France have reached the women’s basketball World Cup final for the first time after an 86-64 victory over host nation Germany on Saturday.
Gabby Williams led the scoring with 22 points for the Olympic silver medalists, who remain unbeaten heading into Sunday’s decider in Berlin.
The US-born Williams also topped the assists chart with five and recorded four steals, the most on the team, posing a constant threat on both ends.
Admitting she was “on a mission,” Williams told Bein Sports: “I just want to give it my all.”
“You never know when you’ll get an opportunity like this. You don’t know if it’ll be the last one. So, I’m just going to give everything.”
France will now face the United States in the final, hoping to avenge their one-point Olympic final defeat in Paris in 2024, should the heavily favoured Americans overcome Spain later on Saturday.
The 11-time champion United States are on a 34-game winning streak at the World Cup, dating back to their surprise semi-final loss to Russia in 2006.
The underdog Germans swept past European champions Belgium in the quarter-finals to reach their first semi-final as a unified country, with East Germany having previously made the final four in 1967.
France burst out of the blocks early, but Germany stayed close, trailing by only two points at quarter-time.
France’s quality showed as the game progressed, with the French scoring nine straight points to start the second half and building a 16-point lead.
Alexis Peterson and Emily Bessoir hit three-pointers in the final quarter as Germany cut the lead to nine, staying within striking distance, but France responded with a 12-0 run to end the match and secure their place in the maiden final.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)