Canada and USA Meet in the Under-19 Women's World Cup Quarter Final
The eternal rival for Canada, and the most successful international team in basketball history, the USA were there quarter final opponents in the Under-19 Women's World Cup. The rivalry intensified on the court, as the American team showed no mercy to their neighbours.
Canada put the first points on the board, but the USA soon asserted themselves after fourteen unanswered points four minutes in. The Americans’ lockdown defence - led by Queen Egbo - severely limited Canadian chances. They scored only sixteen points in all of the first half, trailing the USA’s fifty.
Canada tried to pick themselves up when the game resumed, led by Aaliyah Edwards and Christina Morra, but there was no stopping the relentless offence from their opponents. The USA scored 58 points in the paint and made over half their field goal attempts.
The biggest consolation for Canada in a miserable game was they won the final quarter, 20-16, but that barely troubled the USA, who saw out victory by a staggering margin of 81 points to 46. No Canadian player scored higher than eight points (both Edwards and Morra) while Rhyne Howard led with a game-high 14.
With Canada now out of title contention, they will enter the classification round, the highest they can finish in the tournament being fifth place.
The first opposition they will face in the consolation bracket will be Japan, who lost by 20 points to Belgium in the quarter final round. Belgium, meanwhile, will face the USA in what will be an exciting semi-final matchup.
The other semi final will see Australia - who won their quarter final over Mali by a comfortable twelve-point margin - and Spain, who came through after a close conclusion to their quarter final against China. The final score there was 55-52 to Spain.
A report on Canada's final placing in the Under-19 World Cup will appear here when it happens. For more on the tournament, including full information and stats on every game, head over to the official FIBA Under-19 Women's World Cup website.
Picture:FIBA.com
