Canada Reach Quarter Finals in Under-19 Women's World Cup
Canada move on to the Under-19 Women’s World Cup quarter finals after a convincing win over Argentina in the first game of the knockout stage.
Argentina had the slight edge throughout the first quarter, but in the second Canada’s lockdown defence limited their opponents to just seven points, while Justina King caught fire from the three-point line. The two saw Canada lead by 15 points at half time.
Canada’s momentum continued in the third quarter, severely limiting Argentina’s chances and growing their lead. Argentina played with renewed vigour and energy in the fourth, but with Canada leading by almost twice the Argentinian's total, it was too tall an order for the South Americans to hope for a comeback.
Florencia Chagas tried her best to keep Argentina alive, leading all on the floor with 20 points, but with no one else putting up numbers that could match hers, the Argentinians were resigned to the loss.
Justina King had a team-high 19 points for Canada, one of four players to reach double-digits, another being Aaliyah Edwards who had 11 total rebounds to go with her 14 points, as Canada punch their quarter final ticket with an 82-50 win over Argentina.
Canada's win sets them up for a quarter-final with eternal rivals the USA. The American team are the highest-scoring team of the tournament so far, though saw their smallest margin of victory against Germany - 79 points to 61 - in the round of sixteen. The Canadians will be hoping that will be a sign the USA are starting to lose their momentum in the tournament.
The biggest surprise of the day saw Mali decimate Group A winners Latvia by a margin of 67 points to 34 Latvia were unrecognisable from the team that dominated in the group stage, showing no urgency or accuracy on offence. Sika Kone was outstanding with 19 points and 22 rebounds for Mali in the game.
Everything else went by expectation: Australia won over Colombia by nine points, the same margin Spain beat Korea by; Belgium beat hosts Thailand by almost doubling their scoreline, 88-47; and China had the biggest victory of the day, 71-28 over Mozambique. In the most uncertain game of the second round, Japan were the eventual victors, beating Hungary 76 to 68.
Hoping to re-create the success of the men's team earlier in the month, Mali will face Australia for a place in the semi finals. Meanwhile China will face Spain and Belgium will take on Japan in the last eight.
The quarter finals all take place on July 26th, when Canada and the USA write another chapter in their history. A full recap of that game will appear here on the day, while all there is to know about the Under-19 Women's World Cup can be found on the official website.
Picture:FIBA.com
