Australia advances to semis, beat Canada 63-52
ISTANBUL (AP) Erin Phillips scored 16 points and Leilani Mitchell provided 10 points off the bench to lead Australia to a 63-52 win over Canada in the quarterfinals of the women's world championship on Friday.
The Australians will play the U.S. in the semifinals on Saturday.
Mitchell scored the final five points of the first quarter to propel Australia. Her 3-pointer with 24 seconds left made it 19-17, a lead the Opals wouldn't relinquish.
Australia (4-0) led 26-20 before scoring 10 of the final 14 points of the half, capped by another three-pointer by Mitchell just before the buzzer to take a 36-24 advantage into the half.
Canada (2-3) got within 10 in the third quarter on consecutive 3-pointers, but got no closer as Phillips took over.
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SPAIN 71, CHINA 55
Sancho Lyttle scored 24 points and Alba Torrens added 17 to help Spain advance to the semifinals for the second straight world championship.
China (2-3) hit a 3-pointer to open the game and Spain scored 18 of the next 21 points to take command. Lyttle had six points during the run.
Spain (4-0) will face Turkey in the semifinals.
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TURKEY 62, SERBIA 61
Lara Sanders had 14 points, 19 rebounds and five blocks to lead Turkey over Serbia, helping the host nation reach the semifinals in its first appearance in the world championship.
Sanders, who was known as LaToya Pringle at North Carolina, but since changed both her names because of marriage and passport issues, helped rally Turkey in front of a raucous sellout crowd that cheered loudly with every Turkish point.
Serbia (3-2) built a six-point halftime lead and went up 38-29 before Turkey came back.
Turkey (4-0) has been on the rise as a basketball power during the last few years, finishing fifth at the 2012 London Olympics.
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UNITED STATES 94, FRANCE 72
Brittney Griner scored 17 points, Tina Charles added 15 and the U.S. shot a record 71 percent from the field to rout France.
The Americans will face Australia in the semifinals on Saturday.
France had handed the U.S. a rare exhibition loss on Sept. 21, rallying from an 18-point deficit for the four-point win. In that game Maya Moore and Diana Taurasi combined to shoot 4-for-23 from the field and Griner wasn't with the team.
The Americans led 53-32 at the half. Sandrine Gruda scored 18 points to lead France.
