Puerto Rico, USA, Canada, Brazil find win column on U18 Women's Americas Championship Day 1

BUENOS AIRES (Argentina) - The FIBA U18 Women’s Americas Championship tipped off Monday with the emerging young talent from across the Americas showcasing their play, but it was the usual dominant teams that secured their first wins of the competition at the Obras Sanitarias Stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

El Salvador 44 - 65 Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico got things going in Group B with a 65-44 win over El Salvador, as Dianne Crespo led the team with 16 points and 6 rebounds, shooting 50 percent from the field in the match.

Puerto Rico’s depth helped them secure a comfortable win as Camila De Pool and Victoria Escribano added 11 points each as they both shot over 45 percent from the field as well.

The difference in bench strength was the key factor for Puerto Rico as they tipped in 20 points compared to El Salvador’s three, on top of being able to capitalize off turnovers for 23 points.

For El Salvador, Gabriela Alfaro tipped in 11 points and eight rebounds, including seven defensively. Anna Laguan had a stellar 15-point performance and Ana Ruiz added 12 points, but as the turnovers piled up and the rest of the roster only contributed six points total El Salvador could not find the power for a win.

Colombia 29 - 81 USA

USA is looking for their tenth consecutive Women’s U18 title this year. Today, the United States did not trail once against Colombia, notching a 52-point win on Day 1 of Group B action.

Thanks to their strong defense, Team USA kept Colombia to just 15 percent shooting while finding their own offensive rhythm in the paint despite having a less than typical night shooting just 38 percent themselves.

Kira Rice had a complete game with 16 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds, while Isuneh Brady led the team in scoring with 17 points. Aalyah Del Rosario tallied an almost double-double in just 19 minutes of play with 9 points and 11 rebounds including a commanding 10 defensive rebounds.

No player on Colombia could find double-digit scoring against USA’s stifling defense as Marta Moscarella led the team with 6 points, but Colombia did manage to find a rhythm grabbing 51 rebounds that led to 11 second chance points, more than the eight points USA put up in the game.

Mexico 40 - 68 Canada

Another North American powerhouse cruised to a Day 1 win as Canada topped Mexico in the first game of Group A action.

Despite a back and forth for most of the first quarter of action, the Canadians found a three-point lead with just under a minute and a half to play in the first. They would not give up the lead again all night as Mexico attempted to make a comeback.

Going on a 12-0 run to start the second quarter the Canadians comfortably continued to dominate on the boards as well as in transition as they were able to outscore Mexico 27-3 on fast break opportunities.

T'yana Todd’s 17 points led Canada, scoring 12 points from beyond the arc shooting 66 percent to offset shooting just 1-of-7 from midrange in the game. Jasmine Bascoe tipped in 10 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists while Lemyah Hylton added 11 points.

Not able to have an explosive scorer in double digits like their opponent, Anisa Jeffreis led Mexico with solid two-way play for 9 points and 7 rebounds, as Itzel Navarro added 8 more in the loss.

Argentina 34 - 54 Brazil

Another edition of the South American derby headlined Day 1. The home team Argentina was defeated by Brazil in an intense, close battle that ended in Brazil’s favor.

The home team came out strong as they lead by six points to end the first quarter, but as they were outscored 18-8 through the second frame of action Brazil took a four-point lead going into halftime that they would not give up all game and would seal Argentina’s fate.

Increasing the gap through the third quarter and leading by 10 going into the final ten minutes of play, Brazil and Argentina shared baskets back and forth, but Brazil refused to give up in their pursuit of a dominant win and led by 20 points to close out the game while keeping Argentina scoreless through the last five minutes of the quarter.

Stephany Gonçalves had a stellar 21-point performance for Brazil while a double-double from Ana Beatriz Passos Alves Da Silva with 14 points and 13 rebounds headlined the top performers from the winning squad.

While Argentina, like many teams on Day 1, struggled to find the offensive power needed for a win, Alma Bourgarel led the team with 7 points and Lara Tribouley added 6 points and 8 rebounds.

FIBA