Argentina, Canada, USA, Colombia start 1-0 at FIBA Americas U16 Women's Championship

YUCATAN (Mexico) – The first day of the 2023 FIBA U16 Women's Americas Championship tipped off on Tuesday with wins from two of the three 2021 medalists (USA, Canada), as well as Argentina and Colombia.

Here's a look at how the four games unfolded on Day 1:

Dominican Republic 62 - 72 Argentina

In the first game of the day, Argentina kicked off the tournament with a 10-point win over Dominican Republic in Group B.

After trailing by as many as 13 points in the first half, Dominican Republic were able to tie the game at 38 in the third quarter before Argentina went on a quick 11-5 run to jump back out ahead.

A similar situation happened in the fourth quarter when Dominican Republic tied the game at 55, only to have Argentina put the game away with a 17-7 run.

Argentina's Milagros Morell recorded a huge 17-point, 16-rebound double-double along with 4 steals and 2 assists. The 6'3" 16-year-old shot 7-of-11 from the field and finished with an efficiency rating of 31.

Guard Rocio Leta added 17 points for the victors along with 5 assists, 3 rebounds and 3 steals, while knocking down a team-high two three-pointers.

Dominican Republic's trio of Leila Nunez (18 points), Arianna Mercado (17 points) and Carmela Nunez (11 points) combined to score 46 of the team's points in defeat.

Canada 69 - 37 Brazil

The 2021 silver medalists began their tournament on the right foot with a 32-point blowout of Brazil in the second Group B matchup.

Canada never trailed in the entire game and led by as many as 33 points. After leading by 8 points at halftime, Canada ramped up the pressure and held Brazil to just 12 points in the second half.

Brazil also committed 47 turnovers that Canada converted into 42 points.

Scoring was balanced for Canada, as 10 players got into the scoring column and five players scored at least 9 points. Cearah Parchment nearly missed a triple-double, finishing with 9 points, 9 rebounds and 8 steals, while Savannah Swords and Chance Berry were the two players in double figures (12 points and 10 points, respectively).

Sther Ubaka recorded the highest efficiency rating (11) for Brazil after scoring 6 points and grabbing 6 rebounds.

USA 124 - 39 Puerto Rico

USA had an explosive debut in their quest to defend the title they won in 2021 - and win their fourth consecutive gold medal in the competition.

This game proved why they're a strong favorite to compete for the championship.

USA came out firing with a 35-8 first quarter and they never looked back on the way to their first win in Group A. They did so with efficient shooting (53.1 percent) while also holding Puerto Rico to 14 made shots for the entire game.

Jerzy Robinson (21 points), Trinity Jones (19 points) and McKenna Woliczko (12 points) were instrumental in outscoring the Boricuas 84-12 in points in the paint.

In what was a tough game for Puerto Rico, Desirek Nieves and Rosemarie Lisojo combined to score 14 points off the bench. Nieves scored a team-high 8 points.

Mexico 59 - 67 Colombia

The hosts trailed by as many as 17 points and were able to make a late run, but just couldn't get over the hump, as Mexico dropped their opening game in Group A.

Colombia got out to an early lead and were able to take away some of the home crowd's effect on the game. Maria Perez scored 13 of her team-high 18 points in the first half.

Marta Moscarella and Maria Acosta both chipped in 15 points each and Moscarella also grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds along with Luisa Morantes.

Mexico's starting lineup played heavy minutes, as four played at least 32 minutes. The quartet of Sandra Acuna (16 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 assists, 2 blocks), Miranda Henry (9 points, 21 rebounds, 2 blocks), Mariant Castillo (12 points, 14 rebounds, 2 blocks) and Ariadna Vidales (14 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists) paced Mexico in the losing effort.

In the end, Mexico's 22 turnovers came back to hurt them. On the flip side, Colombia took better care of the ball and only committed 10 turnovers.

FIBA