The last round of preliminary matches for the women's handball tournament concluded on Saturday. Details from each game of the session are below.
Group B: Netherlands vs. Hungary
It was a complete performance from the Netherlands' as it flexed muscles on attack and defense in a 30-26 win against Hungary.
Lois Abbingh and Angela Malestein led the Dutch in scoring with seven and six goals, respectively, while goalkeeper Yara Ten Holte impressively saved 40% of the shots taken at her.
On the bright side for Hungary, the result was still enough for the team to advance to the quarterfinals, placing in third place in Group B. Netherlands finished in second and will also advance.
Group B: Spain vs. France
Host France continued its dominant run in the preliminary round, this time thrashing Spain 32-24.
After taking a commanding eight-goal lead heading into the second half thanks to its free-flowing attack, France was able to cruise to its victory as Alicia Toublanc (six goals) and Pauletta Foppa (five goals) led the team in scoring.
France had already secured its spot in the quarterfinals in the previous preliminary round, while Spain was unable to collect any points as the team remained winless throughout the tournament.
Group B: Brazil vs. Angola
Brazil advanced to the quarterfinals in style after defeating Angola, 30-19.
Both teams needed a win to move on to the quarterfinals, but it was Brazil's quick and lethal attack that propelled the South Americans onto the next round.
Brazil's defense was also able to limit Angola to only six goals in the first half and 13 in the second as goalkeeper Gabriela Moreschi saved nearly half the shots thrown at her.
The result eliminated Angola from the tournament.
Group B: Sweden vs. Slovenia
Sweden secured its spot in the quarterfinals with a strong performance Saturday, topping Slovenia 27-23.
On paper, it was the Swede's game to lose as they entered the match with three wins already under their belt. After entering halftime trailing Slovenia by three, the Swedish dominated the second half and outscored their opponents by seven to take the win.
The fast-attacking Swedish offense overpowered Slovenia, carrying a 7-0 fast break advantage. Slovenia also struggled in goal, with Amra Pandzic only able to save 23% of Sweden's shots on goal.
The loss drops the Slovenians to the bottom of Group A, eliminating them from quarterfinals contention.
Group A: Norway vs. Germany
Norway entered the game with its spot in the quarterfinals set, but that didn’t stop the Nordic nation from steamrolling Germany, 30-18.
A pair of early two minutes suspensions for Norway allowed the Germans to jump out to a quick 3-0 lead. However, Norway responded with seven unanswered goals and never looked back.
Henny Reistad led the way for Norway, scoring eight goals on just 10 shots, while Stine Oftedal added four tallies of her own.
Germany still had a shot to advance through to the quarterfinals, but needed to wait for the results of the other group stage games and hope their place in the standings held. With South Korea's loss to Denmark, Germany took the last spot and just squeaked through to the quarterfinals.
Group A: Denmark vs. South Korea
South Korea could have claimed its spot in the quarterfinals with a win, but Denmark showed no mercy, rolling to a 28-20 victory.
At halftime there was still hope for South Korea, only trailing by four goals. However, 15 minutes later, Denmark ballooned its lead to 10 and rode that lead to an easy win.
Anne Mette Hansen was unstoppable for Denmark, scoring on all six shots she took. Kristina Joergensen was also incredibly efficient, adding six goals on 10 shots in the game.
Denmark already had a spot in the quarterfinals before the game kicked off, but with the loss, South Korea was sent packing from Paris.