| FINAL STANDINGS 1. United States 2. CANADA 3. Argentina 4. Brazil 5. Puerto Rico 6. Chile 7. Mexico 8. El Salvador | CANADIANS Bridget Atkinson (Welland, Ont.) Christina Buttenham (Hamilton, Ont.) Bridget Carleton (Chatham, Ont.) Shay Colley (Brampton, Ont.) Cheyenne Creighton (Ajax, Ont.) Rachel Fradgley (London, Ont.) Mael Gilles (Montreal, Que.) Linnaea Harper (Newmarket, Ont.) Barbara Johnson (Toronto, Ont.) Nancy Kessler (St. Catharines, Ont.) Daneesha Provo (Dartmouth, N.S.) Julia Chandler (Toronto, Ont.) Rich Chambers – coach Scott Edwards – assistant Scott Reeves – assistant Nate McKibbon – performance analyst Danielle Dobney – therapist Elaine Sun – manager Mireille Beland – head of delegation |
| POOL A | USA | CAN | MEX | ELS | Record | ||
| United States | —– | 107-76 | 104-55 | 118-50 | (3-0) | ||
| Canada | 76-107 | —– | 81-54 | 65-34 | (2-1) | ||
| Mexico | 55-104 | 54-81 | —– | 74-37 | (1-2) | ||
| El Salvador | 50-118 | 34-65 | 37-74 | —– | (0-3) | ||
| POOL B | BRZ | ARG | CHI | PUR | Record | ||
| Brazil | —– | 61-56 | 75-63 | 57-64 | (2-1) | ||
| Argentina | 56-61 | —– | 45-40 | 47-44 | (2-1) | ||
| Chile | 63-75 | 40-45 | —– | 63-51 | (1-2) | ||
| Puerto Rico | 64-57 | 44-47 | 51-63 | —– | (1-2) | ||
| 5-8th | Puerto Rico 68 Mexico 51 | |
| 5-8th | Chile 63 El Salvador 41 | |
| Semi | Canada 67 Brazil 60 | |
| Semi | United States 97 Argentina 51 | |
| 7th | Mexico 77 El Salvador 45 | |
| 5th | Puerto Rico 51 Chile 49 | |
| Bronze | Argentina 69 Brazil 67 | |
| Final | United States 104 Canada 74 | |
In their opener, Canada pounded El Salvador 65-35 after leading 18-13, 38-17 and 48-25 at the quarters. “We are happy to get out of the first game with a win. We shot the ball okay from the perimeter at times, got out in transition and scored some easy hoops,” said Canadian coach Rich Chambers. “El Salvador was very scrappy and we turned the ball over too many times. Hopefully we will get that figured out tomorrow.” Both teams struggled from the floor in the first half but Canada put the defensive clamps down and held El Salvador to three straight single digit quarters: four points in the second, eight in the third and nine in the fourth. Shaylisha Colley said “I found that we came together as a team but we need to work on some things like turnovers and help side defence. I thought El Salvador was a very good team and very scrappy, but it was good for us to have a good competition.” Daneesha Provo paced Canada with 14 on 3-3 from the floor, 2-8 from the arc and 2-2 from the line, 4 boards and 2 steals. Christina Buttenham added 12 on 4-7 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 7 boards and 3 assists. Shaylisha Colley notched 9 on 3-5 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 6 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals. Julia Chandler scored 6 on 1-6 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 8 boards. Barbara Johnson added 5 on 1-3 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 3 boards. Bridget Carleton scored 5 on 1-1 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 3 boards. Rachel Fradgley added 4 on 2-5 from the floor and 9 boards. Mael Gilles scored 3 on 0-1 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 4 boards. Linnaea Harper notched 3 on 0-3 from the floor and 1-2 from the arc. Cheyenne Creighton added 2 and Nancy Kessler 2 on 1-3 from the floor and 8 boards. Bridget Atkinson was scoreless, while nabbing 2 boards and dishing 3 assists. Canada hit 17-39 (.440) from the floor, 8-25 (.320) from the arc and 7-9 (.780) from the line, while garnering 56 boards, including 20 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 22 fouls, 27 turnovers, 6 steals and 3 blocks. Hillary Fabiola Martinez Argueta paced El Salvador with 10 on 1-10 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 8 boards and 3 steals. Ana Marcela Iglesias Cabrera added 9 on 0-3 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 3-5 from the line and 2 steals. Liliana Gabriela Alvarado Vasquez