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Troubles continued for the women’s basketball team on Thursday as Canada suffered a second loss, this time 70-65 to Australia.
The scoring system that awards a point to the losing team means that the Canadians are not mathematically eliminated yet, but they are at high risk of suffering the same fate as in Tokyo, when they were excluded before the quarterfinals. The point differential will also have an impact and in this regard the Maple Leaf has a significant deficit of -26.
The Canadians had a tough time in their first game against France on Monday, losing 75-54 after scoring just two points in the second quarter. They will conclude the group stage against 12th-ranked Nigeria on Sunday. The top eight teams advance to the next stage and there are three groups in the preliminary round.
“I feel like we played hard. The end was disappointing because we were so close,” said Kayla Alexander, who had 10 points. “We gave it our all to close the gap and get this win. Unfortunately, we came up a little short.”
“I thought we did a really good job in all our roles except one, on defence,” said Canada head coach Victor Lapena.
The result could have been worse without Bridget Carleton, who had 19 points, including five successful shots from long range in seven attempts. Kia Nurse had 12 points, and Kayla Alexander had 10.
Carleton allowed his team to stick with the Australians in the first half with a 5-0 run and three long baskets in 12 minutes of play. Canada only had a brief lead and trailed 38-32 at halftime. Sami Whitcomb had 10 points at that point for the opposing team.
Canada suffered from a low 25% efficiency on two-point shooting (35% from the floor at the end of the game), but stayed in the game due to Australian turnovers and fouls. The players need to capitalize more on their chances.
“I think that’s the key,” Lapena said. “We need more than 65 points to beat Australia. We need more than 70 or 75 points to beat France. We’re working very hard. I have full confidence in the players.”
The Canadian defense faltered in the third quarter, trailing 51-44 despite a fourth three-pointer by Carleton. An offensive foul by Alexander while setting a screen hampered the work of Syla Swords who had just blocked a shot from distance that could not count and reduce the deficit.
Carleton made a good mid-range shot to make it 62-55 and his team ultimately dominated the last quarter 21-19, its only one of the game, to limit the damage.
Four-time Olympian Natalie Achonwa looked frustrated in the second half after missing free throws.
“You can’t miss four free throws in a close game like that,” she insisted. “That’s where I was really hard on myself, because I’m better than that.”
Australia were also trying to bounce back after being surprised by Nigeria at the start of the tournament. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>
The Belgians offer a good opposition to ” Team USA »
The American basketball players, big favourites for the Olympic gold medal, were pushed around like rarely before but won against the Belgians (87-74) on Thursday at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Villeneuve-d’Ascq.
« Team USA » is still top of Group C, and will play for first place against Germany, also qualified for the second week, on Sunday.
In an electric atmosphere, loudly supported by thousands of Belgian supporters, the “Cats” put up a magnificent resistance to Breanna Stewart (26 points), A’ja Wilson (23) and their ilk.
But the Americans broke away at the end of the match and were never caught. Belgium will absolutely have to beat Japan to hope to reach the quarter-finals.
Defeat in women’s 3×3 also
Canada fell 19-15 to Germany in women’s 3×3 basketball on Tuesday before beating France 13-9.
The Canadians trailed for most of the match after Germany took early leads 6-0 and 7-1.
The representatives of the Unifolié then managed to tie the game at 7-7, a sequence capped by a shot from Kacie Bosch, then the two countries exchanged the lead until it was 10-10 with 3:44 left on the clock.
That’s when Germany opened the machine, outscoring Canada 9-2 in the final minutes of play to build a 19-12 lead with 31 seconds left. The Germans then made sure to close the post at the Maple Leaf.
Canada wasn’t as accurate as Germany, being limited to a 53% success rate for one-pointers and 25% for two-pointers. For its part, Germany posted rates of 67% for one-pointers and 57% for two-pointers.
The Canadians were led by twin sisters Michelle and Katherine Plouffe of Edmonton, who each scored five points. Germany was powered by eight points from Sonja Greinacher and seven from Elisa Mevius.
Canada, which has a 3-1 record, will now face the United States and Spain on Friday.
2024-08-02 02:16:43
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