France beats China 90-61 to join US in women’s FIBA World Cup semifinals

BERLIN (AP) — Marine Johannès and Janelle Salaün led France to the semifinals of the women’s FIBA World Cup for the first time after beating China 90-61 on Thursday, joining the United States among the final four.

Both Johannès and Salaün scored 15 points while Gabby Williams contributed 14 as the Olympic finalists put themselves in contention for a first World Cup medal since the inaugural tournament in 1953, when France finished third in the final round.

France awaits the Germany-Belgium winner later Thursday, while Spain faces Australia in the last quarterfinal for a semifinal showdown with the U.S. on Saturday.

The four-time defending champion Americans routed Hungary 108-56 in the first quarterfinal earlier Thursday with Napheesa Collier scoring 19 points to stretch their winning run in the tournament to 34 games since a semifinal loss to Russia in the 2006 semifinals.

The French defense limited the impact of China’s 7-foot-3 Zhang Ziyu , who had the attention of two French players any time she received the ball. The 19-year-old sensation was held scoreless over her 7 minutes, 18 seconds of play in the first half, though she contributed in defense with three blocks before halftime.

There was nothing Zhang could do to stop Johannès score successive 3-pointers in the third quarter, when she also got on the scoreboard. Zhang finished the game with seven points.

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