| FINAL STANDINGS 1. United States 2. Brazil 3. CANADA 4. Chile 5. Argentina 6. Mexico 7. Puerto Rico 8. Costa Rica | CANADIANS Wumi Agunbiade (Pickering, Ont.) Cassandra Brown (Vernon, B.C.) Laura Dally (Sarnia, Ont.) Diana Lee (North Vancouver, B.C.) Megan Lukan (Barrie, Ont.) Melissa Mullins (Burlington, Ont.) Katherine Plouffe (Edmonton, Alta.) Michele Plouffe (Edmonton, Alta.) Kellie Ring (Ottawa, Ont.) Micaella Riche (Ottawa, Ont.) Mariam Sylla (Montreal, Que.) Rashida Timbilla (Nepean, Ont.) Rich Chambers – coach Donna Branch – assistant Chantal Vallee – assistant Patrice Pepin – physiotherapist Erin McAleenan – manager |
| POOL A | CAN | CHI | MEX | COS | Record | ||||||
| Canada | —– | 66-33 | 77-31 | 74-18 | (3-0) | ||||||
| Chile | 33-66 | —– | 65-63 | 75-63 | (2-1) | ||||||
| Mexico | 31-77 | 63-65 | —– | 78-40 | (1-2) | ||||||
| Costa Rica | 18-74 | 63-75 | 40-78 | —– | (0-3) | ||||||
| POOL B | USA | BRA | ARG | PUR | Record | ||||||
| United States | —– | 89-46 | 91-32 | 108-44 | (3-0) | ||||||
| Brazil | 46-89 | —– | 64-61 | 81-35 | (2-1) | ||||||
| Argentina | 32-91 | 61-64 | —– | 68-60 | (1-2) | ||||||
| Puerto Rico | 44-108 | 35-81 | 60-68 | —– | (0-3) | ||||||
| 5-8th | Argentina 86 Costa Rica 34 | |
| 5-8th | Mexico 73 Puerto Rico 55 | |
| Semi | Brazil 50 Canada 49 | |
| Semi | United States 98 Chile 28 | |
| 7th | Puerto Rico 71 Costa Rica 41 | |
| 5th | Argentina 64 Mexico 51 | |
| Bronze | Canada 81 Chile 42 | |
| Final | United States 81 Brazil 38 | |
In their opener, Canada dusted 77-31. The Canadian squad got off to a fast start as they outscored Mexico 24-11 in the first quarter. They controlled the glass for the entire game, outrebounding their opponents 52-27 while converting 23 of their offensive rebounds into 25 second-chance points. “We got off to a great start and played very hard,” said coach Rich Chambers. “Our shooting was a little tentative initially, but we rebounded well and took Mexico out of the game. We had an opportunity to work on some things and develop more confidence at the offensive end.” The juniors did most of their damage near the basket as they outscored their opponents 26-12 in the paint. Laura Dally paced Canada with 15 on 6-11 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc and 2 boards. Megan Lukan added 10 on 2-2 from the floor, 6-6 from the line, 3 boards and 2 assists. Michelle Plouffe notched 10 on 2-7 from the floor, 6-7 from the line, 7 boards, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Micaella Riche added 8 on 2-10 from the floor, 4-4 from the line and 5 boards. Cassandra Brown scored 8 on 3-8 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 7 boards. Katherine Plouffe added 6, Melissa Mullins 5, Diana Lee 4, Rashida Timballa 3, along with 8 boards, Omowumi Agunbiade 3, Mariam Sylla 3 and Kellie Ring 2. Canada hit 23-69 (.333) from the floor, 5-15 from the arc and 26-33 (.790) from the line, while garnering 52 boards, including 23 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 22 fouls, 13 steals, 8 blocks and 22 turnovers. Andrea Medina Tostado paced Mexico with 13 on 4-16 from the floor, 3-8 from the arc, 2-4 from the line and 2 blocks. Laura Nunez Guzman added 6 on 3-12 from the floor and 6 boards. Beatriz Adriana Nieto Alvarez added 3, Anallency Martinez Garcia 3, Ana Laura Terrazas Medrano 2, Ana Lilia Noriega Camacho 2 and Maria del Carmen Acero Mancillas 2, while Adriana Navarro Gonzales, Sheyla Jazmin Martinez Reyes, Margarita Lopez Gonzalez, Annalaura Delgado Gutierrez and Wendy De La Torre De La Cruz were scoreless. Mexico hit 12-59 (.200) from the floor, 4-19 (.210) from the arc and 3-8 (.380) from the line, while garnering 27 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 8 assists, 29 fouls, 15 steals, 4 blocks and 31 turnovers. Kellie Ring broke her wrist in the match and was sent home to Canada for surgery.
