BENDIGO Spirit trio Belinda Snell, Gabe Richards and Tessa Lavey all scored as the Opals opened their World Championships campaign in Turkey in fine style.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Opals thrashed Cuba 90-57, with Snell, Lavey and Richards making the most of their court time.
Snell helped set up the win in the first half, finishing the game with 11 points and six rebounds.
Richards and Lavey came off the bench and didn't look out of place.
Richards scored five points and grabbed three rebounds, while Lavey scored two points and had one rebound.
In a dominant display from the Opals, captain Penny Taylor led the way with a game-high 20 points (to go with four rebounds and four assists), finding support in Rachel Jarry (13 points and six rebounds), Cayla Francis (11 points and three rebounds) and Snell.
Opals coach Brendan Joyce praised the defensive efforts of his players to set up such a strong win to start their World Championship campaign.
“Cuba are better than that performance, but the reason they didn’t play that well was because of the commitment of our players on the defensive end,” Joyce said.
“I was really proud of the way the girls played and to get that first win of the tournament is just so important.”
Joyce said it was the efforts of his captain Penny Taylor which set the standard for the game.
“Penny let the way straight off the bat, with her aggressiveness and assertiveness in those opening minutes, and that rubbed off on the rest of the team,” Joyce said.
The Opals' second game is against Korea on Sunday at 9.10pm AEST.
They complete the pool stage against Belarus on Tuesday night AEST.
