Spain’s Anna Cruz sent a runner off one leg through the net as time expired to beat Turkey, 64-62, to advance to the Olympic semifinals in women’s basketball. The bucket capped off a 12-2 run the Spaniards posted in the game’s final three minutes and change.
Anna Cruz’s one-legged buzzer-beating runner puts Spain’s women’s basketball team into the semifinals
This is a great way to put your team into medal contention.
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
The game’s final sequence in its entirety was hectic long before the game-winner.
Down two with 23 seconds left, Turkey made a bold decision to defend the ball and trap rather than put Spain at the free throw line. It paid off. Lara Sanders caught Alba Torrens in a corner and intercepted her pass out. Sanders then finished the play with a layup with four seconds remaining to tie the game and send it to what appeared to be overtime. That was until the former Minnesota Lynx guard, Cruz, marched down the court in the remaining few ticks to launch the shot to win it.
With Australia upset earlier on Tuesday, Spain will face an easier Serbian team, with the winner earning the rights to likely get demolished by Team USA and earn a silver medal.
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