In a tough test for the Gliders, Great Britain were able to match them across the court, but the Australians’ ability to capitalise on Great Britain’s turnovers made the difference in the end.

Australia’s Cobi Crispin topped the scoring with 16 points. She also pulled in nine rebounds for the Gliders.

The Brits hit only one field goal in the opening term allowing the Australians to lead 8-5 in the low scoring quarter.

The Gliders started hitting their shots in the second quarter and a 6-0 run opened up a nine-point advantage which they carried into the halftime break, 27-18.

But spurred on by a home crowd Great Britain was not to be discounted. The hosts made their charge midway through the third term, asserting themselves in the paint to pull in a number of rebounds, and getting second chances under their own basket to reduce the margin to three points, 35-32, at the final break.

Crispin and Kylie Gauci stepped up in the final quarter to secure the Gliders’ second victory at the championship.

The Gliders will play perhaps their toughest Preliminary Round opponent, the Netherlands, in their next game at 3.00am on Monday July 12 AEST. You can follow the game with a live video feed and LIVESTATS on the Tournament Website.

[Box Score]

Quarter by quarter:

1: AUS 8 GBR 5
H: AUS 27 GBR 18    (19-13)
3: AUS 35 GBR 32     (8-14)
F: AUS 48 GBR 40     (13-8)

AUSTRALIA (C Crispin 16, L Tesch 9, K Gauci 9) def
GREAT BRITAIN (A Conroy 13, H Freeman 12, L Sugden 6)
At National Indoor Arena, Birmingham, England

Gliders World Championships Schedule

Sunday 11 July:        18:30 Australia v Netherlands (3.00am Monday 12 July AEST)
Monday 12 July:       12:15 Australia v Canada (9.15pm AEST)
Wednesday 14 July: Quarter Finals
Thursday 15 July:     Semi Finals
Friday 16 July:         Classification Matches
Saturday 17 July:     Medal Matches