Finals Run for Canada at the Under-18 Women's Americas Championship

After a storming start to the tournament earlier in the week, Canada looked to go the distance in the knockout round of the FIBA Americas Women's Under-18 Championship. Yet to see a loss after three group games, the Canadian team had to win just two more over the course of three days to make the final and a chance at winning their first title at this level.

First up, Canada made short work of El Salvador in their quarter final. Completely overwhelming their opponents on offence, Canada held them to just nine points in the second half and one in the final quarter, which saw El Salvador go almost twelve minutes without scoring.

Emma Koabel and Fatima Diakhate led all scorers with fourteen points apiece, with Diakhate also grabbing 12 rebounds. Cheyenne Rowe also registered a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds to her name in one of the biggest wins of the entire tournament, 92-24, which set up a rematch between them and group stage opponents and hosts Argentina for a place in the final.

After a close start, eleven points in the last two minutes of the opening quarter saw Canada go into a double-digit lead. Connecting from beyond the arc their lead continued to grow with Argentina cold on offence. With Canada's lead reaching 24 in the third quarter, Argentina needed to step up their game but the Canadian shooting kept their upward trajectory for the rest of the game.

Once again led by T'yana Todd off the bench, with good production also from Mary-Anna Asare and Cheyenne Rowe on defence Canada rolled past their fifth opponent, their 78-63 win over Argentina booking their place in the final. There they would once again come face to face with eternal rivals and winners of the last nine tournaments, the USA.

Skylar Forbes opened the scoring for Canada, whose attempts to keep out the opposition only lasted so long; the Americans then took the lead and soon the Americans doubled their advantage. Emma Koabel closed the gap from beyond the arc and Canada were able to keep within reaching distance of the USA, who then ended the first half with a 12-2 run which saw them go to the locker room leading by double-digits.

The combination of Forbes and Diakhate inside, as well as T'yana Todd outside, Canada closed the gap with nine points unanswered which made it a single-possession game by the third period's end. When the game entered the final quarter the Americans kept finding open looks in the paint and drew fouls to restore their double-digit advantage over their neighbours.

Marah Dykstra kept working both ends in an attempt to save the game for Canada, she and Koabel closed the gap to five points in the last minute, but with neither team unable to get another shot off the score stood at 82-77.

Canada would have to settle for their fourth straight silver medal in the tournament, as well as earning a place in next year's Under-19 World Cup. T'yana Todd, who scored nineteen for Canada in the final, also had consolation in a place in the All-Tournament team. Kira Rice of the victorious Americans was named MVP of the championship. While Canada came up short of going all the way, their run in this year's Under-18 Americas tournament was definitely a success for a great team full of players with great futures ahead of them.