TENERIFE, Spain, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- The United States bounced back from a nightmare first quarter to see off Nigeria 71-40 and make into the semifinals at the 2018 FIBA Women's World Cup here on Friday.
The U.S. won their 20th straight match in the competition, but were just one point shy of the 10,000-point milestone in the tournament's history.
Breanna Stewart made seven out of eight shots to score a game-high 19 points for the United States. Teammate A'Ja Wilson added 11.
Facing Nigeria, the first African team in World Cup quarterfinals, the two-time defending champions were restrained to an icy 13 percent in shooting field goals, and conceded eight turnovers in the opening period.
The American center Brittney Griner, playing her second match at the tournament from an ankle injury, received second personal foul early on, before the basketball powerhouse trailed 9-17 as the first quarter ran out.
The U.S. continued their sluggishness and found themselves 20-11 down. Veteran guard Diana Taurasi was called a technical foul afterwards.
However, they managed to go ahead for the first time since the tip-off at 24-23 following a three-pointer from Stewart with 2:04 remaining in the second quarter. The reigning Olympic and world champions improved their shooting to 30 percent as they led 27-23 into the halftime.
The U.S. regained their familiar offensive manner to extend their margin to double figure with consecutive fast breaks after the restart.
Building a 11-point advantage heading into the final 12 minutes, the U.S. took on a 12-0 run to pull away the match, and they never seemed contested by African opponents later on.
The United States will fight for a final spot against Belgium or France on Saturday.
