| FINAL STANDINGS 1. CANADA 2. United States 3. Cuba 4. Brazil 5. Argentina 6. Puerto Rico 7. Venezuela 8. Dominican Republic | CANADIANS Natalie Achonwa (Guelph, Ont.) Miranda Ayim (London, Ont.) Shay Colley (Brampton, Ont.) Nirra Fields (Lachine, Que.) Saicha Grant-Allen (Hamilton, Ont.) Miah-Marie Langlois (Windsor, Ont.) Lizanne Murphy (Beaconsfield, Que.) Kia Nurse (Hamilton, Ont.) Katherine Plouffe (Edmonton, Alta.) Michelle Plouffe (Edmonton, Alta.) Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe (Toronto, Ont.) Tamara Tatham (Brampton, Ont.) Shona Thorburn (Hamilton, Ont.) Jamie Weisner – alternate (Clarkston, Wash.) Lisa Thomaidis – coach Shawnee Harle – assistant Bev Smith – assistant Steve Baur – assistant Dipesh Mistry – performance analyst Joan Mylnarczyk – therapist Marcel Charland – therapist Anne Marie Thuss – manager Denise Dignard – team leader Peter Jensen – psychologist Chris DalCin – basketball scientist |
| POOL A | CAN | CUB | ARG | VEN | Record | ||
| Canada | —– | 71-68 | 73-58 | 101-38 | (3-0) | ||
| Cuba | 68-71 | —– | 68-55 | 73-62 | (2-1) | ||
| Argentina | 58-73 | 55-68 | —– | 87-68 | (1-2) | ||
| Venezuela | 38-101 | 62-73 | 68-87 | —– | (0-3) | ||
| POOL B | USA | BRZ | PUR | DOM | Record | ||
| United States | —– | 75-69 | 93-77 | 94-55 | (3-0) | ||
| Brazil | 69-75 | —– | 62-57 | 73-54 | (2-1) | ||
| Puerto Rico | 77-93 | 57-62 | —– | 76-54 | (1-2) | ||
| Dominican Republic | 55-94 | 54-73 | 54-76 | —– | (0-3) | ||
| Semi | Canada 91 Brazil 63 | |
| Semi | United States 65 Cuba 64 | |
| 7th | Venezuela 72 Dominican Republic 56 | |
| 5th | Argentina 77 Puerto Rico 56 | |
| Bronze | Cuba 66 Brazil 62 | |
| Final | Canada 81 United States 73 | |
In their opener, Canada clocked Venezuela 101-38 after leading 23-8, 48-19 and 77-35 at the quarters. “We’ve talked about the depth of talent we all have and I think that was showcased tonight,” said Canada’s head coach, Lisa Thomaidis. Point guard Shona Thorburn said “our starting five gets us out to a great start and the bench comes in – we tire teams out, we’re hard to defend.” Lizanne Murphy said playing before a Canadian audience was inspirational. “Usually we’re (players) the only ones singing the National Anthem. It was really cool to hear the whole crowd sing with us – it gave us goosebumps.” Canada opened with a 13-2 run as their defence gave Venezuela fits. Canadian coach Lisa Thomaidis rested Natalie Achonwa, the Indiana Fever rookie, who has rebounded from tearing her ACL in the spring of 2014. “We have 12 players here who can go in and I don’t think we miss a beat when anyone comes out,” Kim Gaucher told the Toronto Sun. “That’s huge in a tournament where we will play five games in five days. I think we are the deepest team in this tournament for sure.” Murphy said “everyone is waiting for their chance to get in there and push the tempo and bring even more energy. Everyone is ready to show our country what we are made of, so that’s why we don’t have any lulls and hopefully we continue that.” Thomaidis told the Sun that protecting against complacency was “sort of the half-time message, don’t fall in love with the scoreboard. It’s not about the scoreboard at all, it’s about the process and making sure we’re adhering to our principles both defensively and offensively, and again keep getting better at the process, and the other stuff with take care of itself. … We really have to share the ball, we don’t have any selfish players. We’re all about team players, we have to be, we don’t have any superstars we’re going to rely on for 30, 40 points a night and I thought we got some good quality shots because of that ball movement.” Lizanne Murphy paced Canada with 15 on 3-5 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 9 boards and 2 blocks. Shona Thorburn added 14 on 1-1 from the floor, 4-4 from the arc and 2 boards. Kia Nurse notched 12 on 2-4 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards and 5 assists. Kim Gaucher added 12 on 3-3 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc and 6 boards. Mayo Raincock-Ekunwe added 11 on 5-8 from the floor, 1-1 from the line and 4 boards. Tamara Tatham notched 10 on 4-4 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 5 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Katherine Plouffe added 10 on 5-7 from the floor. Nirra Fields notched 7 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2 assists and 2 steals. Miah Marie Langlois added 6 on 0-1 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 2 boards and 6 assists. Miranda Ayim scored 4 on 2-7 from the floor, 0-2 from the line, 5 