A DOMINANT performance from the Australian Opals has seen them book a spot in the semi-finals at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, after defeating Serbia by 18 points on Wednesday night.

A disastrous start to their 2024 campaign with a loss to Nigeria saw the Opals with their backs against the wall for much of the group stage, before a win over France booked a matchup in the quarterfinals to complete the turnaround from that first match.

The men’s team (Boomers) were eliminated from the Games by Serbia the night before, so the Opals had the chance to exact revenge and looked a strong chance of getting the job done with an extremely talented roster.

After jumping out to an early lead, the Aussies looked consistently in control of the match, never allowing the Serbians a sniff and cruising home to a big win.

The result sets up an ominous clash against the United States on the weekend, after Team USA defeated Nigeria by 14 points over night. The winner will advance to the gold medal match.

Australian Opals (85) def. Serbia (67)

The Opals fired early, pushing the pace in the first term and producing some mesmerising plays on both ends of the floor. Every player in the starting lineup was getting involved one way or another, and the Aussies took a seven-point lead into the first change.

The lead was stretched out to 12 points in the second term, and it looked as if the Opals were going to run away with the contest. Although turnovers began to creep into Australia’s game – a familiar theme for the tournament – the Aussies settled, and the script flipped in seemingly no time at all. Suddenly, it was Serbia that could not take care of the ball, and the Opals punished the opposition in transition to take a 16-point buffer into half time.

Shades of the Boomers’ performance began to appear, as Serbia cut the deficit back to 11 in the third, but Australia answered the challenge. The Opals moved the ball around nicely to open up the paint and produce some easy baskets, pushing the lead back out and ensuring they still had control of the match.

A 17-0 run from the Aussies put the game to bed, showing how dangerous they can be and fully announcing their return to form ahead of a massive clash against a US side that has not lost a game at the Olympic Games since 1992.

It was a breakout game from youngster Jade Melbourne, who announced herself on the international stage with a mature performance. It was the best she has looked from a scoring perspective, pouring in 18 points alongside four rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Alanna Smith was another standout, making Serbia’s interior defence look poor with some tremendous finishes through contact to convert several and-ones. She finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds in another excellent performance at the Paris Games.

X-Factor Cayla George was at her damaging best as well, posting 18 points and three steals off the bench, while Olympic debutant Sami Whitcomb had 15 points of her own.