| FINAL STANDINGS 1. CANADA (advances to qualifier) 2. Puerto Rico (advances to qualifier) 3. Colombia 4. Venezuela | CANADIANS Natalie Achonwa (Guelph, Ont.) Kayla Alexander (Milton, Ont.) Laeticia Amihere (Mississauga, Ont.) Bridget Carleton (Chatham, Ont.) Shay Colley (Brampton, Ont.) Quinn Dornstauder (Regina, Sask.) Nirra Fields (Montreal, Que.) Sami Hill (Toronto, Ont.) Aislinn Konig (Langley, B.C.) Kia Nurse (Hamilton, Ont.) Cassandre Prosper (Montreal, Que.) Syla Swords (Sudbury, Ont.) Victor Lapena – coach Noelle Quinn – assistant Steve Baur – assistant Carly Clarke – assistant Murriel Page – assistant Nate McKibbon – video coordinator |
| ROUND ROBIN | CAN | PUR | COL | VEN | Record | ||
| Canada | —– | 77-68 | 70-53 | 81-39 | (3-0) | ||
| Puerto Rico | 68-77 | —– | 80-79 | 65-57 | (2-1) | ||
| Colombia | 53-70 | 79-80 | —– | 77-72 | (1-2) | ||
| Venezuela | 39-81 | 57-65 | 72-77 | —– | (0-3) | ||
In their opener, Canada thrashed Venezuela 81-39 after leading 23-8, 42-15 and 64-25 at the quarters. Bridget Carleton said “it’s fun being back playing with this group of women, it’s been awhile,” Carleton said. “Sami and I have a good chemistry, we’re really best friends off the court. It’s nice to get to play with her. Her energy, she brings so much to the team on the defensive end, so it was nice to see her knock down some threes on offence. We know each other so well off the court and on the court, so it’s easy to play with someone like that.” Canadian coach Victor Lapena said “for me it was important today that the team competed like a Canada team … [Like] a Canada team in the past, a Canada team in the AmeriCup, so I’m very happy, first of all, because Natalie Achonwa came back to the team today. We could play with Kia, Bridget, with Laeticia Amihere, with those who didn’t play in the AmeriCup, and the chemistry was good. We needed some minutes to address the team and get the feeling, and then everything was more fluent, we scored our threes, the team kept defending super aggressive. … [Sami Hill] is one of the players who knows what I want from her and knows what her role is,” Lapeña said. “She tries, always, to execute her role as best as possible. Congratulations, Sami because she’s doing an amazing job and if she continues this way and if we get to play for the Olympics, she will be there. … Natalie [Achonwa]is important, not just on the court, off the court, for the chemistry of the team,” Lapeña said. “I think now, in her new situation as a mom, she will bring to the team more experience, more wisdom. I’m very happy having Natalie again. It’s very special for me. She helped me a lot in my first experience with Canada in Osaka, and then in the World Cup. She’s our captain. I’m very happy.” Laeticia Amihere paced Canada with 11 on 4-11 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 11 boards and 2 blocks. Bridget Carleton added 10 on 1-2 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 5 boards. 3 assists and 2 steals. Kia Nurse notched 10 on 3-4 from the floor, 1-8 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 3 boards. Cassandre Prosper scored 10 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 3 boards. Sami Hill added 9 on 0-2 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 4 assists and 2 steals. Kayla Alexander scored 8 on 3-4 from the floor, 2-4 from the line and 10 boards. Shay Colley notched 8 on 1-4 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 3-3 from the line and 6 boards. Nirra Fields added 7 on 2-2 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2 assists and 2 steals. Syla Swords scored 5 on 2-3 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc and 1-2 from the line. Aislin Konig added 2 on 1-1 from the floor, 4 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Quinn Dornstauder scored 1 on 1-2 from the floor and 5 boards, while Natalie Achonwa was scoreless, nabbed 3 boards, dished 6 assists and pilfered 3 balls. Canada hit 29-73 (.397) overall, 19-40 (.475) from the floor, 10-33 (.303) from the arc and 13-18 (.722) from the line, while garnering 60 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 18 assists, 14 fouls, 18 turnovers, 10 steals and 8 blocks. Mariana Duran paced Venezuela with 10 on 2-8 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 3 boards and 2 assists. Aguehil Fajardo added 7 on 3-8 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 6 boards, 2 steals and 3 blocks. Daniela Wallen notched 6 on 3-9 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 5 boards and 2 assists. Ivaney Marquez scored 5 on 1-4 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 4 boards. Genesis Rivera added 4 on 2-7 from the floor, 0-5 from the arc and 2 boards. Barbara Pico scored 3o n 0-1 from the floor and 1-1 from the arc. Yosimar Corrales added 2on 1-4 from the floor, 2 boards and 2 blocks. Marielka Garate scored 2 on 1-3 from the floor, 2 boards and 2 assists, while Nohelia Chile, Guadalupe Diaz and Jormelys Urbina were scoreless. Chile had two blocks. Diaz had 2 boards and 2 steals. Urbina nabbed 2 boards, waleska Perez did not play. Venezuela (coached by Eduardo Pinto, assisted by Jose Gallardo and Luz Vargas) hit 17-74 (.230) overall, 13-50 (.260) from the floor, 4-24 (.167) from the arc and 1-4 from the line, while garnering 43 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 9 assists, 19 fouls, 18 turnovers, 6 steals and 8 blocks.