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals, while Natalie Achonwa and Michelle Plouffe were scoreless. Canada hit 41-73 (.560) overall, 27-45 (.600) from the floor, 14-28 from the arc and 5-8 (.630) from the line, while garnering 42 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 22 assists, 16 turnovers, 9 steals, 4 blocks and 13 fouls. Roselis Silva Serrano paced Venezuela with 13 on 4-10 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 4 boards and 3 steals. Daniela Wallen Morillo added 7, along with 2 boards, Yosimar Corrales Gomez 6, Waleska Perez Abreu 4, along with 5 boards and 3 steals, Mariana Duran Calvette 4, Ivaney Marquez Agudo 2 and Cleyder Blanco Pinango 2, along with 2 boards, while Mayerling Landaeta Silva, Ana Garcia Maseda, Luisana Ortega Ochoa, Marielka Garate Martinez and Cynthia Polanco Anez were scoreless. Venezuela hit 12-48 overall, 11-42 (.260) from the floor, 1-6 (.170) from the arc and 13-16 (.810) from the line, while garnering 19 boards, including 2 on the offensive glass, 3 assists, 20 turnovers, 8 steals and 11 fouls.
Canada improved to (2-0) by clipping Argentina 73-58 after leading 19-6, 28-21 and 47-44 at the quarters. The Argentines opened the third quarter with a 12-2 run. Canada’s offensive jitters allowed Argentina to erase a double-digit lead and tie the game with about five minutes left in the third quarter. But Canada went a 9-0 run of its own and held Argentina to just 14 fourth-quarter points before pulling away. With Canada leading 45-44 with one minute left in the third quarter, Lizanne Murphy cashed in a beautiful dish under the hoop from Katherine Plouffe. The hoop sparked the Canucks to a 9-0 run into the fourth. Kia Nurse told the Hamilton Spectator “it was definitely a big grind. You know when you play Argentina you know they are feisty and they play chaotically to try and get you to play chaotically.” Miranda Ayim told Canada Basketball that “we knew that they were going to come out ready to play. They play tough and they play to the end. We knew the game was going to be tight. We just had to be prepared and be composed and we came out with it in the end.” Coach Lisa Thomaidis said “we settled for perimeter shots in the first half, but did a better job using our physicality and getting high percentage shots in the second. We needed to play a tough game and weather the storm to come back with a storm of our own.” Thomaidis told the Toronto Star that depth and versatility proved the difference. “We have a number of different lineups we can show depending on our opponents, tonight was one where we had to go a little bit smaller and didn’t play two bigs at the same time. … When we’re up, we know Argentina can bring the heat and they can really bring it hard so we almost have like a ‘hands’ team that goes a little bit smaller and can control the ball a little bit better. Early on in the game, we really wanted to pound it inside with some of our bigger players and it just seemed like we weren’t able to get it there. … We needed to play a tough game. It was good for us to weather that storm and them come back with a run of our own. They were composed, they weren’t flustered by any means. They just kind of settled and helped us grind out the win.” Miranda Ayim told the Star that “the great thing about our team is that we’re so deep, so we can throw different things at them. We can go small, we can go big, and I think we’re successful at each of those positions, so it’s nice to be able to mix it up whenever we want.” Kia Nurse told Canadian Press that “Canada is known for their defence around the world, and we buckled down and we got some stops and got some great offensive scores out of it. It shows how much our defence plays into our offence. … It’s amazing, we’re all so happy about all the support we’ve been getting. The crowds have been awesome, they really helped us back into that game, and I couldn’t be more happy with the support we’ve been getting.” Ayim told CP that “of course, defence is always Canada’s identity, and (Thursday) night was a little different than today, and tomorrow’s going to be a little tougher (versus Cuba), so we’re ready for that.” Thomaidis told the Hamilton Spectator that “Argentina made us cough the ball up. We have to be better. It was really good for us moving forward. We needed to play a tough game for sure. That was good for us to be able to weather that storm and come back with a run of our own.” Tamara Tatham paced Canada with 12 on 2-3 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 2 boards, 2 assists and 4 steals. Miranda Ayim added 12 on 5-7 from the floor and 2-2 from the line. Miah-Marie Langlois added 11 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 6 boards. Lizanne Murphy added 10 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 3-3 from the line and 4 boards. Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe added 8 on 3-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-4 from the line and 2 boards. Kia Nurse notched 7 on 3-8 from the floor, 1-1 from the line, 3 boards and 2 assists. Natalie Achonwa scored 5 on 1-1 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 4 boards. Kim Gaucher scored 4 on 0-1 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 5 boards. Shona Thorburn added 2 on 1-2 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 0-1 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Katherine Plouffe scored 2 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-2 from the line and 5 boards, while Nirra Fields and Michelle Plouffe were scoreless. Fields dished 2 assists. Canada hit 25-55 (.450) overall, 20-39 (.510) from the floor, 5-16 (.310) from the arc and 18-27 (.670) from the line, while garnering 49 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 22 turnovers, 8 steals, 1 block and 22 fouls. Andrea Boquete paced Argentina with 8 on -48 from the floor and 0-3 from the arc. Sthefany Thomas Diaz added 8 on 2-5 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc and 4-6 from the line. Melisa Gretter added 8 on 3-5 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Gisela Vega added 7, along with 2 boards, Celia Fiorotto 6, along with 2 boards, Ornella Santana 5, along with 2 boards and 2 steals, Sandra Pavon 5, along with 3 boards, Deborah Gonzalez 5, along with 3 boards, Macarena Rosset 4, Agonstina Burani 2 and Diana Cabreara 1, while Paula Reggiardo was scoreless. Argentina hit 21-63 (.330) overall, 19-46 (.410) from the floor, 2-17 (.120) from the arc and 14-19 (.740) from the line, while garnering 27 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 4 assists, 11 turnovers, 6 steals, 3 blocks and 24 fouls.
Canada closed out round-robin play at (3-0) by nipping Cuba 71-68 as post Natalie Achonwa delivered a stellar performance. “I had a conversation with our coach Shawnee (Harle) and she just said ‘Let the game come to you,'” Achonwa told Canadian Press. “I tried to keep that in my mind, used our sports psych working on breathing and letting the game come to me.” Coach Lisa Thomaidis said “We know she’s (Achonwa) going to get better with each game. A big difference from (Friday), just her level of comfort and aggressiveness, she drew a lot of early fouls and got some inside scoring for us, which is huge.” Canada led 20-18, 40-35 and 60-48 at the quarters. Canada shot just 2-for-10 to open the third as Cuba pulled even at 45-45 midway through the frame. But the Canadians dug in down the stretch and a rebound and bucket at the buzzer by Michelle Plouffe sent Canada into the fourth up 60-48. But Cuba used a 12-2 run to pull to within two points with just over four minutes to play. But when Miah-Marie Langlois found Achonwa alone under the basket for an easy two points, it put the Canada up by five with 2:53 to play. Things were in jeopardy until the final seconds as Canadian veteran Kim Gaucher fouled Cuban Leidys Oquendo on a three-point attempt with 17 seconds left to put her on the free-throw line with three shots to tie the game. She made two but missed the third and Canada’s Kia Nurse secured the rebound before sending a streaking Tamara Tatham to score in transition to ice the win with 6 seconds to play. Canada’s three guards, Kia Nurse, Miah-Marie Langlois and Nirra Fields were highly effective, Thomaidis said. “We liked their speed and quickness and that negated a little bit of Cuba’s speed. (Cuba) really gave us some difficulty at the defensive end, drawing a lot of fouls; they went on that 12-2 run and we felt we need to get them off the bench and see if they could contain a little bit better. They’re obviously holding some stuff back as many of the teams are, they can put more heat on the ball for a longer period of time, they have a few offensive sets that they didn’t show, and some trapping out of their zone. But that’s OK, we’re holding stuff back too, so that’s fine.” Thomaidis told Canadian Press that “anytime you can get a win, especially against a solid opponent like Cuba, you gain more confidence.” Natalie Achonwa added that “this is a great win for our program, great win at home, but we got more to do. The red, the white, the noise – it’s the reason why we won this game, the benefit