CHLOE Bibby and the Australian women's under-17 basketball team were eliminated from contention at the world championship at the weekend.
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Playing early Saturday morning, the Sapphires were knocked out in the quarter-finals of the International Basketball Association Under-17 World Championship for Women by host nation Czech Republic.
Bibby's best game of the tournament to that point nine points and seven rebounds off the bench could not save the Sapphires as they lost 61-50.
Physical defence was the story of the game, as both teams shot a low field goal percentage and were tied 25-all at half-time.
The home team gained the ascendancy in the third term with a dominant offensive rebounding display, which led to plenty of second-chance points.
Australia was unable to find its outside shooting touch, going two-from-17 from three-point range.
Despite being knocked out of overall contention, Australia was relegated to the fifth to eighth-place classification matches and played France on Saturday night.
The Sapphires dominated in the second quarter to set up a 65-48 win, and Bibby played easily her best game of the tournament.
The Warracknabeal product led all scorers with 14 points on 5-8 shooting, and hit all four of her free-throw attempts.
She had four rebounds and also recorded an assist and a steal. The game boosted Bibby's tournament averages to 7.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists a game.
Australia will play Canada on Sunday night in the fifth-place playoff.