Canada improved to (2-0) and qualified for the Olympic qualifying tournaments by dispatching Columbia 70-53. Colombia dominated the boards while breaking to a 9-2 lead. But Canada began draining mid-range jumpers, including a pair by Bridget Carleton, to knot the score at 12. Laeticia Amihere notched an and-one with a spinning move in the paint to give Canada its first lead, as part of an 11-0 run. Natalie Achonwa capped the drun with a driving layup before Colombia hit a free throw to draw within 17-13 after one quarter. Canada struggled to score in the half-court in the second quarter, while only notching two field goals, a steal from a runout by Cassandre Prosper and a Kayla Alexander in the blocks. But they kept drawing fouls in the paint and built their lead to 11 before relinquishing a late 10-2 run, predominantly off driving layups by Rios, which allowed Colombia to rally within 34-31 at the half. Kayla Alexander took command of the paint in the third quarter, dominating the offensive boards for putbacks as Canada built a 52-39 lead after three quarters. It was the Bridget Carleton show in the final frame, on both ends of the floor, as Canada pulled away down the stretch. “I have to say, [Kayla was] the key of the game,” Canadian coach Víctor Lapeña said. “The key was, all the time, to punish them on offence and protect the rim on defence. She did a great job, especially because she guarded #6 [Yuliany Paz], and it’s very difficult to defend her. On offence, it was playing from post up, reading the situation, diving from the free throw line. Especially when we didn’t score, she got offensive rebounds. She’s one of our captains, one of our leaders. She was fantastic.” Alexander said “I got some good feedback [from assistant coach] Murriel [Page] about some stuff that I wasn’t doing [in the first half], adjusted, my teammates found me in a good position and I just let the game come to me. As a team, in the second half, we picked it up on defence, made some adjustments on the defensive end to try to eliminate their downhill drives and we tried to box them out some more.” Bridget Carleton paced Canada with 21 on 5-7 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 8-11 from the line, 12 boards and 3 assists. Kayla Alexander added 20 on 10-17 from the floor, 14 boards, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Laeticia Amihere notched 7 on 1-1 from the floor, 5-5 from the line, 2 boards, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Shay Colley scored 7 on 2-8 from the floor and 1-4 from the arc. Cassandre Prosper added 6 on 2-5 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists. Natalie Achonwa notched 6 on 2-6 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 8 boards and 4 assists. Kia Nurse scored 3 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 3 boards, while Aislinn Konig and Sami Hill were scoreless. Hill nabbed 2 boards. Syla Swords, Nirra Fields and Quinn Dornstauder did not play. Canada hit 25-62 (.403) overall, 23-48 (.479) from the floor, 2-14 (.143) from the arc and 18-24 (.750) from the line, while garnering 50 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 15 assists, 17 fouls, 6 steals and 5 blocks. Manuela Rios paced Colombia with 16 on 6-18 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 4-6 from the line, 5 boards, 7 assists and 2 steals. Jenifer Munoz added 14 on 4-11 from the floor, 2-9 from the arc and 6 boards. Mabel Martinez notched 5 on 1-2 from the floor and 1-3 from the arc. Esperanza Delgado scored 5 on 1-2 from the floor and 1-5 from the arc. Yaneth Arias added 4 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc and 5 boards. Marlyn Vente scored 4 on 2-4 from the floor and 2 boards. Yuliany Paz notched 3 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-4 from the line, 12 boards, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Mayra Caicedo scored 2 on 1-2 from the floor, while Carolina Lopez and Wendy Coy were scoreless. Meredith Venner and Isabel Rodriguez did not play. Colombia (coached by Luis Cuenca, assisted by Sara Olarte and Ricardo Pinzon) hit 22-69 (.319) overall, 18-47 (.383) from the floor, 4-22 (.182) from the arc and 5-10 from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 20 fouls, 14 turnovers, 6 steals and 3 blocks.
