It’s the story of a group of players, having acquired a nickname after having a series of comebacks and other money times executed to perfection. At the end of the 2000s, at the beginning of the 2010s, they were called the Braqueuses. The name stuck. And in 2012, on the stage of the Olympic Games, they would write one of the most beautiful pages in their history.
The Robbers didn’t cross the Channel to mess around
They presented themselves on the international scene in an explosive way. At the 2009 EuroBasket, they captured Gold by winning four of their seven matches by less than five points, including a Final won by four points against the Russians. This is where the nickname appeared. These French women had a tendency to struggle in their matches before going for victories out of nowhere. Robbers. It’s not a bad nickname, it sticks. After such success, the “Braqueuses” can aim higher, which is good: there are Games in London in 2012. The squad is summoned. Clémence Beikes, Jennifer Digbeu, Céline Dumerc, Elodie Godin, Emilie Gomis, Sandrine Gruda, Marion Laborde, Edwige Lawson-Wade, Florence Lepron, Endy Miyem, Emmeline Ndongue and Isabelle Yacoubou.
Eight of the twelve EuroBasket winners in Latvia are present. The atmosphere is special to start, in fact France is only winning. Céline Dumerc scored 23 points, 5 assists and 4 interceptions from the start to triumph over Brazil in the group stage, 58-73. Second group match, against Australia, and it was tough… After a buzzer-beater from the Australians from midfield to snatch overtime, the French still managed to snatch a victory 74-70 behind 22 points by Emilie Gomis. And another victory of only 4 points against the Canadians. After all, it is the Robbers that we are dealing with. Fourth group stage match, fourth victory, third heist. Céline Dumerc sends two big shots in a row, including one two seconds from time to triumph over the British in overtime, 80 to 77. And a final victory 65 to 54 against the Russians. That’s 5/5.
Send in the final stages!
The French women flew through the groups without the slightest difficulty if we look at the results, but with some setbacks if we look at the content of the matches. But we, tAll we are interested in is not being in the same part of the final phase table as Team USA, and the objective is accomplished. Let’s go! Time for quarters. After a big start against the Czechs which saw them lead by nine points in the first period, Les Bleues’ opponents found a way to get back in front by five pawns. Then at halftime, we are tied. Start of the third quarter, big 10-0 run from the Czechs who rely on a dark zone. Good. We’re not at the top.
In these matches with modest scoring, a double-digit gap seems impossible to overcome. However, the score was +13 in favor of the Czech Republic, when Dumerc sent a first long distance clutch. This is where the Czech dam sinks. Well supported by Endy Miyem who scored 12 points in the fourth quarter alone, Céline Dumerc finished the match with 23 points and 6 assists, with 7/10 on shots including 3/5 from distance. The Blue’s defense also tightened, and in a series of last three long distances, the French went back to +2 with a minute to go. The Czechs will not recover. 71-68 for France which will see the semi-finals.
It is once again the Russians who stand on the tricolor route. And in order not to change good habits, France immediately gives its opponent a big run. 8-0, six points from the brilliant Emilie Gomis. It’s only Becky Hammon keeping the Russians afloat. The French manage to lead by nine points in the first quarter. We even reached 15 more points in the second quarter. And there, panic on board. The Russians are starting a big dynamic which sees them come back to two units from the blues. But this team has too much mentality.
Everyone put on the overalls (lol) to relegate these Russians far behind, once and for all. Emilie Gomis and Celine Dumerc light the fuses from afar. Endy Miyem, Sandrine Gruda, Emmeline Ndongue and Edwige Lawson-Wade give them the matches. The leader of the group, Edwige, the only robber to be in her second Games, ended the evening with a splendid 18 points and 5 assists. In total, six French women finished the match with at least 10 points. Masterclass akhy. 81 to 64 to triumph over Russia, seventh victory in a row for the blues. But this is where things get complicated.
The American mountain
This is the first Final in the history of the French women’s team at the Olympic Games, it is the eighth for the Americans whom they will of course meet for a chance to obtain Gold. 34 is the number of points difference in average that the Americans have inflicted on their opponents so far in this Olympic tournament. For the French, it’s 8. The Americans have not lost at the Olympic Games for 40 matches, and are coming off four Gold medals in a row.
“Even if there is only one chance in a million to beat them, we see this unique chance” – Pierre Vincent, coach of Les Bleues
Céline Dumerc, Emilie Gomis and Sandrine Gruda stand against a completely unfair team. Opposite, there is legend from legend. The immense Sue Bird, the immortal Diana Taurasi, the future giant Candace Parker as the sixth woman as well as the terrifying Tamika Catchings. We would like to see you compete against an opponent capable of achieving a quintuple-double in a match. Well the Blues, that doesn’t scare them. The proof is that they are the first to score. And even that they still lead by two points after six minutes of play. Then Candace Parker gets involved and wreaks havoc on the French hopes.
The wing-center-back’s entry into play coincides with the moment when the Americans begin to defend in a horrifying manner. Sandrine Gruda, who is the only one to manage to look these Americans in the eyes, does her best to keep the Blues in touch, and brings the EDF to three points behind the Ricaines in the second quarter. But she’s too lonely. +12 Team USA at half time. And an insurmountable 19-0 in the third quarter will definitively bury the French, who will be up to 38 points behind the United States. Candace Parker, author of a game with 21 points and 11 rebounds in the Final of the Olympic Games, succeeded in her mission. She participated in completely dismantling the French attack, which made a series of widely contested shots and bad choices from the second quarter.
Only seven French players found the net, while all twelve Americans scored at least three points. 30% on shots, 18% from distance, the French couldn’t hope for anything better with these percentages. In the end, it was a seventh Gold medal, and the fifth in a row for the Americans while the French recovered their first Olympic medal. A performance which will lay the first Olympic stone for the French women’s team. Sandrine Gruda, the captain of the Bleues, will finish as the best blocker in the competition with more than two crepes per match. A win is a win.
A first Olympic medal, a collective of girls who played to the limit of perfection together and who got along wonderfully, inspiring thousands of French women. This is what we remember from these 2012 Games. Before a return to favor at the Olympic Games of the men’s team, twelve years later, it is the women’s section which remained in the memories of the French in these Games, by going until challenging the American army in the Final. A legendary journey, from a team that is still remembered today as one of the strongest ever assembled in the history of French women’s basketball.
The 2012 Olympic Games in London
- From July 28 to August 12, 2012
- Basketball Arena, North Greenwich Arena
- 12 Men’s teams / 12 Women’s teams
- Gold – United States / United States
- Silver – Spain / France
- Bronze – Russia / Australia
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