Day 8 was a massive day of Paralympic action for University of Sydney athletes, with the Gliders winning through to the gold medal women’s wheelchair basketball game and Angela Ballard winning her second medal of the competition on the track.
Playing against the team that defeated them at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics at the same stage of the tournament, the Gliders – containing University of Sydney’s Sarah Stewart and Katie Hill – survived a last gasp shot from American Rose Hollermann to claim a nail bitting 40-39 victory over the USA.
Stewart and Hill both contributed four points each in a very low scoring and tense affair.
The Gliders survived a last quarter fight back by the defending champions, scoring nine consecutive points, but their comeback fell just short.
The Australians took control of the match with a 10-0 run in the third period, holding their rivals without a basket for more than nine minutes until Desi Miller converted with 53 seconds left.
But after trailing 38-28 heading into the fourth period, the USA enjoyed a purple patch with Rebecca Murray scoring six of her game-high 18 points.
Australia were held scoreless for more than seven minutes until Clare Nott broke the drought – and it proved to be the decisive score.
With 27 seconds left, the USA moved within a single point and, to add to the drama, Australia’s Amber Merritt then missed two free throws.
It gave the USA a final opportunity, but Hollermann could not capitalise.
The Gliders will take on Germany in the gold medal match at the North Greenwich Arena on Saturday morning after the Germans scrapped home in their semi-final encounter against Holland by just three points.
On the track, University of Sydney’s Angela Ballard (29.35) secured her second medal of the competition, a silver, in the women’s 200m T53 event. Ballard sandwiched herself in between Chinese gold medallist Lisha Huang (29.18) and bronze medallist Hongzhuan Zhou (29.40).
At the London Aquatic Centre Katrina Porter gamely finished in seventh place in the women’s 400m freestyle S7 – the same race that fellow Australian Jacqueline Freney moved relentlessly towards a clean sweep of medals in her London 2012 campaign, winning her seventh gold.
Friday 7 September
7:29pm
Swimming – Women’s 50m Butterfly S6 – Heats
Sarah Rose
8:39pm
Swimming – Women’s 200m Individual Medley SM13 – Heats
Prue Watt
Saturday 8 September
3:30am
Swimming – Women’s 50m Butterfly S6 – Final (provided she qualifies)
Sarah Rose
5:24am
Swimming – Women’s 200m Individual Medley SM13 – Heats
Prue Watt
6:15am
Wheelchair Basketball – Women v Germany – Final
Sarah Stewart and Katie Hill
7:55pm
Swimming – Women’s 100m Breaststroke SB13 – Heats
Prue Watt
Sunday 9 September
4:04am
Swimming – Women’s 100m Breaststroke SB13 – Final (provided she qualifies)
Prue Watt
6:21am
Athletics – Women’s 400m T53 – Women – Final
Angela Ballard