Canada closed out the draw by clipping Puerto Rico 77-68 with a lacklustre demonstration of ballhandling and decision-making. Canada exploded to a 12-0 lead on a pair of treys from Shay Colley, a pair of buckets in the paint by Natalie Achonwa and a driving layup from Laeticia Amihere. But they began indulging in casual and questionable ball movement allowing Puerto Rico to trim the margin to 18-12 after one quarter. Canada continued to dominate the boards while opening the second frame with a 18-2 run, featuring a pair of treys by Syla Swords, and a 15-footer and layup from Quinn Dornstauder. But Melendez notched a pair of treys as Puerto Rico drew within 43-25 at the half. Lackadaisical Canadian passing, and a trio from beyond the arc by Rosado, drew Puerto Rico with 12 midway through the third quarter. Amihere countered with a pair of buckets in the blocks, a block and a free throw, while Colley and Aislinn Konig nailed treys as Canada rebuilt its lead to 18. But Puerto Rico kept draining treys to draw within 65-52 after three quarters. Canada’s fondness for turnovers was unabated in the final frame as Puerto Rico drew within 10. But Achonwa drilled a pair of mid-range jumpers, took a charge and blocked a shot as Canada held on for the win. Achonwa said “I’m excited that we came here and we did what we wanted to do. We won three games, we qualified for the Olympic qualifiers, that was our main goal. Now we get to take some things that we learned in this tournament and apply it to the next round.” Canadian coach Victor Lapena said “[The tournament was] good in terms of results, but we have to work a lot from now until February because of the level of the rivals in February. I trust in my players. They know what they did good, what they did wrong and what they have to work on. I think [we will] calm down, get some rest and look forward to the future.” Natalie Achonwa paced Canada with 16 on 6-8 from the floor, 4-4 from the line, 6 boards and 4 assists. Syla Swords added 11 on 3-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Laeticia Amihere notched 11 on 4-9 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 15 boards and 4 assists. Shay Colley scored 11 on 1-4 from the floor, 3-3 from the arc, 4 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals. Cassandre Prosper added 8 on 4-6 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc and 6 boards. Sami Hill scored 5 on 1-2 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 2 assists. Kia Nurse notched 4 on 2-4 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 0-1 from the line and 4 assists. Quinn Dornstauder added 4 on 2-4 from the floor and 3 boards. Aislinn Konig scored 3 on 0-1 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc and 2 boards. Bridget Carleton added 2 on 1-2 from the floor, 4 boards and 2 assists. Kayla Alexander scored 2 on 1-1 from the floor and 6 boards, while Nirra Fields did not play. Canada hit 30-68 (.441) overall, 22-41 (.537) from the floor, 8-27 (.296) from the arc and 9-11 (.818) from the line, while garnering 56 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 24 assists, 12 fouls, 22 turnovers, 7 steals and 3 blocks. Arella Guirantes paced Puerto Rico with 22 on 3-10 from the floor, 3-8 from the arc, 7-8 from the line, 6 boards, 2 assists and 5 steals. Pamela Rosado added 12 on 0-2 from the floor, 4-9 from the arc, 4 boards and 2 assists. Tayra Melendez notched 11 on 1-2 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 2 boards and 3 assists. Ahlana Smith scored 10 on 3-7 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 2 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Ashley Torres added 5 on 2-2 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 3 boards. Isalys Quinones scored 4 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards and 2 assists. Brianna Jones added 3 on 0-2 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc and 2 steals. India Pagan scored 1 on 0-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 4 boards, while Ali Gibson and Mya Hollingshed were scoreless. Kaela Hilaire and Jacqueline Benitez did not play. Puerto Rico (coached by Gerardo Batista, assisted by Carlos Morales and Jorge Otero) hit 22-65 (.338) overall, 10-34 (.294) from the floor, 12-31 (.387) from the arc and 12-16 from the line, while garnering 27 boards, including 5 on the offensive glass,13 assists, 10 fouls, 12 turnovers, 12 steals and 3 blocks.