of playing at home.” Nirra Fields provided a big lift off the bench. “Coming out here I really wanted to pick my spots and seize the opportunity,” Fields told Sportsnet. “I knew it was a big game and I knew there was going to be an X-factor and I just wanted to be that and on the bench, I just wanted to be ready whenever the coach called my name. I know my place is transition, so I try to play to my strength.” Natalie Achonwa paced Canada with 15 on 5-10 from the floor, 5-6 from the line and 7 boards. Nirra Fields added 12 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 5-5 from the line and 3 boards. Miranda Ayim notched 8 on 4-11 from the floor and 2 boards. Kia Nurse scored 7 on 0-2 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 4-6 from the line and 4 boards. Kim Gaucher scored 6 on 1-3 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 6 boards. Tamara Tatham added 6 on 3-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2 boards and 4 assists. Shona Thorburn scored 5 on 0-1 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Lizanne Murphy added 5 on 1-2 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 3 boards. Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe added 3 on 3-4 from the line and 4 boards. Michelle Plouffe added 2 on 1-2 from the floor and 3 boards. Miah-Marie Langlois added 2 on 1-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the floor, 2 boards and 4 assists, while Katherine Plouffe was scoreless. Canada hit 23-58 (.400) overall, 18-44 (.410) from the floor, 5-14 (.360) from the arc and 20-25 (.800) from the line, while garnering 44 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 16 turnovers, 2 steals, 1 block and 19 fouls. Onanaisy Gelis paced Cuba with 18 on 3-8 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 12-13 from the line and 3 assists. Ineidis Casanova added 17 on 7-11 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 3 boards and 3 assists. Yamara Amargo added 12 on 5-8 from the floor, 0-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards and 2 steals. Clenia Noblet added 8, along with 9 boards, Leidys Oquendo 4, along with 5 boards, Arlety Povea 4, Fransy Ochoa 3, Suchitel Avila 2 and Arlenys Romero 1, while Anisieidy Galindo, Marlene Cepeda and Zuleeira Aties were scoreless. Cuba hit 23-57 (.400) overall, 22-43 (.510) from the floor, 1-14 (.070) from the arc and 21-25 (.840) from the line, while garnering 25 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass, 8 assists, 12 turnovers, 8 steals, 1 block and 23 fouls.
In the semis, Canada pounded Brazil 91-63 after leading 22-9, 35-21 and 68-39 at the quarters. “It feels incredible to win tonight,” said guard Kia Nurse. “We played great on all cylinders and everyone on the team contributed to the victory.” Coach Lisa Thomaidis said “it feels fantastic to play in the gold medal game at home, in Toronto. We really executed our game plan to perfection – our offense really fed off of our defense.” Canada opened with an 11-2 run keyed by Miranda Ayim’s seven consecutive points. Tenacious team defense, aggressive boardwork and rapid transitions proved too much for Brazil to handle. Thomaidis told the Hamilton Spectator that the squad did a good job of keeping the Brazilians in front of them. “They can knock down shots but they are very dangerous if they can get into the middle of the key.” Nurse added that “if we can come out firing and get some confidence and get the crowd into it, it always helps us out. And we stuck to the game plan and showed our Canada world-class defence.” Ayim said “I think we all came to play. It’s always fun to play against Brazil and I think we gave the crowd a show.” The Mattamy crowd of about 3,200 roared when Hamilton’s Shona ‘Sho-time’ Thorburn set up Kim Gaucher at the first quarter horn. Gaucher’s trey found all twine and the red and white were up 22-9 after one quarter. The Canucks kept it coming in the second quarter. Nirra Fields banged a three from the corner, Michelle Plouffe was set up inside for a deuce. Hamilton’s Kia Nurse came on and popped a jumper. Canada 31-12 midway through the second quarter. But Brazil put together a 9-4 run late in the second quarter to trim the Canadian lead to 35-21 at the intermission. Canada kept up the pressure in the third quarter with Nurse and Murphy both pouring in triples. Some terrific Canadian offensive ball movement set up Fields for a trey and Michelle Plouffe followed with a jumper. And Murphy hit another from Clarkson with a minute left in the third quarter as Canada took a 68-39 lead into the final quarter. Canada’s Natalie