Canada beats China to begin Olympic women’s basketball tourney in Rio
Canada enjoyed an ideal start to the Olympic women’s basketball tournament on Saturday, beating China comfortably 90-68.
The win puts Canada atop Group B, with powerhouse United States set to play on Sunday against Senegal.
RELATED: Team Canada at the Olympic Games
Tamara Tatham led Canada in scoring with 20 points, making six of nine shots from the field. The London 2012 Olympian has returned for her second Olympic Games. A prominent member of the squad, Tatham, started at forward and played for 24 minutes.
Other key contributors to Team Canada’s cause on Saturday were made by captain Kim Gaucher, who pulled down 10 rebounds and led the team with seven assists, while Lizanne Murphy, Miah-Marie Langlois and Miranda Ayim all scored in double digits.
RELATED: Canada draws USA in Rio basketball
Other teams in Canada’s group are Spain and Serbia, the latter is Canada’s next opponent on Monday.
Top four after round robin play will advance to the quarterfinals. It is at that stage where Canada was ousted by the United States at London 2012.
