BERLIN — Buoyed by partisan home fans, host Germany upset Belgium 93-74 on Thursday to reach the women\u2019s FIBA World Cup semifinals, where the United States will play Spain.<\/p>\n
Leonie Fiebich scored 17 points and had 10 rebounds to lead Germany to a showdown with France on Saturday. Nyara Sabally also had a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone stepped up today and we did it from the first second to the very last,\u201d said Alexandra Wilke, who contributed 10 points.<\/p>\n
Megan Gustafson scored 16 points and led Spain to an 89-66 win over injury-hit Australia in the last quarterfinal, ending the Americans\u2019 wait to learn their next opponent. The four-time defending champions routed Hungary 108-56<\/a> in the first quarterfinal to stretch their winning streak in the tournament to 34 games.<\/p>\n Australia was without forward Ezi Magbegor, who tore her right ACL<\/a> in the win over Italy<\/a>, and Alanna Smith, who re-aggravated a leg injury at the start of the tournament.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really hard to compete against the best in the world when you don\u2019t have all your best players, but I think it was a great experience for all our younger players,\u201d Australia coach Sandy Brondello said.<\/p>\n Brondello is married to Germany coach Olaf Lange and she said she was \u201creally proud of my husband, which is very weird to say,\u201d after what Lange had called the \u201c best day in German basketball<\/a> \u201d as Germany progressed.<\/p>\n \u201cI was a little teary out there, I went and watched the end of the game,\u201d said Brondello, who previously also coached some of the German players.<\/p>\n Germany had never reached the semifinals before. The players screamed and whooped in celebration. <\/p>\n \u201cI can’t quite believe it yet,\u201d forward Frieda B\u00fchner said. \u201cWe’re among the best four teams in the world. I can’t believe it. It’s crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n Germany had lost its opening game by 30 points to Spain<\/a>, but bounced back with impressive wins over Japan and Mali<\/a> before routing South Korea<\/a> in a playoff to reach the quarterfinals.<\/p>\n Egged on by fervent commentary from the announcer, fans cheered, jumped and waved Germany flags at the Berlin Arena to help the home team keep its momentum going. <\/p>\n \u201cIt’s always really cool to play in front of such a crowd,\u201d Sabally said. \u201cI couldn’t have wished for more, especially in Germany. It’s really cool to see that there’s so much hype and the whole venue is caught up in it. It’s really, really cool.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s the sixth straight World Cup at which the host has made the final four since China failed to make the semifinals in 2002.<\/p>\n Belgium, the European champion, was one of three teams that advanced through group play without a loss.<\/p>\n Emma Meesseman led Belgium with 29 points and added eight rebounds, but her team was unable to regain the lead after B\u00fchner made it 20-19 toward the end of the first quarter.<\/p>\n Germany did not qualify for the World Cup since the unified country’s only previous appearance as host in 1998. East Germany’s women’s basketball team finished fourth at the 1967 tournament.<\/p>\n Marine Johann\u00e8s and Janelle Sala\u00fcn led France to the semifinals for the first time by beating China 90-61 earlier.<\/p>\n Both Johann\u00e8s and Sala\u00fcn scored 15 points while Gabby Williams contributed 14 as the Olympic finalists put themselves in contention for a first World Cup medal since the inaugural tournament in 1953, when France finished third in the final round.<\/p>\n \u201cIt means a lot,\u201d Williams said of reaching the semifinals for the first time. \u201cWe want to be one of the greatest teams ever to put on the French jersey. Obviously we have a big goal this tournament, but it\u2019s great to check this off the list.\u201d<\/p>\n Chants of \u201cAllez les Bleues\u201d rang around the Berlin Arena before Williams opened the scoring, and the French supporters made sure they were heard for the rest of the game as their team dominated on the court below. France has been fluid and free-scoring, beating its four opponents so far by a combined 156 points. <\/p>\n The team set a tournament record for 3-pointers in a single game by netting 22 in its final group game<\/a> on Monday. The French players connected on 14 of 37 attempts Thursday, with Johann\u00e8s and Sala\u00fcn scoring three triples each.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are lucky because we are a group that have known each other for a couple of years now,\u201d Sala\u00fcn said of France’s team spirit. \u201cWe went through a lot of things, the Olympics, training camp(s), so we just know each other and we know what we want. We have a goal and we want to do everything to get to this goal.\u201d<\/p>\n Sala\u00fcn had an ice pack bound to her right knee. France coach Jean Aime Toupane told The Associated Press it was just a precaution.<\/p>\n