notched 5 on 1-9 from the floor and 3-4 from the line. Adriana Carolina Rivas Garcia added 3 on 1-8 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 4 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Claudia Alejandra Hernandez Gamero added 3, Sandra Karina Larin Reyes 2, along with 3 boards, and Astrid Maria Heredia Galdamez 2, along with 2 boards, while Karla Gabriela Burgos Lopez, Sandra Gabriela Navarrette Flores, Andrea Desiree Carballo Lopez, Norma Tatiana Duran Torres and Nathalie Daniela Sanchez Rodas were scoreless. El Salvador hit 4-38 (.110) from the floor, 5-14 (.360) from the arc and 11-17 (.650) from the line, while garnering 19 boards, including 3 on the offensive glass, 5 assists, 13 fouls, 15 turnovers and 9 steals.
Canada improved to (2-0) by dusting Mexico 81-54 after leading 19-9, 34-23 and 57-39 at the quarters. The win guaranteed Canada a berth at the 2015 World championships. Canada effectively attacked off the dribble and drew a bushel of fouls. “The girls came out tonight extremely focused and they exercised the game plan almost to perfection,” said Canadian coach Rich Chambers. “In those first three quarters, everyone contributed. We are extremely proud and excited to be able to represent Canada at the World Championships again next year.” Canada held Mexico to a nine-point first quarter. Mexico could not break down the Canadian perimeter defence and was forced to take contested jumpers at the buzzer. Cheyenne Creighton noted that “I thought that we executed well and followed the game plan. We were excited going in because we knew we could qualify for worlds. Against the United States tomorrow, we have to go in level-headed and take it as a new game.” Christina Buttenham paced Canada with 15 on 6-9 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 0-1 from the line and 7 boards. Daneesha Provo notched 15 on 2-6 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 11-13 from the line and 5 boards. Bridget Carleton scored 10 on 2-3 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 5 boards and 3 assists. Cheyenne Creighton added 9 on 4-6 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 7 boards. Mael Gilles added 9 on 2-2 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 2 boards. Bridget Atkinson added 7 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 2 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Shaylisha Colley added 7 on 3-6 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 2 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Rachel Fradgley added 4 on 2-6 from the floor and 6 boards. Barbara Johnson added 2, Nancy Kessler 2 and Linnaea Harper 1, on 0-1 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Julia Chandler was scoreless. Canada hit 24-47 (.510) from the floor, 4-16 from the arc and 21-27 (.780) from the line, while garnering 43 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 16 assists, 18 fouls, 18 turnovers, 8 steals and 5 blocks. Laura Alicia Perez Ramirez paced Mexico with 10 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 2 boards. Claudia Cristina Mejia Hernandez added 9 on 1-2 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 1-4 from the line and 4 boards. Narda Dominick Lopez Copado notched 8 on 4-8 from the floor and 6 boards. Stefany Esquivel Rojero added 8 on 3-6 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-4 from the line and 6 boards. Maria Marcela Perez Gonzalez added 7 on 2-4 from the floor and 1-3 from the arc. Monica De Jesus Diaz Vazquez added 4 on 2-5 from the floor, Valeria Munoz Tellez 2, Nayelia Alejandra Ortiz Suarez 2, Dominique Diaz Uriza 2 and Claudia Ramos Gutierrez 2 on 1-6 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 8 boards, while Lorena Maryel Trevino Siller and Dana Soto Antilon were scoreless. Mexico hit 17-44 (.390) from the floor, 4-20 (.200) from the arc and 8-17 (.470) from the line, while garnering 30 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 6 assists, 24 fouls, 16 turnovers and 6 steals.
