Div B: Italy beat Germany for gold

A moment of magic by Alice Quarta pushed this game to another level, first a block on the defensive followed by a coast to coast that concluded a 12-0 run putting Italy (12-8) in front. The period was played at a high pace with Germany keeping in contact from the free-throw line. Italy brought the first period to an exciting end on the buzzer with Alice Richter picking up an offensive rebound right under the basket and putting the ball in to give Italy a 3-point lead at the end of the first period.

The lead changed a couple of times in an action packed second period with Finja Schaake scoring 9 points for Germany. Clutch 3-point shooting from Irene Pieropan kept Italy in control as they went into the interval leading by 3 points.

Italy held Germany scoreless for almost six minutes in the 3rd period with the only Italian points coming from individual exploits as both teams switched to an aggressive zone defence (38-31). Italy increased their advantage slowly and a Guilia Brotto trey extended their lead to 10 points (45-35)
But Germany responded immediately with 5 points in two plays from Sarah-Marie Frankenberger. Italy still took a 4-point lead going into the final period.

Space on the court became a premium as both teams closed any gaps immediately. For Germany the turning point in the match occurred when Svenja Brunckhorst went down hard after dishing out an assist to Fanziska Steiner (53-49) and had to leave the game. Germany, a little unsettled by this, allowed Italy to extend their advantage and by the time Alessandra Tava hit a jump shot on the top of the key with 1:50 remaining to extend their advantage to 9 points (62-53) the outcome was clear. The German head coach, Alexandra Maerz, immediately called a timeout. Then Germany responded with a basket but Alice Quarta delivered the final knock-out blow 40 seconds from the end of the match with a jump-shot and Italy won the match (64-55).

Giulia Pasqualin finished with a game high 20 points while Alessandra Tava finished with 11 assists.

Boxscore