In the first of the womenโ€™s semi finals on day seven of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, Great Britain took on the USA.

With a place in the final on the line, both teams roared into action: trading shots for the gameโ€™s opening four minutes until Great Britain found a way to pull ahead by 14-8. The USA, however, quickly responded and at the end of the first quarter the game was tied on 18 points apiece.

Great Britain opened the second quarter with a three pointer from Amy Conroy, but once again the USA soon responded as they pushed ahead by 30-24. It was then Great Britainโ€™s turn to hit back and, combining sharp shooting and strong defence, they levelled the game on 30 points apiece before taking a two point lead (32-30). The American side, however, pushed forwards once more to hold a 41-36 advantage at half time.

A stunning start to the third by the USA saw the team open with a streak of 12 unanswered points on their way to a 26-13 quarter in their favour; the score with just 10 minutes left on the game therefore seeing the USA ahead by 67-49.

Rallying together, it was Great Britain who won the fourth quarter by 29-22; the USA, however, holding firm to close out an 89-78 victory.

GB Head Coach Miles Thompson said: โ€œWe made history when we won that quarter final game and have just played in our first Paralympic semi final game and scored 78 points โ€“ itโ€™s historic.โ€

GB Womenโ€™s Co-Captain Sophie Carrigill said: “Iโ€™m just really proud of the girls: we put up a fight, we had a really good game โ€“ they had to shoot the lights out to be able to beat us and I think thatโ€™s credit to the team, the coaches, our defence, and how well we played. We never give up, we fight until the end, and weโ€™ve just proved that.

โ€œIโ€™m excited for the bronze medal game. Weโ€™ve reached our goal already by making it to the semi finals, so Iโ€™m just excited to get on the floor again and to be able to have another opportunity to be in a medal match โ€“ itโ€™s a great feeling.โ€

USA Head Coach Stephanie Wheeler said: โ€œIn the first half, GB came out and played great. We knew that they were going to come out with a lot of fire so, fortunately, offensively we were shooting at a pretty high percentage and I think our girls did a great job of making the right read and getting the ball to the right player at the right time. Defensively, at half time, we had to make a bit of an adjustment as far as putting a lot more pressure on Helen Freeman and putting a lot more pressure on Amy Conroy: I think we let them score a little bit too easy in the first half. So we made that adjustment and we also said that itโ€™s 0-0 and if we want that opportunity to go play for a gold medal then we have to take it. Iโ€™m really proud of how the team came out in the second half: they were composed and intense at the same time.

โ€œWeโ€™re excited to be in the final but itโ€™s where we knew we had the potential to be โ€“ itโ€™s why we came here. Weโ€™ve had opportunities to play both Germany and the Dutch over the summer โ€“ including the Dutch a few days ago โ€“ so weโ€™ll go back and start breaking down film of both teams, weโ€™ll watch the game this afternoon and then weโ€™ll begin to put final touches on our game plan for tomorrow.โ€

USAโ€™s Desi Miller said: โ€œThis was a huge game for GB and โ€“ kudos to them โ€“ they put out a force to be reckoned with: they were shooting really well, pretty much throughout the whole game. When we were game planning for them, we knew they were going to come out with a lot of emotion, a lot of intensity and we also went through their tendencies with video, through practice, so by the time we went onto court we felt really prepared as a unit, as a team.

“I think Iโ€™m going to stay in the moment right now and just be excited that we made it into the final โ€“ thatโ€™s a huge deal, especially after not having made it in 2012. Whether itโ€™s Germany or the Netherlands, theyโ€™re going to bring a good game โ€“ Iโ€™m excited.โ€

For full match statistics click hereย https://www.rio2016.com/en/paralympics/wheelchair-basketball-womens-semifinal-wb-4