MADRID, SPAIN – Jessica Petrie contributed five points, four rebounds and three assists but world No. 3 Australia dropped a narrow 72-68 loss to world No. 2 France in the final game of group play at the 2023 FIBA U19 Women’s World Cup in Madrid, Spain on Tuesday.
Petrie, a 6-2 forward from Gold Coast, Australia, hit 2-of-4 shots from the field, including 1-of-2 three-pointers for the Australians, who closed group play at 1-2 with losses to France and the hosts from Spain, along with a 40-point win over Argentina.
After a close first quarter, France took a 42-32 lead to halftime. France pushed the margin to 12 early in the third before Australia rallied to cut the lead to just 52-51 on Petrie’s three-pointer with 22 seconds left in the quarter.
France pushed the lead back to 58-53 early in the fourth quarter, before Australia erupted on a 7-0 run to take a 60-58 lead. Petrie helped that surge with an assist on the basket that cut the margin to 58-57, before grabbing a key defensive rebound that led to a go-ahead three-pointer at the other end with 6:17 remaining that forced France to take a timeout.
France quickly tied the score at 60, but another defensive board and assist by Petrie put Australia back in front 62-60 with 4:45 left. France responded with five straight points and Australia was unable to regain the lead down the stretch.
Through three games in Spain, Petrie is averaging 5.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 17 minutes per contest.
Petrie and Australia will begin bracket play on Wednesday when they take on Mali in the round of 16 at 12:45 p.m. (CT) in the Sports Complex Espartales Alcala de Henares.