Canada improved to 2-0 as Michelle Plouffe stepped into a starter’s role with aplomb in the absence of Micaella Riche, who suffered an ankle injury in the opener. She responded with a double-double as Canada whacked Chile 66-33. “I just met with her last night and told her that she had to step up into a leadership role,” coach Rich Chambers said. “The girls played well. They played tough. I was very worried about this game, because Chile’s pressure – you really don’t know what to expect.” Canada again got off to a fast start as they were up 16-6 after the first quarter and 36-17 at the half. They dominated the third quarter by a 21-0 count. It was their defensive pressure that allowed the Canadians to completely take Chile out of the game as they held the South Americans scoreless in the third quarter. “I’m very pleased with our win today. We controlled the tempo and executed defensively versus a complex offence by Chile. We did a great job on the boards,” said Chambers. “We ran well at times and were able to attack inside and also get the ball to Michelle for some outside scores. All 10 players had significant contributions. We’ll continue to build on the win, and hope to play our best basketball over the next three days.” Michelle Plouffe paced Canada with 27 on 8-20 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 8-9 from the line, 11 boards, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Cassandra Brown added 14 on 3-4 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 5 boards. Diana Lee added 5 on 1-2 from the floor and 1-3 from the arc. Omowumi Agunbiade notched 5 on 2-6 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc and 11 boards. Melissa Mullins scored 4 on 2-2 from the floor, 2 boards and 2 blocks. Rashida Timbilla scored 4 on 2-3 from the floor, 3 boards and 3 steals. Katherine Plouffe added 4 on 2-8 from the floor, 4 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals. Laura Dally added 3, while Mariam Sylla and Megan Lukan were scoreless. Lukan dished 5 assists and pilfered 3 balls. Canada hit 20-47 (.430) from the floor, 4-14 (.290) from the arc and 14-22 (.640) from the line, while garnering 44 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 16 assists, 15 fouls, 16 turnovers, 15 steals and 7 blocks. Cynthia Eliselte Bascunan Luis paced Chile with 9 on 3-10 from the arc. Javiera Alejandra Morales Leyton added 8 on 4-8 from the floor, 7 boards and 2 steals. Rocio Dieguez Arcuch added 6, Fernanda Andrea Serrano Aburto 6, Francisca Soledad Rojas Solis 2 and Fernanda Paz Mansilla Arias 2, while Paula Daniela Carrasco, Francisca Maria Ines Salvatierra Pino, Fernanda Paola Tapia Santander, Katalina del Pilar Garcia Villagra and Daniela Alejandra Alcaino De Las Riberas were scoreless. Chile hit 8-26 (.310) from the floor, 5-22 (.230) from the arc and 2-8 from the line, while garnering 21 boards, including 4 on the offensive glass, 9 assists, 15 fouls, 23 turnovers, 6 steals and 2 blocks.
