Mid-Day

Australia held off a dramatic late rally by the United States and dashed their dreams of a third straight Paralympic wheelchair basketball title, as they progressed to Friday’s women’s final.

The Gliders will take on Germany in the gold medal match after beating the United States 40-39 yesterday, despite only scoring two points in the final quarter as the US went on a nine-point scoring run to bring the scores to 38-37. With 27 seconds left, the Americans brought the game to within a single point and the tension was heightened when Amber Merritt missed two free throws for the Aussies, who nonetheless clung on for victory.