USA, Canada finish on top of their groups heading into Quarter-Finals

BUENOS AIRES (Argentina) – The FIBA U18 Women’s Americas Championship group play concluded on on Wednesday at the Estadio Obras Sanitarias in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with four games that defined the Quarter-Finals. The next phase will determine the four teams that qualify for the FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup 2023.

Canada and the United States finished first in their groups and will face El Salvador and Mexico, respectively, in the first phase of the playoffs. Argentina will battle against Colombia and Puerto Rico will go against Brazil.

Here’s what happened on the third day of play:

Puerto Rico 50 - 58 Colombia

The game had no shortage of nail biting moments between two talented squads as both Colombia and Puerto Rico battled to move to 2-1 in their group and secure the best seeding possible going into the Quarter-Finals.

Through three quarters the teams went back and forth, each sharing the lead or who winning the quarter. Eventually it was Colombia that kicked into overdrive and won the fourth by a margin of 9 points, securing an 8 point win and a 2-1 record.

Securing the offensive boards and getting those second chance baskets for Colombia sealed the close win despite being out-scored in transition and not being able to find baskets in the paint.

Colombia’s bench was also a key factor in their win as four players scored 9 or more points including Leidy Montaño’s team leading 13 point, 12 rebound double-double. Silvia Suarez and Karen Castaño each tipped in 11 and Castaño adding a double-double of her own with 10 rebounds.

Dianne Crespo and Camila De Pool continued to be powerhouses for Puerto Rico with 12 and 11 points respectively, but their reserves could not keep up the way Colombia’s could to close out the game.

USA 106 - 31 El Salvador

USA continued their dominance and remain the only undefeated team in Group B after a convincing win over El Salvador to close out their high-scoring group play action.

USA’s defense kept El Salvador to just 6 points scored in three of four quarters. They had 51 percent shooting from the floor but were also 11 percent from beyond the arc.

Seven players scored 9 or more points in the game to help USA on their way to victory. Isuneh Brady led the team with 20 points and Cotie McMahon had another big game with 17 points, both shooting over 62 percent from the floor.

Gabriela Alfaro and Ana Ruiz were the only El Salvador players to score more than 4 points in the game, with Alfaro scoring 10 and Ruiz adding 9.

Brazil 64 - 56 Mexico

Another battle of two teams looking to move to 2-1 in Group A, Mexico hopped out to the strong start edging Brazil by 3 points after the first quarter.

The game continued to be close as the lead swapped back and forth through the second and third quarters. Yet it was Brazil’s ability to covert from the three point line as well as take free points from the foul line that handed them a steady lead that they would hang onto to close out the game.

Mexico never gave up on defense, and continued to put pressure on Brazil and force turnovers that turned into points. But they allowed Brazil to get a lead as big as 11, and it was a gap too big to close.

It was a tale of two Ana’s for Brazil as Ana Passos Alves Da Silva tipped in 18 points and 9 rebounds for Brazil in the win while Ana de Oliveira added 14 in the win.

Itzel Navarro led Mexico with 17 points, the only player to tally double digits, while Regina Yañez dominated with 10 boards.

Canada 89 - 55 Argentina

Canada was determined to stay undefeated to close out group play, but knew that they would face a tough test against the home team and their home crowd.

The first quarter emulated the intensity of the game as Canada barely held the lead at 26-23. Then Canada came alive in the second and held Argentina to just 13 points in the quarter while T’yana Todd continued to dominate scoring 10 points through 10 minutes in the first half.

Argentina brought the heat to open the third quarter but was quickly stifled by Canada’s elite defending holding Argentina to just 9 points. Canada’s over 50 percent shooting from the three-point line led them to a 34 point lead to close out the third. A lead Argentina couldn’t contest even during a valiant effort in the fourth quarter.

Todd lead Canada with 17 points, but seven different players in the red and white had 9 or more points en route to their win. March Dykstra dominated the boards in a 13-point, 13 rebound double-double performance.

Angelina Giacone led Argentina with 14 points while Lara Tribouley had another big night with 12 points and 9 rebounds.

FIBA