The Australian Devils have remained unbeaten at the 2019 IWBF Under-25 World Championships, taking care of Turkey 53-24 in their second game of the group stage.
Australia set the tone at the defensive end in the opening term and never looked back, leading from start to finish while holding their opponents to 26% shooting. The Devils held Turkey scoreless in the first quarter and at the other end, Mary Friday hit the scoreboard before Teisha Shadwell and Jess Cronje contributed to give Australia a double-digit advantage at the first break. Turkey finally broke through the Devils' defences two minutes into the second term, ending their 1-14 shooting start to the game and that sparked a quick six points for them. However, Australia answered through Maryanne Latu who scored six points herself as the Devils extended their lead to 19 at half-time. Having battled through foul trouble for the first half, Annabelle Lindsay (eight points, eight boards) was able to make her presence felt in the third and her combination with Shadwell (13 points, nine rebounds, three steals) proved deadly as they again kept Turkey scoreless for an extended period. As was the case in the first game of the tournament, coach Stephen Charlton was able to rotate through his entire roster and that gave Georgia Bishop-Cash the chance to show off as she added 12 points off the bench on 5-8 shooting. Bishop-Cash combined with Cronje (ten points, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals) to out-score Turkey's second unit 22-0. Find the box score here and watch the replay below.
The Devils now get set for a clash against the USA in a battle for top spot in the group ahead of the Quarter-Finals on Sunday. All eight teams in the tournament will advance to the Quarter-Finals but seeding will prove important as we head into the business end of the competition. All games can be viewed live on the IWBF Facebook page or the IWBF YouTube channel while stats can be located via the tournament's official website. The Australian Devils schedule for the 2019 IWBF U25 World Championships (all times AEST): May 23: Devils def. Germany 55-37 May 24: Devils def. Turkey 53-24 May 25: Devils vs. USA at 8.15pm May 26: Quarter-Finals May 27: Semi-Finals May 28: Medal games
