Canada qualifies for quarters at World Championship
Wednesday
Team Canada came out with a purpose in their matchup versus the Czechs, defeating them 91-71 to book their spot in the quarterfinals at the FIBA World Championship for Women.
Canada started strong, opening up a 22-13 lead by the end of the first quarter, and they never looked back. Kim Gaucher led the way with 17 points and 7 rebounds, while Olympian Michelle Plouffe had a team-high assists (3).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWODgLZdMng
The Canadians will face Australia next in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Tuesday
Canada’s women fought hard, but were defeated 63-59 by the French team at the FIBA World Championship for Women.
The Canadians trailed by 10 points part way through the third quarter, but managed to fight back and close the gap to only four by the end of the quarter. Led by Olympian Tamara Tatham, who finished with a team–high 11 points, Canada managed to stay in striking range throughout the fourth quarter.
Olympian Michelle Plouffe hit a big three pointer to tie the game with under five minutes remaining. Unfortunately the Canadians were unable to grab the lead and eventually lost the game to the reigning Olympic silver medallists.
The loss drops Canada’s record to 1-2 at the tournament, which puts them in third place in Group B. As a result, the team’s next match will be tomorrow when they play the Czechs for a chance to qualify for the quarterfinals.
Sunday
Host nation Turkey pulled away with a 24-point fourth quarter as Canada drops to 1-1 at FIBA World Championship for Women.
After a winning start to the 2014 World Championship, Canadian women’s national basketball team suffered a 55-44 loss to the host country Turkey on Sunday.
The teams were even 31-31 after three closely played quarters, but Turkey went on a 13-3 fourth quarter run leaving Canada little time to catch up. Kim Gaucher and Katherine Plouffe scored nine points each to lead Canada.
Canada gets a rest on Monday before taking on France in the final game of Group B for both teams (2:15 p.m. ET on NBATV Canada).
Saturday
Canada tipped off in the FIBA World Championship for Women in Turkey on Saturday with a 69-54 win over Mozambique.
It was a balanced performance from head coach Lisa Thomaidis’ side, with three starters scoring 11 points.
Kim Gaucher scored the first points in the game and then nine more on the day to go with seven rebounds. Miah-Marie Langlois (11 PTS, 5 REB), and Tamara Tatham (11 PTS, 4 REB) joined Gaucher to lead the way statistically for the Canadians.
The team was similarly even in distribution where Miranda Ayim, Courtnay Pilypaitis and Lizanne Murphy had four assists each. Shona Thorburn’s three steals led the team in that category.
Thomaidis feels Canada will “need to raise” its game on Sunday when the players will face not only a strong team, but a hostile local crowd in the second game in Group B against the host nation, Turkey (12 p.m. ET on NBATV Canada).
The locals will be buoyed by a last minute 50-48 victory over France in the other Group B game of the opening day. A three-point shot with 47 seconds left was enough to allow the hosts to start the tournament with a win.
First place in the group guarantees a spot in the quarterfinals, while teams in second and third will play an elimination round to book a spot in the final eight.
Feature photo via FIBA.com