Canada closed out round robin play at (2-1) after being stuffed 107-76 by the United States. Canada led 23-21 after one quarter. The US led 54-41 at the half and 83-59 after three quarters. Canada struggled to handle the America’s size and rebounding prowess in the paint. Shaylisha Colley noted that “I thought we fought hard as a team and we didn’t let up towards the end. Coach told us this was going to be a physical game. Towards the end we had a lot of turnovers. The physicality and tempo got up on us. We have to gather ourselves and keep composed under pressure.” Canada capitalized on US ballhandling miscues as they took a slim lead after one quarter. But the US closed out the second frame with a 17-4 run to take command. They led by as many as 24. Canadian coach Rich Chambers said “the girls played very hard. Everybody battled for the entire game. They are very big and we couldn’t keep them off the offensive glass. They were outstanding from the foul line going 29 for 33. But we are very pleased that we scored 75 ourselves and we just have to get ready for Brazil tomorrow.” Napheesa Collier paced the US with 22 on 9-12 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 10 boards, 3 assists and 4 steals. Brianna Turner added 21 on 6-12 from the floor, 9-11 from the line, 8 boards, 2 steals and 2 blocks. A’Ja Riyadh Wilson scored 16 on 7-10 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 4 boards. Marina Mabrey added 11 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 4-4 from the line. Mariya Moore scored 10 on 2-3 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 6-7 from the line and 6 boards. Paris Kea scored 6 on 3-6 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 4 assists. Destinee Walker notched 6 on 2-5 from the arc and 3 boards. Jessica Shepard added 5 on 2-6 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 3 boards. Ariel Atkins scored 4 on 0-5 from the floor, 4-4 from the line, 4 boards and 2 steals. Teaira McCowan scored 4 on 1-1 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 2 boards. Recee Caldwell added 2 on 1-2 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2 boards and 4 assists, while Beatrice Mompremier was scoreless and nabbed 2 boards. The US hit 33-65 (.510) from the floor, 4-12 from the arc and 29-33 (.880) from the line, while garnering 45 boards, including 22 on the offensive glass, 18 assists, 19 fouls, 15 turnovers, 13 steals and 5 blocks. Shaylisha Colley paced Canada with 21 on 5-11 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 5-7 from the line, 4 boards and 4 assists. Bridget Carleton added 19 on 1-1 from the floor, 4-6 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 2 boards and 3 blocks. Christina Buttenham notched 10 on 4-9 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 2 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Cheyenne Creighton added 5 on 0-1 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Bridget Atkinson added 4 on 1-5 from the floor and 2 assists. Mael Gilles added 4 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Nancy Kessler notched 4 on 2-4 from the floor. Barbara Johnson added 3 on 1-1 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 1-2 from the line. Julia Chandler scored 3 on 0-1 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 2 boards. Linnea Harper added 2 and Daneesha Provo 1, while Rachel Fradgley was scoreless. Canada hit 17-41 (.410) from the floor, 8-18 (.440) from the arc and 18-25 (.720) from the line, while garnering 18 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 23 fouls, 22 turnovers, 7 steals and 4 blocks.
