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Rio de Janeiro • For once, Leilani Mitchell and her Australian teammates failed to properly finish an Olympic basketball game.
And a quarterfinal contest vs. Serbia was the worst time for them to get the ending wrong.
Serbia's 73-71 upset Tuesday stopped the Aussies' unbeaten run in the tournament, after the team medaled in the previous five Olympics. Mitchell, a former University of Utah point guard, tied into her late mother's Australian heritage and honored her by altering her own career to play for the national team at age 31.
But Mitchell's pursuit of a medal ended when she was pressured and desperately threw the ball toward the basket in the last few seconds. Marianna Tolo caught the ball, but her wild shot missed at the buzzer and Serbia advanced.
"We came here with high hopes, but unfortunately, we just didn't have what it takes today," Mitchell said.
Throughout preliminary play, the Opals displayed of knack for strong finishes. They trailed at halftime of four of their five victories and were significantly behind in the fourth quarters of two games. The trend was continuing Tuesday when Mitchell scored eight quick points in the middle of the third period as Australia built a 48-39 lead, but it didn't last.
Liz Cambage scored 29 points for the Aussies, but her foul trouble proved critical as Serbia rallied. Eventually, turnovers and defensive lapses caught up to the Opals. Mitchell finished with 10 points, five rebounds and three assists, but she also committed six of the team's 26 turnovers.
"I guess we were playing a bit inconsistent, you could say," Mitchell said. "That's not going to get us to the gold medal game."
Or even the semifinals, for the first time since 1992.
Mitchell performed well during most of this tournament, resembling the point guard who transferred from Idaho to Utah for her senior season of 2007-08 and blended in nicely, becoming the Mountain West Player of the Year. She has gone to have a solid career domestically and internationally, producing a Most Improved Player season in the WNBA in 2010 after dealing with the death of her mother due to cancer the previous year.
Having grown up in eastern Washington with five basketball-playing brothers, Mitchell reconnected with her mother's relatives in Australia in the past few years and recently established herself as a vital player for the Opals. "It's fun to play with her," said teammate Penny Taylor.
But the Aussies' Olympic effort was halted, far short of the team's ambitions. "We expect more from ourselves and everyone expects more from us," said Taylor, a WNBA star who missed all seven shots from the field. "It hurts to let everyone down."
Twitter: @tribkurt —
Story lines
• Australia commits 26 turnovers in a 73-71 loss to Serbia in the Olympic women's basketball quarterfinals.
• The Opals had gone 5-0 in preliminary play, thanks mostly to their second-half surges.
• Among the 2016 Olympic athletes with Utah ties, Sports Illustrated's projections listed only Leilani Mitchell as a likely medal winner in Rio.