The Diamonds used an early nine-goal lead to avenge their only loss of the tournament, defeating New Zealand, 58-55, for the host nation’s third consecutive World Cup title.
The championship was extra sweet for Julie Corletto, who now sails into retirement after playing 52 international matches for the Aussies and is one of only two members of this year’s World Cup squad to play a role in all three titles (2007, 2011, 2015).
From the Sydney Morning Herald:
Corletto shed the most tears, though, on court, during the presentation, everywhere. She wavered again in the news conference after thanking the Diamonds’ medical staff, having limped in with two ice packs strapped to her knees and a moon boot on her sore foot. “They were doing absolutely everything they could, and as you see I’m pretty much broken now, but I’ve got a gold medal so there’s nothing sweeter than that to finish on such a high,” she said.
“It was a fantastic way to go out. It’s such an amazing bunch of girls, so I’m just so thankful to be a part of it, and so privileged to pull on the green and gold the amount of times that I have.” Geitz paid tribute to the fellow defender she describes as a “warrior”, so steadfast and heroic on court. “I don’t think any of you sitting here understands just what this girl puts herself through to be out on court and what she brings to the team, and she inspires every single person that wears the green and gold and she just deserves all the success,” she said.
The tournament, held in Sydney, was the first on Australian soil since 1991. New Zealand headed into the Grand Final unbeaten in this year’s World Cup, which included a 52-47 win over the Diamonds in front of a world-record crowd of 16,223 spectators at Allphones Arena. The record was broken again in Sunday’s finale, with 16,752 watching the game in-person. The president of the sport’s federation has called the 10-day showcase the “best ever”.
This is the first time since 1998-99 that Australia has both the World Cup and Commonwealth Games titles after capturing gold in Glasgow last summer.
DeGuzman Sports 