In the semis, Canada defeated Brazil 67-60. Canada led 23-13 after one quarter and 35-29 at the half. The score was knotted at 48 after three quarters. Daneesha Provo noted that “I thought that the team fought really hard towards the end. We didn’t let Brazil come back and take over. We showed a lot of heart at the end and played as a team. At the end I felt like it was who actually wanted it more. We played with heart and we had our team and motivation screaming from the bench. I thought we showed more heart.” Canada dominated early, sharing the ball, crashing the glass and taking quality shots as they took an early double-digit lead. The Brazilians were able to close the gap slightly but the Canadians still managed to close out the half on top, 35-29. In the third, Brazil dictated the tempo and rallied to knot the score. The fourth quarter was a close back and forth battle. Canada held a two-point lead with 1:30 remaining in the fourth, but thanks to some hard-nosed defense, timely rebounds, and clutch free-throws the Canadians were able to pull out the win. Canadian coach Rich Chambers called it “a great effort by our girls. We were tired, we were in foul trouble. Brazil took the lead on us in the 4th quarter but we were resilient. One of our covenants for this year was tenacity, fearlessness, and pride. And they showed all of that to get in the gold medal game. The coaching staff couldn’t be prouder of this group. They have worked incredibly hard and are deserving of this. We look forward to representing Canada in the FIBA gold medal game tomorrow night.” Provo said “I feel like it is going to be a challenge because most of us are tired but I’m excited because we’ll be playing against the best team in the world and we have an opportunity to go for gold.” Daneesha Provo paced Canada with 18 on 3-8 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 6-9 from the line, 7 boards and 4 steals. Shaylisha Colley added 11 on 4-9 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 3-3 from the line, 9 boards and 3 assists. Bridget Carleton added 9 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 7-8 from the line and 5 boards. Linnaea Harper added 7 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc and 5 boards. Cheyenne Creighton added 7 on 2-3 from the floor, 3-5 from the line and 2 boards. Nancy Kessler added 7 on 3-5 from the floor and 1-2 from the line. Rachel Fradgley added 4 on 2-4 from the floor and 5 boards. Christina Buttenham scored 3 on 0-4 from the floor, 0-5 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 8 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals. Bridget Atkinson added 1, along with 2 boards, while Barbara Johnson, Julia Chandler and Mael Gilles were scoreless. Canada hit 17-42 (.410) from the floor, 3-23 (.130) from the arc and 24-33 (.730) from the line, while garnering 44 boards, including 21 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 26 fouls, 15 turnovers, 10 steals and 1 block. Vitoria Maria Domingos Marcelino paced Brazil with 16 on 1-5 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc and 5-8 from the line. Gabriela Guimaraes De Paula added 13 on 4-8 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 5-10 from the line and 13 boards. Bianca Araujo Da Silva scored 11 on 5-7 from the floor, 1-3 from the line and 5 boards. Kananda Ribeiro Benedicto scored 10 n 4-7 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 2 assists. Nicole Cristian Xavier Chirinda added 3 on 1-3 from the floor, 1-3 from the line and 5 boards. Mariane Roberta De Carvalho added 2, along with 2 boards and 3 steals, Caroline Fernanda Dos Reis De Oliviera 2, along with 2 boards, Jennifer Nonato Calixto 2 and Tayna Fernanda Dos Reis 1, while Susan Rafael Cortes, Gabriela Leticia Bonamigo and Lilian De Carvalho Goncalves were scoreless. Brazil hit 15-38 (.400) from the floor, 3-15 (.200) from the arc and 21-36 (.580) from the line, while garnering 30 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 9 assists, 24 fouls, 18 turnovers and 7 steals.
