Satou Sabally delivered a masterful all-time Top 10 single game scoring performance in the Olympic Games with 33 points for Germany.
Germany is through to the women's basketball quarterfinals of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 after taking down Japan--and a chunk of that is all thanks to forward Satou Sabally.
The first-timers took down the Tokyo 2020 silver medalists, 75-64.
The 25-year-old forward from the Dallas Wings entered the all-time top 10 for single-game scoring performances by dropping 33 points in 32:33 minutes of action.
That's 11 of 17 shooting or an accuracy of 64.7%. She also made all eight of her free throws.
Sabally added six rebounds, three assists, and a steal for good measure.
She is tied with Greece's Evantha Maltsi in the all-time list, making 33 points in Athens 2004--coincidentally, also against Japan.
The Tokyo 2020 silver medalists were missing arguably their best player in Mai Yamamoto and it showed.
Germany took the lead early in the first quarter and never looked back, blowing up the advantage to as big as 20 points.
"Everyone did their job today. We had to learn throughout the game. Everyone contributed in rebounding, bringing the ball up and executing the plays. Transition defense was our number one emphasis. Don't let them get into their rhythm shooting and sometimes you have to give us some easy two's which doesn't always feel great when you get beat easy and they make an easy layup but it's better than a three," said German center Marie Guelich.
"We did really good and had moments when we were lacking because of their speed. We are such a talented team. It's a question of us continuing to play together now."
Germany is now 2-0 in Group C but would have to take on powerhouse USA next. Meanwhile, Japan remains winless at 0-2 and will next face fellow cellar dweller Belgium.
Story Summary:
-
Germany advanced to the women's basketball quarterfinals at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 with a 75-64 victory over Japan, led by a stellar performance from forward Satou Sabally.
-
Sabally scored 33 points, making her one of the top 10 all-time single-game scorers in Olympic history, and contributed six rebounds, three assists, and a steal, shooting 64.7% from the field and perfect from the free-throw line.
-
Germany dominated early, leading by as much as 20 points, while Japan, missing key player Mai Yamamoto, struggled to keep up; Germany now faces the USA, while Japan looks for their first win against Belgium.
[Editor's note: This article was written by a member of the One Sports Digital team. The summary was generated by AI, and then checked by the staff to ensure accuracy.]