Emma Meesseman 22-10-8 Ends Australia Perfect Start

Photo: WNBA.com / New York Liberty. Official league headshot, 1040x760, full head.

Belgium beat Australia 80-68 in Berlin.

Emma Meesseman finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists.

Watch the high-low. Meesseman catches, Kyara Linskens seals, and the Belgian Cats keep the ball moving until somebody is open. That possession shape ran for most of 38 minutes and 23 seconds of lead time. Australia got the lead for 35 seconds. One lead change. One tie. Attendance sat at 3,755 inside Berlin Arena.

Quarters went 23-17, 17-16, 20-22, 20-13. Lead tracker: biggest lead 15 and 2. Biggest runs 9-0 and 6-0. Field goal rates 47 percent and 44 percent. From three: 36.8 percent and 17.7 percent. Free throws: 84.6 percent and 58.3 percent. Assists 27 against 18. Turnovers nine against eleven.

Meesseman played 32 minutes. Ten makes on eighteen tries. Zero threes. Two free throws. Ten boards, two offensive. Eight assists. Two steals. One block. Two turnovers. TCL Player of the Game at 33 efficiency. Kyara Linskens went 12 and 10 with four blocks in 30 minutes. Julie Vanloo scored 12 with 5 assists. Julie Allemand scored 11 with 7 assists in nearly 36 minutes. Antonia Delaere added 11 on 5-of-8. Becky Massey was 3-of-3 for 7 points in 12 minutes off the bench.

Ezi Magbegor scored 15. on 7-of-12 with 7 boards in 33 minutes. Steph Talbot finished with 8 and 10. Jade Melbourne had 10 points and 6 assists. Isobel Borlase scored 10 on 5-of-8. Zitina Aokuso scored 9. Alanna Smith did not play after sitting Sunday with lower-leg soreness. The third quarter pushed to 22 points. The fourth went 20-13 the other way. The close used the extra pass, the seal, and a free-throw edge that never flipped.

Australia entered Monday 2-0 and already through to the Final Phase after Magbegor scored 21 on 10-of-14 against Turkiye. Australia is still through to the Final Phase. The 2-0 start is gone. Belgium moves up in Group C, and Meesseman 22, 10, and 8 is the line that makes the 80-68 hold up under a second look.

Photo: FIBA. Emma Meesseman of Belgium during World Cup 2026 (vs Türkiye opener). FIBA / Dragana Stjepanovic. Landscape 2907×1934, full head. Never stack with the headshot.

Sources

• FIBA game page Belgium vs Australia — 80-68; quarters 23-17 / 17-16 / 20-22 / 20-13; Meesseman TCL POTG 22/10; FG 47% vs 44%; 3PT 36.8% vs 17.7%; FT 84.6% vs 58.3%; lead tracker 38:23 / 0:35; biggest lead 15 / 2; attendance 3,755
• ESPN box score — Meesseman 32/22/10/8; Linskens 12/10/4 blk; Allemand 11/7; Vanloo 12/5; Delaere 11; Magbegor 15/7; Talbot 8/10; Melbourne 10/6; Borlase 10; Belgium 27 AST vs 18
• Global Sports Archive box — Meesseman 10-18 FG, 33 EFF; team FG splits; Smith DNP
• Photos: WNBA.com Meesseman 203416; FIBA Meesseman still / Dragana Stjepanovic