Achonwa fouled out with seven minutes left. Brazil bench boss Luiz Zanon was assessed a technical foul with five and half minutes to play after forcefully indicating the Canadians should be called for a travel. Canada’s Tamara Tatham fouled out with five minutes to play. Nirra Fields paced Canada with 15 on 1-3 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 2 boards. Lizanne Murphy added 12 on 2-4 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Kim Gaucher added 10 on 2-3 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 0-1 from the line and 5 boards. Michelle Plouffe added 10 on 4-5 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 2 boards. Miranda Ayim notched 9 on 4-7 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 3 boards. Kia Nurse scored 9 on 3-5 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc and 3 boards. Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe added 7 on 1-2 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 5-6 from the line and 3 boards. Tamara Tatham notched 8 on 1-1 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 4 boards and 3 assists. Miah-Marie Langlois added 5 on 0-2 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards and 5 assists. Natalie Achonwa added 4 on 1-2 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 2 boards. Katherine Plouffe added 2 on 0-2 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 10 boards, 4 assists and 2 blocks. Shona Thorburn added 1 on 0-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 3 boards and 8 assists. Canada hit 28-61 (.460) overall, 19-37 (.510) from the floor, 9-24 (.380) from the arc and 26-31 (.840) from the line, while garnering 44 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 22 assists, 16 turnovers, 5 steals, 5 blocks and 25 fouls. Isabela Macedo paced Brazil with 16 on 5-8 from the floor, 6-8 from the line and 11 boards. Taina Mayara Paixao added 14 on 3-8 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 2 boards and 2 steals. Debora Costa added 10 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 3-3 from the line, 2 boards and 4 assists. Kelly Santos notched 10 on 4-9 from the floor and 2-3 from the line. Gilmara Justino added 8, along with 4 boards, Jaqueline De Paula 3 and Izabella Sangalli 1, while Tassia Carcavalli, Patricia Teiseira, Carina Martins, Karina Jacob and Fabiana Caetano were scoreless. Brazil hit 21-61 (.340) overall, 18-51 (.350) from the floor, 3-10 from the arc and 18-24 from the line, while garnering 25 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 7 assists, 15 turnovers, 4 steals and 25 fouls.
In the final, Canada defeated the United States 81-73 as Kia Nurse put the Canadians on her back and carried to their first Pan Am gold medal. “Kia has a heart of a champion,” coach Lisa Thomaidis told Sportsnet.ca. “The biggest games she rises to the occasion. She was unbelievable, just unbelievable.” Thomaidis told Canadian Press “that was a pretty darn impressive performance, especially with the magnitude of the game. To have that kind of performance, I mean come on. Being 19 or 20, whatever she is right now, it’s just astounding. It’s unimaginable really. It’s amazing composure from quite a player.” Nurse told Sportsnet that “it was definitely something I didn’t imagine. I felt a little down in the warm-up today, a little energy-less. Then I guess I chugged a Powerade, that must have helped. It was an incredible game.” The US gave Canada first early with the pick-and-roll and the Canadians took quick shots, reached on defence and coughed-up the ball. But Thomaidis switched to a zone and Canada rallied as Nurse took command. Canada trailed 26-18 in the second quarter when she returned from the bench. By the time she drilled her second three pointer of the half to give her 12 points for the quarter, Canada was up 36-34. When U.S. star Breanna Stewart got the benefit of a questionable call in the second quarter the crowd was loud in their disapproval and Stewart missed both. A moment later when Nurse broke free for a fastbreak layup and a foul, they raised the volume again. Then the chants of “defence” rose up and Natalie Achonwa drew a charge and the U.S., sensing a momentum shift, called a time out to blunt Canada’s run. With the teams tied 36-36 to start the third, Nurse’s teammates got into the act. Veterans Kim Gaucher and Lizanne Murphy dropped threes; Achonwa caught fire on pick-and-rolls. Nirra Fields found Nurse on a fastbreak with a full-court bounce pass that brought the crowd to their feet again. “I was just hoping to get the momentum switched,” Nurse