Canada's Classy Finish in the Under-19 Women's World Cup

The 2021 FIBA Under-19 World Cup for Women was entering its final stretch in the host city of Debrecen in Hungary. Days earlier, at the start of the knockout round, Canada showed they had the resolve and capacity to win at any cost, having overcome heavy favourites France to keep their campagin alive. That win saw them set up an even tougher test against Australia in the quarter finals as the race for the World Cup trophy started to heat up.

Of the first ten points scored in their game, nine of them were by Australia. Canada were quick to get it down to a single-possession towards the end of the opening quarter and when the Australians tried to stop the onslaught with three-pointers to keep their lead healthy, seven points in a row by Shayeann Day-Wilson got the Canadians to within one of their opponents.

In the last seconds of the half Rosalie Mercille tied the scores, after which Canada put together an 11-1 run in the third, followed by eight points in a row by Emma Koabel, putting them into the lead by twelve.

Australia quickly closed the gap with more threes, the game reached a stalemate with the teams level at 54 points midway through the final quarter.

The game could have gone either way, but ten points in a row by Australia put them ahead of Canada by the same margin with seconds left in the game. Day-Wilson picked up some late, consolatory points for her team, whom she led in scoring with 17. The all-important win though was Australia's, they advanced to the final four, where they would take on Mali for a place in the final.

Meanwhile, the title was now no longer a possibility for Canada, but they still had two consolation games to play, giving them the chance to head home from Hungary on a high. They first faced fellow losing quarter finalists Russia, who built an early six-point lead, to which Canada responded with an 8-0 run. The Russians however were quick to pick up points in the paint and go back in front

Midway through the second quarter, Isaline Alexander completed a three-point play to level the scores, but at this point in the game every time the Canadians got close, Russia reinforced their advantage. After beginning the second half trailing by seven points, Canada closed the gap and stepped up their defence to shut out the Russians.

Twelve unanswered points put Canada in front by eight at the top of the final period, which led to Russia's three-point shooters cutting their deficit as the fourth moved on. This made for a precarious final stretch as the Russians were in a position to surge in front at the end but through tough defence coupled with confident, crucial three-pointers by Koabel, Canada were able to close out the win.

With a double-double registered by Day-Wilson, 22 points and 11 rebounds, Canada had earned their place in the fifth place game, which would be a rematch with the Czech Republic. The team against whom they got their first win of the tournament had seen off Spain by three points in their classification game and would meet Canada a second time on the last day of competition.

This time they opened against the Czechs with nine points unanswered, followed up with eighteen points unanswered to lead 27-5 early in the second quarter. The Czech Republic broke their cold streak but accurate from the outside, Canada were able to keep their lead at over twenty points. That was until the Czechs caught fire from beyond the arc, getting to within ten points of Canada in Q3.

Dominika Paurova took over the scoring for the Czech Republic in the final quarter but with them unable to find any real rhythm, while Canada found plenty of open looks in the paint to remain in control to the final buzzer. Yvonne Ejim finished with a double-double, 12 points and 13 total rebounds, as Canada saw off the Czechs 72-61 and finished fifth place out of the sixteen teams in Debrecen.

Elsewhere, hosts Hungary picked up the bronze medal - the first time they have made the podium at this level - after an 88-67 defeat of Mali, while Canadian vanquishers Australia met the USA in the final. After a tight start to the game, tougher defence by the Americans saw them take control of proceedings throughout the second half to close out the game 70-52 and capture their ninth Under-19 World Cup title. Read more about the tournament on the official FIBA website.