Canada closed out round robin play with an unblemished record by clocking Costa Rica 74-18. “The kids are excited,” Canada coach Rich Chambers said. “We’ll play well tomorrow. Whether it’s Brazil or Argentina, it’ll be a tough game. We have to do what kind of got us here. We have to play great defense, contest all shots, give up no transition points and do a great job on the glass.” The JWNT again got off to a fast start, outscoring Costa Rica 21-6 in the first quarter and were up 39-12 by halftime. The Canadians clamped down on the Costa Ricans as they held their opponents to just six points in the second half, allowing only one point in the third quarter. “Today we experimented, and used a variety of defences. It was good preparation for what we may have to do over the next two days,” said Rich Chambers. “We are excited to win today and finish first in our pool.” Canada led 21-6, 39-12 and 55-13 at the quarters. Michelle Plouffe paced Canada with 13 on 5-7 from the floor, 3-6 from the line, 9 boards, 3 assists and 2 blocks. Cassandra Brown added 12 on 4-6 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 4 boards, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Laura Dally added 12 on 3-6 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 3 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Diana Lee added 9 on 3-4 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 5 boards and 2 assists. Mariam Sylla notched 8 3-4 from the floor, 2-8 from the line, 8 boards and 2 blocks. Melissa Mullins scored 6 on 2-6 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 4 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Omowumi Agunbiade notched 6 on 2-8 from the floor, 2-4 from the line, 14 boards and 2 blocks. Megan Lukan scored 4 on 2-3 from the floor, 0-5 from the arc, 5 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Katherine Plouffe added 4 on 2-4 from the floor, 10 boards, 2 assists and 5 steals. Rashida Timballa was scoreless, while nabbing 8 boards and dishing 2 assists. Canada hit 26-51 (.510) from the floor, 4-26 (.150) from the arc and 10-22 (.450) from the line, while garnering 65 boards, including 27 on the offensive glass, 22 assists, 4 fouls, 16 turnovers, 14 steals and 10 blocks. Michelle Mayorga Hidalgo paced Costa Rica with 7 on 3-9 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 4 boards and 6 steals. Sofia Jimenez Murillo added 5, Wendy Carina Jimenez Cordero 4 and Valeria Miranda Calderon 2, while Vanessa Zeledon Vargas, Karen Acosta Barrantes, Valeria Ruiz Cespedes, Carolina Mora Carazo, Pamela Cambronero Fernandez, Abhril Sanchez Guadamuz and Monserrat Beckford Alvarado were scoreless. Costa Rica hit 8-33 (.240) from the floor, 0-21 from the arc and 2-6 from the line, while garnering 19 boards, including 4 on the offensive glass, 3 assists, 14 fouls, 22 turnovers, 9 steals and 1 block.
Canada finished (3-0) in round robin play and advanced to
the semi-finals.
In the semis, Brazil erased a 12-point
fourth quarter deficit and dumped Canada 50-49, taking the lead for the first
time in the final 30 seconds. “Always, we trusted in the victory,” said Brazil
coach Luis Claudio Tarallo. “We were losing, but we are very strong, and we
picked up our defense and always thought we could win the game. “It’s a great
moment for our team. We will fight for the gold medal.” Trailing by 11 points,
42-31, with 8:09 remaining in the game, Brazil’s Aruzha Lima sparked her team
and changed the game’s momentum. Following a made free throw from her teammate
Carina Martins, Lima reeled off eight points in two minutes, pulling Brazil to
within four, 44-40, with a 3-pointer at 4:50. “I think that was the point that
we got back in the game,” Tarallo said. “The Canada coach asked for two timeouts
during that time, and we said to the girls, ‘It’s our moment. Keep up the hard
work. We can do it.’ “After five more unanswered points, a 3-pointer from
Martins gave Brazil its first lead, 48-46, with just 30 seconds on the clock. Canada
committed 10 turnovers in the fourth quarter, including four in the last three
minutes, and was forced to foul. Brazil sank 2-of-4 attempts as the clock
ticked down to take a 50-46 lead. Canada’s Katherine Plouffe connected from
deep with 1.4 seconds on the clock to pull within one, 50-49, but Brazil
successfully inbounded the ball and time expired on Canada’s gold-medal hopes. Brazil
outscored Canada 22-9 in the final period to steal the game. “It was a hard-fought
game. We led for all but 30 seconds. Brazil increased their pressure and forced
15 steals,” said Canadian coach Rich Chambers. “They didn’t allow us to run our
offence. We outrebounded them, but turned the ball over 24 times, many of them
for layups the other way. We also shot poorly from the free-throw line today.”