said. “I know the U.S. had a momentum going on for a little while there. Just a matter of staying with what I do well and my teammates helped me do that.” Nurse’s twisting layup broke a nearly four-minute scoring drought that started the final quarter as the U.S. crept closer. Her find of Achonwa for a seemingly clinching jumper with just under two minutes left was another stroke of brilliance, not the least of which because it came after she checked back in following getting her head rocked in a heavy collision with Moriah Jefferson. A pair of late turnovers helped the U.S. cut it to five. An Achonwa free throw pushed it back to six and then Nurse ended it on the line, knocking down a pair of free throws with “MVP” chants ringing out. Lizanne Murphy told Canadian Press that “I might break into tears. We’re so happy, man. The first step in our summer. This is what we talked about last year when we knew how the summer was going to be. I can’t even describe the feeling. Playing for your country, winning at home with this crowd, it’s like no other feeling. We want everyone in Canada to know about us, to get on board, to love basketball as much as we do.” Assistant coach (and former head coach) Bev Smith told Sportsnet.ca that “we struggled when I was both playing and coaching and I really think that, outside of hockey, our country has a hard time — and maybe the powers that be had a hard time — understanding team sports, the development of team sports and the chemistry that’s so important in team sports. It was really hard to develop that when you have a 10-day training camp and the rest of the world is training for 30 days and has 19 games. When I was coaching in the Sydney Olympics, Stacey Dales and Tammy Sutton-Brown, who were 19, had six international games and Lauren Jackson, who was 19, had over 70. It was mission impossible. I really take my hat off to Canada Basketball, and actually all team sports in Canada who got together and said: Look, we need another way to evaluate and develop our team sports outside of hockey.” Smith was on the Canadian time that finished third at the 1986 world championship but then saw the program “unravel” as Canada failed to qualify for the 1988 Olympics. “What happened after that was, the Australians started to train differently, the Europeans started to train differently and they kind of left us behind. I retired in ’88, came back in ’92, went to the world championships in ’94 and played Australia. I hadn’t seen them in four years and I thought: Oh my God. I’m in trouble, first, and we’re in trouble.” Kia Nurse paced Canada with 33 on 8-14 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 11-12 from the line, 6 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Natalie Achonwa added 13 on 5-8 from the floor, 3-4 from the line, 2 boards and 2 blocks. Tamara Tatham notched 10 on 2-2 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 6-6 from the line and 3 assists. Nirra Fields added 9 on 3-9 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 7 boards. Miranda Ayim added 6 on 1-5 from the floor, 4-6 from the line, 4 boards and 2 assists. Kim Gaucher notched 5 on 1-1 from the floor .1-5 from the arc, 5 boards and 2 assists. Lizanne Murphy added 3 on 1-1 from the arc. Katherine Plouffe scored 2 on 1-4 from the floor and 2 boards, while Miah-Marie Langlois, Shona Thorburn, Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe and Michelle Plouffe were scoreless. Langlois nabbed 3 boards and pilfered 2 balls. Canada hit 26-65 (.400) overall, 21-49 (.430) from the floor, 5-16 (.310) from the arc and 24-29 (.830) from the line, while garnering 39 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 12 turnovers, 8 steals, 6 blocks and 27 fouls. Breanna Stewart paced the United States with 17 on 4-8 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 6-8 from the line and 11 boards. Linnae Harper added 16 on 3-12 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 10-10 from the line and 2 steals. Moriah Jefferson added 14 on 3-8 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists. Taya Reimer added 10 on 2-3 from the floor and 6-6 from the line. Shatori Walker added 8, along with 2 boards, Alaina Coates 6, along with 9 boards and Stephanie Mavunga 2, along with 2 boards, while Tiffany Mitchell, Kelsey Plum, Caroline Coyer, Courtney Williams and Sophie Brunner were scoreless. The United States hit 21-54 (.390) overall, 17-41 (.410) from the floor, 4-13 (.310) from the arc and 27-32 (.840) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 5 assists, 18 turnovers, 5 steals, 2 blocks and 22 fouls.