RIO DE JANEIRO (Rio 2016 Olympic Games) - Liz Cambage scored 18 of her 37 points in the final quarter to help Australia overcome a 16-point deficit and beat Japan, 92-86, on Thursday evening.

The win saw the Opals improve to 4-0 to remain atop Group A, while Japan dropped to 2-2 but still are in the race to reach the Quarter-Finals.

The Asian champions led 50-48 at the end of a back-and-forth first half that featured 12 lead changes and 11 ties.

Japan took over in the third quarter by outscoring Australia 21-11 and headed into the final frame with a 71-59 advantage.

They pulled away some more to take their biggest lead, 77-61, on Sanae Motokawa's basket with 8:13 left to play.

Australia raised the alarm and a 13-0 run enabled them to cut the deficit to 77-74 with 5:10 remaining. Cambage was unstoppable and scored 12 points in a row to get the Opals within one, 81-80. Leilani Mitchell then edged them in front 82-81 with 2:58 to go and they stayed in front the rest of the way.

Cambage had 19 points through the first three quarters and 18 in the final one. Her total of 37 was just two shy of the Olympic women's scoring record of 39, set by Bulgaria's Evladiya Slavcheva in 1988. Cambage matched the total poured in by Russia's Elena Baranova at the 1996 Olympics.

Turning Point: With Australia up 84-83, Cambage blocked Ramu Tokashiki with 1:13 to go. At the other end, Erin Phillips made a free-throw and missed the second but the Opals maintained possession and it resulted in Penny Taylor hitting a three-pointer to put them up 88-83. Asami Yoshida connected from beyond the arc with 41 seconds to go before Cambage and Marianna Tolo put the finishing touches from the free-throw line.

Stats Don't Lie: Australia scored a mammoth 50 points in the paint. 

Hero: Cambage put on the performance of a lifetime, finishing with 37 points on 16-of-22 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line. She also grabbed 10 rebounds, blocked 3 shots and dished out 2 assists. All of it in 25 minutes and 22 seconds of playing time

The Bottom Line: The Opals are guaranteed of finishing as Group A winners, regardless of the outcome of their final game against Belarus on Saturday.

FIBA