TOULOUSE (FIBA U17 World Championship for Women) - Gretel Tippett’s basket with 1:13 left to play proved the difference as Spain could not find the mark in the final minute and lost 58-57.

Expectations were high for this game and it certainly lived up to the billing, turning out to be a very close and at times very gritty contest.

Tippett and Sara Blicavs had 13 points each in the winning cause.

The Australians led 10-8 after five minutes and 20-15 at the end of the first period.

Spain came back and edged in front 23-22 early in the second period but went into the locker room down 28-26 at halftime.

There was nothing to separate the two teams in the third quarter and the Aussies took a 44-42 lead heading into the final frame.

The Spaniards had the edge early in the fourth quarter as they stifled their opponents and used their transition game to go up 50-46 on Andre Vilaro’s basket with just over seven minutes left to play.

However, Peter Lonergan’s girls clamped down on defense and made the big baskets down the stretch to take a deserving win.

Quotes

Peter Lonergan (Australia head coach): "It's one of the great rivalries in women's  basketball. We were very fortunate to win this game. It  could have gone the other way round. We had a tough game, first because we went up against a good Spanish team and second because we still need to improve. Our bravery enabled us to win the game in the end. I'm convinced that we will face Spain later on in the tournament."

Victor Lapena (Spain head coach): "It was our first game and it's hard to lose that way, by only one point. But it showed that we were able to compete with the best nations in the world. We will keep on working in that direction and we will try to get rid of our mistakes."

FIBA/LOC