Kia Nurse powers comeback as Canada beats Serbia in women's basketball
Canadian team improves to 2-0 in Rio
By Pete Evans, CBC Sports
Kia Nurse helped power Canada's women's basketball team to a 71-67 comeback win over Serbia in Group B action in Rio on Monday.
- SCHEDULE & RESULTS: Women's basketball at Rio 2016
- WATCH REPLAY: Canada vs. Serbia in women's basketball
Nurse led all scorers with 25 points and was dominant in the second half.
Serbia was up by almost 20 points at one point before Canada chipped away through the third and fourth quarters. Fans kept chanting "Ca-na-da" as the Canadians smothered and outscored Serbia 26-10 in the final period.
Up by one point in the final minute, Canada iced the win when Nurse threw the ball out to the three-point line to Miah-Marie Langlois, who nailed a dagger three to make it 71-67.
"It was just a complete team effort," said Nurse. "After the first half we said, 'Let's get it done on the defensive end' and that's what we did. We came down with some boards, got out in transition and made them run and executed extremely well in the second half."
Miah-Marie Langlois hits the dagger! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CAN?src=hash">#CAN</a> rallies to win 71-67 over <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SRB?src=hash">#SRB</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Rio2016?src=hash">#Rio2016</a> <a href="https://t.co/JAoL0ve2RK">https://t.co/JAoL0ve2RK</a> <a href="https://t.co/CMZWXFHnsl">https://t.co/CMZWXFHnsl</a>
—@CBCOlympicsBefore turning it on at the end, Canada had played a somewhat sloppy game, seeing little success from the three-point line and giving up 19 turnovers to Serbia's 17.
With the win, Canada improved to 2-0 and stayed atop the group, tied with the powerhouse U.S. team. The top four from each of the two six-team pools advance to the quarter-finals.
Serbia is ranked 14th in the world by FIBA, basketball's world governing body. Canada is ranked 9th.
Team Canada head coach Lisa Thomaidis praised Nurse for her clutch play in the victory.
"Kia had a huge effort tonight," Thomaidis said. "It was amazing what she was able to do, she was a game-changer and she wanted the ball when the game was close and caused a lot of turnovers with her pressure."
Canada was looking for a win to keep pace with the American in Group B of the 12-team tournament. Team U.S.A. has won gold in women's basketball at every Olympics dating back to the 1996 Games in Atlanta.
Canada, meanwhile, has never reached the Olympic podium in women's basketball.
With files from The Associated Press