BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Rising sophomore Mollie Williams (Sutherland Shire, Australia/Meriden) of Indiana University shot one-for-three in 15:26 of action as Australia dominated Argentina, 22-1, at the Taipei Songshan Sports Center in Taipei City, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) in earning a spot in the quarterfinals of the 29th Summer Universiade/University Games.
The victory places Australia into quarterfinal clash with the Russian Federation on Saturday, August 26, at 1:30 p.m. local time.
Battling Argentina to guarantee a Top Eight finish at the tournament, the Aussies decimated their foe with 5-0 scoring advantages in both the first and second quarters to carry a 10-0 margin into halftime. Williams connected on her solo marker with 1:10 remaining until halftime as she flushed a counter attack tally to close out Australia’s offense in the second quarter.
The deficit continued to build for Argentina as the Aussies ripped off an 8-0 outburst in the third quarter to enter the final minutes of the contest with a dominating 18-0 spread. Australia pushed the gap to 20-0 with 6:25 remaining in the final frame prior to Argentina breaking up the shutout at 5:05. The Aussies closed out the game with markers at 4:39 and 4:00 for the 22-1 final score.
Williams’ goal raises her tournament totals to seven goals, an assist, four steals and a field block as she previously tallied a steal in 20:10 of action during a 17-3 loss to the United States on Tuesday, August 22, after registering four goals, an assist, a steal and a field block in a 10-3 defeat of Greece on Saturday, August 19, in Australia’s opening game of the tournament. In addition, she appeared in 7:59 of a game against Italy in an 8-6 loss on Sunday, August 20, prior to departing with three fouls. Facing France on Thursday, August 24, she shot two-for-four and netted two steals in 24:52 of action as Australia fell to the French, 8-6.
