86–73. The Opals would however, win their 5th consecutive Olympic medal with an 83–74 win over Russia to claim the bronze. Leading up to the 2014 World Championship in Turkey, a number of long-serving players announced their retirements or declared themselves unavailable. Those players included Kristi Harrower, Jenni Screen, Kristen Veal, Abby Bishop, Kathleen MacLeod, Samantha Richards, Suzy Batkovic and Jenna O'Hea. Three weeks before the start of the tournament, Lauren Jackson withdrew from the team because of a knee injury. Two weeks later Liz Cambage ruptured her achilles tendon during a pre-tournament game and was ruled-out because of the injury. This resulted in the selection of seven debutants into the squad of 12, a move seen as ushering in a new era of Opals basketball. Despite the loss of veteran players, the Opals went through the preliminary rounds and quarter-final undefeated, setting up a semi-final clash with USA. In a hard-fought game, the Opals cut the lead from 16 points to just six early in the final quarter, before losing 82–70. The Opals would however claim their third bronze medal at world championships with a comfortable 74–44 win against host nation Turkey. Penny Taylor was named to the tournament All-Star Five. The Opals qualified for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro following a series win against New Zealand in August 2015. On 31 March 2016, Lauren Jackson announced her retirement from basketball, citing a chronic knee injury as the reason for her decision. The Olympic squad was announced on 12 July 2016 and included seven Olympic debutants and only three players from the 2012 squad. Notable exclusions included three-time Olympic medallist Suzy Batkovic, reigning WNBL MVP Abby Bishop and Rebecca Allen. Despite slow starts which had plagued Australia throughout the tournament, the Opals finished on top of their group with a 5–0 record, outscoring Japan 33–15 in the final quarter to win by six points. In the Quarter-final, the Opals suffered a shock 73–71 loss to Serbia, conceding 26 turnovers and eliminating them from medal contention. This ended a run of five successive Olympic medals dating back 20 years. One highlight was Liz Cambage breaking Lauren Jackson's Australian Olympic record of points scored in a single game with 37 against Japan. It was the third-highest haul by a woman in Olympic history and the highest in 28 years. Following the early exit from the Rio Olympics, Brendan Joyce