SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Spain (AP) - The Latest on the Women’s Basketball World Cup Day 2 (all times local):
10:45 p.m.
Sarah Ogoke scored 22 points to help Nigeria earn the first Women’s World Cup win in the country’s history with a 74-68 victory over Turkey on Sunday.
Nigeria (1-1) led by 17 points before Turkey (1-1) made it close, cutting its deficit to 67-63 with 1:11 left. Promise Amukamara then had a steal that led to a basket for Ogoke that sealed the victory.
After the final buzzer sounded Nigeria celebrated on the court and took a photo with the scoreboard in the background to commemorate the first victory. Nigeria had gone 0-5 in 2006 in its only other World Cup appearance.
Isil Alben scored 15 points to lead Turkey.
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10:10 p.m.
Astou Ndour scored 22 points and Spain outscored Puerto Rico by 24 points in the second half to win 78-53 on Sunday.
The host nation was down 15-8 after the first quarter and only led 26-25 at the half. Puerto Rico (0-2) scored only six points in the first half of its opening loss to Belgium.
Spain (2-0) got going in the third quarter behind Ndour, who scored the first basket of the period to spark an 8-0 run. Puerto Rico couldn’t recover.
Jennifer O’Neill scored 17 points to lead Puerto Rico.
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8:45 p.m.
Breanna Stewart scored 21 of her 23 points in the second half and A’ja Wilson added 20 to help the United States beat China 100-88 Sunday on the second day of the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup.
China trailed only 36-35 midway through the second quarter as the U.S. was still trying to figure out a lineup that worked on offense and defense. The Americans then closed the half on a 12-4 burst. Wilson had six points during the run. Layshia Clarendon, who played a few minutes in the first game, also provided a spark off the bench in the spurt. She had two points, two assists and two rebounds.
The Chinese team (1-1) hung around in the third quarter and trailed 60-54 before Stewart, who played in China the past few winters, took over. She scored nine of the next 11 points and China couldn’t get within seven the rest of the way.
China center Han Xu showed an impressive array of post moves as well as a deft touch from 10 feet. The 18-year-old finished with 20 points and left to a warm ovation from the crowd with 20 seconds left.
The U.S. (2-0) hasn’t lost to China in six meetings in the World Cup. The Americans won the first five meetings by an average of 25.8 points.
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Endene Miyem scored 20 points and Sandrine Gruda hit a tie-breaking basket with 36 seconds left to help France beat Greece 75-71 on Sunday.
With the game tied at 69 and both teams struggling to score, Gruda hit a shot to give France (2-0) the lead.
Greece (0-2) turned the ball over on its next possession and Miyem hit two free throws with 9 seconds left to make it a two-possession game. Evanthia Maltsi, who scored 28 points to lead Greece, missed a 3-pointer and France held on.
The win sets up a showdown for France with Canada for the top spot in the group.
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4:50 p.m.
Mame Marie Sy-Diop scored with 12 seconds left to lift Senegal to a 70-69 win over Latvia on Sunday, giving the country its first World Cup victory in 12 years.
Senegal now has a good chance to advance out of pool play for the first time in the team’s history. The African nation is now 6-42 in the tournament all-time and most likely will have the best finish in team history surpassing the 1979 squad that finished 12th out of 12 teams.
Senegal trailed 52-50 heading into the fourth quarter of the tight affair. The deficit grew to six before the team scored 10 straight to start a 16-4 run. Maimouna Diarra capped the spurt with a jumper to make it 66-60 with 3:28 left.
Latvia (0-2), playing in its first World Cup, responded with seven straight, ended with a 3-pointer by Kitija Laksa that made it 68-67 with 54 seconds left.
The teams traded baskets before Sy-Diop’s hoop in the lane gave Senegal the lead for good.
Elina Dikaioulaku missed a 3-pointer with 2 seconds left setting off a wild celebration by Senegal players, who jumped onto each other at center court. The team then went over to celebrate with their fans waving flags and dancing.
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3:45 p.m.
Yuki Miyazawa scored 21 points, including two 3-pointers in overtime, and had a big block on Belgium’s final possession to help Japan win 77-75 on Sunday.
Miyazawa hit consecutive three-pointers and Himawari Akaho added a free throw to give Japan (1-1) a 77-75 lead with 15.4 seconds left. Belgium had one final chance, but Miyazawa blocked a shot from the wing and Japan held on for the win, its first since the 2010 World Cup. The Asian team was winless in its three games in the 2014 World Championship.
Japan had a 65-58 lead in the fourth quarter before Belgium scored 10 straight points capped by Kyara Linskens’ layup with 1:17 left. Evelyn Mawuli finally ended Japan’s scoring drought hitting a corner 3-pointer to tie the game at 68. Both teams had good chances in the final 30 seconds to win the game, but neither could score. Kim Mestdagh had an open 15-foot shot from the baseline with 0.6 seconds left, but her shot bounced off the rim sending the game to overtime. She had 23 points.
Maki Takada scored 26 points to top Japan, which has a good shot to finish second in the pool with one game left against Puerto Rico.
Emma Meesseman had 13 points and 18 rebounds to lead Belgium (1-1), which plays Spain next.
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1:30 p.m.
Kia Nurse scored 20 of her 29 points in the second quarter and Canada beat South Korea 82-63 on Sunday.
Canada (2-0) led 18-13 early in the second quarter before Nurse sparked a 25-8 run, scoring nearly all of the team’s points during the burst. She had 18 consecutive points for Canada, including capping her incredible spurt with a four-point play that made the score 43-21 with 54 seconds left.
Nurse made 11 of her 16 shots in the game, including six 3-pointers. Miranda Ayim was the only other player for Canada in double figures, scoring 13 points.
South Korea (0-2) could only get within 14 in the second half.
Leeseul Kang scored 17 points to lead South Korea.
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1 p.m.
Liz Cambage scored the first 10 points of the game and finished with 24 to help Australia rout Argentina 84-43 on Sunday in the opener of the second day of the Women’s Basketball World Cup.
Cambage, who had 34 points in Australia’s opening win, continued to dominate the opponents. She only played 17 minutes against Argentina and was unstoppable around the basket. The 6-foot-8 Cambage had a four-inch height advantage over the tallest player on Argentina. She made 9 of her 12 shots.
The Opals (2-0) held a 40-13 halftime advantage as they held Argentina to just 3-for-28 shooting in the first half. It didn’t get much better in the third quarter for the South American country as Australia scored 23 consecutive points to close the period and increase the lead to 68-24.
Sami Whitcomb had eight of her 16 points and three assists during that run.
Macarena Rosset led Argentina (0-2) with 13 points.
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10 a.m.
The second day of the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup gets going on Sunday with eight games. Australia and Argentina tip off to get the day started.
Australia’s star center Liz Cambage had 34 points in the opening win over Nigeria. The U.S. will face China, a day after beating Senegal in the opener. Senegal was much improved from its 51-point loss to the U.S. a week earlier in an exhibition game, only losing by 20 - the closest margin in the five meetings between the two teams at the World Cup. The African nation will try and keep Latvia winless in its first World Cup.
Other games on Sunday include: Canada-South Korea; Belgium-Japan; Senegal-Latvia; France-Greece; Spain-Puerto Rico and Nigeria-Turkey.
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