Canada led 13-8, 28-19 and 40-28 at the quarters. Carina Dos Santos Martins
paced Brazil with 15 on 3-6 from the floor, 2-8 from the arc, 3-6 from the
line, 4 boards and 4 steals. Aruzha Michaski Lima added 15 on 3-8 from the floor,
2-3 from the arc and 3-4 from the line. Tassia Pereira De Souza Carcavalli
added 6, Joice Dos Santos Coelho 5, Damiris Dantas Do Amaral 5, Milena Pereira
Santos 2 and Jennifer Sirtoli 2, while Mariana Pozzatti Lambert, Aline Cristia
Teixeira Gomes, Erika Regina Leite and Isabela Ramona Lyra Macedo were
scoreless. Brazil hit 13-44 (.440) from the floor, 5-25 from the arc and 9-20
(.450) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 13 on the offensive
glass, 7 assists, 18 fouls, 14 turnovers, 15 steals and 5 blocks. Michelle
Plouffe paced Canada with 12 on 2-4 from the arc, 6-8 from the line, 8 boards
and 2 blocks. Katherine Plouffe added 12 on 3-8 from the floor, 2-2 from the
arc and 7 boards. Laura Dally notched 9 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-2 from the
arc, 2-2 from the line and 4 boards. Diana Lee added 7 on 2-5 from the floor,
0-4 from the arc, 3-5 from the line, 5 assists and 3 steals. Cassandra Brown
added 5 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 9 boards and 2 blocks. Megan
Lugan added 2 and Omowumi Agunbiade 2, along with 5 boards. Rashida Timbilla
nabbed 5 boards and was scoreless, along with Melissa Mullins, Mariam Sylla and
Micaella Riche. Canada hit 11-39 (.280) from the floor, 5-16 (.310) from the
arc and 12-21 (.570) from the line, while garnering 46 boards, including 11 on
the offensive glass, 11 assists, 19 fouls, 24 turnovers, 7 steals and 7 blocks.
In the bronze medal match, Canada
clocked Chile 81-42. Canada shot 0-10 from the field and 3-22 overall in the
first period as they built a 11-8 lead. But they opened the second period with
an 18-6 run that included two 3-pointers from Laura Dally to all but seal the
win. ““After a very tough first quarter, the girls increased their intensity
and got into some flow on offence. We started to finish better, made some
outside shots and free throws. … We had a horrible first quarter, and we
haven’t really played that well the whole tournament,” said Canada coach Rich
Chambers. “We played tough defensively, but we struggled offensively. We were disappointed
about our semifinal game yesterday, but we came out and played hard. We knew
that finishing third meant for a better draw in the 2011 U19 World
Championship, and that was important. It was a good way to end the tournament,
with a win, and hopefully we can build upon our experiences here.” The
second-quarter run helped Canada secure a 36-21 lead at halftime, and the lead
continued to grow as the game progressed. Canada outscored Chile 24-10 in the
third and 21-11 in the fourth quarter. The victory marked the second time that
Canada has won a bronze medal in a FIBA Americas U18 Championship. The JWNT had
won silver in its previous two appearances at the event. Laura Dally paced
Canada with 13 on 2-3 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 5
boards. Melissa Mullins added 12 on 6-10 from the floor, 5 boards and 2 steals.
Katherine Plouffe scored 12 on 1-3 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 4-7 from
the line, 6 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Michelle Plouffe notched 10 on 3-10
from the floor, 4-7 from the line, 12 boards and 5 steals. Cassandra Brown
scored 9 on 4-8 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 3 boards and 2 steals.
Rashida Timbilla scored 9 on 3-5 from the floor, 3-3 from the line, 9 boards, 3
assists and 2 blocks. Omowumi Agunbiade added 4, Mariam Sylla 4, Megan Lukan 3,
along with 3 steals, Micaella Riche 3 and Diana Lee 2. Canada hit 22-53 (.420)
from the floor, 5-17 (.290) from the arc and 22-40 (.550) from the line, while
garnering 49 boards, including 29 on the offensive glass, 13 assists, 13 fouls,
20 turnovers, 21 steals and 3 blocks. Rocio Dieguez Arcuch paced Chile with 10
on 2-3 from the floor and 2-6 from the arc. Fernanda Andrea Serrano Aburto
added 10 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, and 4 boards.
Javiera Alejandra Morales Leyton notched 7 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-1 from the
arc and 4 boards. Francisca Soledad added 6 on 2-4 from the arc. Fernanda Paz
Mansilla Arias scored 5, while nabbing 5 boards, and Cynthia Elisette Bascunan
Luis 4, while Paula Daniela Carrasco, Francisca Maria Ines Salvatierra Pino,
Fernanda Paola Tapia Santander, Kataline del Pilar Garcia Villagra, Monserrat
Videal Uribarri and Daniela Alejandra Alcaino De Las Riberas were scoreless. Chile
hit 7-15 (.470) from the floor, 7-25 (.280) from the arc and 7-10 from the
line, while garnering 19 boards, including 1 on the offensive glass, 12
assists, 27 fouls, 33 turnovers, 6 steals and 3 blocks.