France reached the final of the Women’s Basketball World Cup for the first time after beating hosts Germany 86-64 in their semi-final on Saturday.
Gabby Williams led all scorers with 22 points as the Olympic silver medallists maintained their unbeaten run at the tournament and booked their place in Sunday’s final in Berlin.
The US-born Williams was outstanding at both ends of the court, also finishing with a game-high five assists and four steals.
“I’m on a mission. I just want to give it my all,” Williams told beIN Sports.
“You never know when you’ll get an opportunity like this. You don’t know if it’ll be the last one. So, I’m just going to give everything.”
France are on course for a potential rematch with the United States and will have the chance to avenge their one-point defeat to the Americans in the 2024 Olympic final in Paris if the defending champions overcome Spain in Saturday’s other semi-final.
The 11-time world champions are currently on a 34-game winning streak at the World Cup, dating back to their shock semi-final defeat by Russia in 2006.
Germany, meanwhile, were making their first semi-final appearance as a unified nation. East Germany had previously reached the last four in 1967.
The hosts stayed within touching distance early on after France made a fast start, trailing by just two points at the end of the first quarter.
France gradually asserted their quality, however, opening the second half with nine unanswered points to establish a 16-point advantage.
Germany refused to surrender, with Alexis Peterson and Emily Bessoir hitting three-pointers in the final quarter to reduce the deficit to nine points and briefly threaten a comeback.
France responded decisively, scoring 12 unanswered points to close out the game and secure their place in a maiden World Cup final.
