THE Australian Opals produced an upset victory over host nation France at the 2024 Paris Olympics, to book a spot in the quarter finals in the women’s basketball tournament.

The Opals’ medal quest was in dire straits after their first match saw a shock loss to Nigeria, before a win over Canada last week breathed some life into their campaign. Coming up against France, the Aussies were underdogs given the home support the opposition had.

However, Australia jumped out to an early lead to snag a double-digit buffer on the scoreboard, and held off an almighty charge from France that saw the hosts draw within one point, before the Aussies scored the next seven points to secure a seven-point win.

Australian Opals (79) def. France (72)

Coming into the game, the Opals had plenty on the line, needing to win by six points to jump to second place in their group and avoid a feared matchup against Team USA.

Australia was the superior team for the better part of the match, leading by 11 points early in the fourth quarter. The Aussies were in the box seat, but with the home crowd in Lille on its side, France was always going to come home strong.

The French drew back within a point with four minutes to play, and Australia’s hopes of finishing second to avoid the USA (who are on a 58-game winning streak at the Olympics and have not lost a game since 1992) were dwindling.

However, the Opals found themselves a hero in the form of Cayla George, who delivered several clutch baskets to rescue her side from a worse fate. Her highlight came late in the piece, saving a broken offensive play by knocking down an off-balance jumpshot to ensure the Aussies maintained the necessary margin.

She finished the game with eight points, but it was the timeliness of her scores that mattered most, showing her late-match heroics once again.

Skipper Tess Madgen had her best game of the tournament with 18 points, three rebounds and one assist on 6/9 shooting from the field, while 36-year-old Olympic debutant Sami Whitcomb kept her fine form rolling with 12 points (5/7 FG), five rebounds and seven assists.

The Opals will now face Serbia in the quarter finals at 7:00pm AEST on Wednesday, and if they advance past that stage, they will then take on the ominous Team USA.