In the final, the United States thrashed Canada 104-74 after leading 26-12, 50-32 and 79-47 at the quarters. “The girls battled unbelievably hard and we couldn’t be prouder of their performance,” said Canadian coach Rich Chambers. “Hopefully, the team enjoyed their experience and I am very proud of how we represented Canada at FIBA Americas.” Canada struggled to find consistent offence early in the game, as the United States used their length and size to disrupt the Canadian attack. They consisted pounded the ball inside as they slowly pulled away from the Canadians. “I’m really proud of the team. Where we started and where got to is awesome,” said Christina Buttenham. The gold medal was the USA U18 women’s seventh-straight and eighth overall, and the USA women are now 48-2 in FIBA Americas U18 Championship play since the event was first held in 1988. “I thought Canada played extremely well,” said USA coach Dawn Staley. “I just thought overall, over a 40-minute period, I thought we kept fresh legs in there and made them play a little bit quicker than they wanted to play. I thought our players just really, on both sides of the ball, executed the game plan.” Tournament MVP A’ja Wilson said “this game was special because it was the gold medal game. We took care of business and executed everything. Great things started to happen, and things fell into place. It was a great game.” Canada scored first in the game, and the teams traded baskets through the first five minutes. The scoreboard read 10-8 in the USA’s favor when Canada made a 3-pointer at 5:24, but then the red, white and blue launched its first run of the game, ignited by two made free throws from Marija Moore. That was the start of a 12-0 stretch that put the USA up 22-8 when Moore dished to Brianna Turner at 1:30. Each team scored four more points before the first quarter ended to make it 26-12. Once again Canada started the stanza by matching nearly each U.S. score through the first few minutes, and thanks in part to two made 3-pointers, Canada trailed 34-23 at 6:07. Jessica Shepard scored eight points of her own over the next six minutes as the USA outscored Canada 16-9 to close the first half with a 50-32 lead. The USA’s highest-scoring period of the game was the third, when the Americans put up 29 points to Canada’s 15 and effectively put the game out of reach. The USA’s largest run of the game, a 14-0 spurt, came in the quarter, as well, and it began with an offensive rebound and score from Napheesa Collier at 6:54 and ended with a basket from Mompremier at 3:28 to make it 71-40. After eight more U.S. points and seven from Canada, the U.S. lead was 32 points, 79-47, headed into the final 10 minutes. Canada outscored the USA 27-25 in the fourth quarter as the USA coasted to the 30-point win. “It was the most exciting game of my life,” said Paris Kea. “We knew their weaknesses and strengths.” Shepard said “it’s a great feeling. We’ve been here for so long working so hard, and to finally have a reward for all of it is amazing.” A’Ja Wilson paced the US with 25 on 9-13 from the floor, 7-11 from the line, 11 boards, 2 steals and 3 blocks. Napheesa Collier added 18 on 5-10 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 6 boards and 3 assists. Beatrice Mompremier added 16 on 6-7 from the floor 4-9 from the line, 8 boards and 2 steals. Jessica Shepard added 14 on 5-7 from the floor, 4-6 from the line, 7 boards and 3 assists. Brianna Turner notched 12 on 5-11 from the floor, 2-4 from the line, 4 boards and 2 blocks. Mariya Moore scored 7 on 2-2 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 3-3 from the line, 7 assists and 3 steals. Destinee Walker added 4 on 2-2 from the floor and 0-4 from the arc. Paris Kea scored 4 on 2-4 from the floor and 6 assists. Marina Mabrey added 2, along with 3 assists, and Recee Caldwell 2, along with 2 boards and 2 assists. Ariel Atkins and Teaira McCowan were scoreless. Atkins nabbed 3 boards, dished 3 assists and pilfered 2 balls. McCowan nabbed 2 boards. The US (coached by Staley, assisted by Kim Barnes Arico and Jeff Walz) hit 38-61 (.620) from the floor, 2-10 from the arc and 22-35 (.630) from the line, while garnering 46 boards, including 23 on the offensive glass, 28 assists, 22 fouls, 17 turnovers, 12 steals and 6 blocks. Shaylisha Colley paced Canada with 16 on 2-8 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 6-10 from the line, 3 boards and 2 assists. Daneesha Provo added 12 on 4-6 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 4-5 from the line and 5 assists. Christina Buttenham scored 11 on 4-6 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc and 2 boards. Julia Chandler added 8 on 2-2 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Bridget Carleton scored 7 on 0-1 from the floor, 2-8 from the arc and 1-2 from the line. Cheyenne Creighton added 7 on 2-2 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc and 0-2 from the line. Bridget Atkinson added 6 on 2-5 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 2 boards. Linnaea Harper added 3 on 0-1 from the floor and 1-2 from the arc. Barbara Johnson added 2, Mael Gilles 2 and Rachel Fradgley 1, along with 3 boards, while Nancy Kessler was scoreless and nabbed 2 boards. Canada hit 14-36 (.390) from the floor, 9-24 (.380) from the arc and 19-29 (.660) from the line, while garnering 19 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 25 fouls, 15 turnovers, 5 steals and 1 block.