the chance to play for gold after an emotional overtime loss to France in the semifinals.
“We gave everything,” Delaere said. “It’s just super sad that two times we were so close. I’d rather lose two times by 20 and knowing … everything was so close.”
It was impressive that the Cats even reached the medal round. Belgium started the Paris Games with losses to Germany and then the U.S. in their next game. This left them needing to win by at least 27 points against Japan in their last group game to make it to the knockout stage.
Australia left Paris still searching for gold. This bronze medal was hard-earned, as Australia needed to beat France in their last group game to advance. The Opals also lost forward Bec Allen to a hamstring injury in their final warmup game before the Olympics.
Magbegor, who plays for the WNBA’s Seattle Storm, and Smith, who plays for the Minnesota Lynx, helped Australia lead 20-19 at the end of the first quarter. The Opals led 37-36 at halftime after a 3-pointer by Sami Whitcomb.
Belgium took a 61-60 lead into the fourth quarter, and Vanloo started the fourth with a 3-pointer to give them a 64-60 lead. Whitcomb’s 3-pointer with 7:52 left put the Opals ahead 65-64, setting the tone as both teams matched each other’s big shots in the final minutes as they fought for bronze.
