Canada to face Puerto Rico for FIBA Women's AmeriCup bronze after semifinal loss to U.S.
Canadian women's basketball team falls 67-63 to American Rivals in Léon, Mexico
The Canadian women's basketball team will be playing for third place in the women's AmeriCup, following a heartbreaking 67-63 semifinal loss to the United States on Saturday night.
Despite trailing 39-29 at halftime, Canada played a superb second half and led the Americans 63-62 with three minutes left in the game.
Kayla Alexander led Canada with 17 points and nine rebounds, while teammate Nirra Fields had 16 points, and Aaliyah Edwards added 14 points and 11 rebounds. Cassandre Prosper chipped in with 12 points and six rebounds.
"I would first say that Canada is unbelievably good," Team USA head coach Kamie Etheridge said to Canada Basketball. "They just seem so seasoned in what they do and what they run and I thought we had to have an unbelievable defensive effort to kind of withstand some of the mistakes on the offensive end. It's a credit to them.
"They make it incredibly hard to run things and get the ball where you need to get it and to find our mismatches because of their pressure. I just think they pushed us in every way, in every limit. It's tough that someone has to lose a game like this."
Lauren Betts led the U.S. scoring with 12 points, while Rickea Jackson had 11 and Angel Reese added 10. Reese also hauled in 13 rebounds.
Huge triple from <a href="https://twitter.com/NirraFields?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NirraFields</a> puts <a href="https://twitter.com/CanBball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CanBball</a> in the lead! 🥵🎯🥵<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AmeriCupW?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AmeriCupW</a> <a href="https://t.co/60wlBcsfwP">pic.twitter.com/60wlBcsfwP</a>
—@americupwCanada will face Puerto Rico in Sunday's third-place final, while the United States will play Brazil in the championship final.
Brazil beat Puerto Rico 85-74 in Saturday's earlier semifinal.
"I hope for the next few hours we forget this game and put our focus on the next game tomorrow because we are playing for the bronze medal and it's very important for us to finish in this position because I think we deserve it," Team Canada head coach Víctor Lapeña said to Canada Basketball.
Canadian roster
Guards:
- #1 Aislinn Konig — Langley, B.C.
- #2 Shay Colley — Brampton, Ont.
- #4 Sami Hill — Toronto
- #12 Syla Swords — Sudbury, Ont.
- #21 Nirra Fields — Montreal
- #30 Taya Hanson — Kelowna, B.C.
Forwards:
- #3 Merissah Russell — Ottawa
- #8 Cassandre Prosper — Montreal
- #9 Yvonne Ejim — Calgary
- #24 Aaliyah Edwards — Kingston, Ont.
Centres:
- #10 Emily Potter — Winnipeg
- #14 Kayla Alexander — Milton, Ont.
With files from Canada Basketball
