BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Canada's under-18 women's basketball team tipped off the FIBA Americas Championship on Monday with a dominant 68-40 victory against Mexico.
T'yana Todd paced Canada's attack with 16 points, including 14 in the first half as Canada took a 14-point lead into the third quarter.
“It’s always important to get off to a good start in the tournament,” said Canadian coach Steve Baur. “We were really excited to get started with a win. The game started and I think there’s a bit of an adjustment.
"We got our first exposure to international basketball a little slower than we would have liked, but T’yana hit a couple of big shots for us in the first half. We were able to take that momentum, get some stops on defence and then get some energy going into the second half. We’re looking to use this to build us into the rest of the tournament.”
In addition to Todd’s big night, Lemyah Hylton had 11 points and six rebounds, while Jasmine Bascoe stuffed the stat sheet, finishing with 10 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and two steals. Marah Dykstra also had a team-high 11 rebounds in the win.
“My shot was pretty on,” Todd said of the first half. “I was just feeling it and kept on shooting. The key to us winning this game was to really play defence and not take our opponents for granted."
This was a methodical victory for Canada who won all four quarters, building the lead from two points after the first quarter, to 12 at the half, to 21 heading into the fourth. Mexico scored the first four points of the fourth quarter, but Hylton got Canada back on the board with a layup and Koabel scored on a three, making it 62-38 with 5:35 remaining. Canada rolled to the victory from there, outsourcing Mexico 13-6 in the quarter.
Canada will play Brazil on Tuesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 13, 2022
The Canadian Press
