LONDON (Olympics) - Belinda Snell sent shockwaves across the Olympic Park on Monday afternoon that were no doubt felt Down Under when she heaved a desperation 17-meter shot that banked in at the buzzer and forced overtime against France.
The Basketball Arena emitted a roar like never before as Snell made her way to the bench to discuss Australia's strategy for the extra five minutes.
Sadly for the Opals, they weren't able to capitalize on the game-tying shot because in overtime, France were better and prevailed, 74-70.
Though dejected immediately after the game, Snell caught her breath and then answered questions about the shot that is now the talk of London.
"It was a bit lucky, wasn't it?" she said with a laugh.
"It was unfortunate that we couldn't capitalize on it in overtime.”
When Snell was asked in the post-game press conference if she had ever made a shot like that before, her coach Carrie Graf said into the microphone: “Many times.”
Snell then said: “Maybe when I was younger, under 12, I always practiced those shots, just mucking around with friends. I just take a few shots at the end of practice. You always practice those ones.
“But never in such a big game like this. It was such a huge high, the crowd, the emotion and everyone jumping on you and celebrating but we weren’t able to finish them off in overtime and credit to France. They played fantastic today.”
Snell’s best-known talent is three-point shooting, and many a club has signed her for that very reason.
In the streak of excellence that Australia have enjoyed for the past several years, including their run to the gold medal at the 2006 FIBA World Championship for Women, the 1.82 shooting guard has been in the thick of the action, often connecting from behind the arc when her team needed it most.
She and her teammates won't ever forget the Semi-Final in Sao Paulo, Brazil when the Opals trailed the tournament hosts and Snell caught fire.
She ignited a run with her three-point shooting that led the team to victory and they followed that up with a triumph over Russia in the Final.
All that matters now for Snell and Australia is the next game in London.
"We have to regroup and play Brazil in the next game," Snell said.
FIBA
