Wallen, Venezuela pull off overtime comeback win on Day 3 of Women's AmeriCup

LEON (Mexico) – Forcing overtime tied 76-76 after four quarters, Venezuela completed the comeback and beat Cuba 106-85 on the third day of action at the 2023 FIBA Women’s AmeriCup at Domo de la Feria in León, Guanajuato, Mexico.

A back and forth between two evenly matched teams, the first quarter was headlined by a 13-point performance by Yamara Amargo who has been a leader on Cuba’s offense all competition.

Yet Venezuela led by a basket after shooting 75 percent from the floor dominating the paint as Estefani Fajardo Firall and Yosimar Corrales combined for 14 points to take the quarter 23-21.

The second quarter was all Cuba, as defensively they held Venezuela to 14 points but also Bexy Claro added 7 points by the half while Nahomis Vargas added 6 points and 6 rebounds as Cuba led 42-37.

Daniela Wallen and Mariana Duran contributed for Venezuela but as the team was unable to get a shot to hit from the three-point arc and could not fight for offensive rebounds against Cuba in the paint, they trailed by 5 after two quarters.

Cuba extended their lead into the third quarter as their bench continued to show depth on the court as Suanly Tanis reached the 10 point mark while Isabela Jourdain was making plays tallying six assists.

Wallen, who has been an offensive powerhouse for Venezuela all competition, continued to be a threat and scored 10 points in the quarter, but with the rest of the team contributing just 3 points, Venezuela trailed by 13 going into the final 10 minutes of play.

That 13-point deficit however was not an issue for Venezuela, who outscored Cuba 26-13 in the final frame as their rotation continued to find power on offense like Ivaney Marquez and Waleska Perez picking up the pace that Wallen had started.

Down six with less than a minute to play, Yosimar Corrales was clutch at the foul line scoring all four of her baskets, including two to send the game to overtime.

The overtime period saw Venezuela carry their momentum they found in the fourth quarter as they dominated Cuba outscoring them 30-9 to complete the comeback and secure victory.

In another gear, Wallen was fierce on both sides of the ball, knocking the ball out of the hands of who she guarded and getting rebounds defensively on top of her ability to score alongside Perez.

Wallen led all scorers with 34 points, 12 rebounds and 6 steals while Perez added 16 points, 12 assists and 7 rebounds as five Venezuela players scored 13 or more points in the win.

Amargo led Cuba with 18 points and 5 rebounds and Jourdain added 10 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds in the loss.

FIBA