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Canada defeats Colombia 89-55 to remain undefeated in group play at 2023 FIBA Women's AmeriCup
LÉON, Mexico (July 4, 2023) - The Canadian Senior Women’s National Team moved to 3-0 in group play after a dominant 89-55 victory over Colombia at the 2023 FIBA Women’s AmeriCup at Mexico’s Domo de la Feria on Tuesday.
Nirra Fields led a balanced scoring effort for Canada with 15 points, while Syla Swords scored 12 points, Yvonne Ejim added 10 points, and Kayla Alexander added nine points and 10 rebounds. Colombia was led by Esperanza Delgado’s game-high 22 points, while Jenifer Muñoz added 11 points in the loss.
Canada never trailed, leading by eight after the opening quarter and 14 at the half. The Canadians won the third quarter 23-9 to double their halftime advantage and take a 28-point lead, 70-42, into the final quarter as their swarming defence prevented Colombia from ever finding a rhythm.
“This is our style,” Team Canada head coach Víctor Lapeña said. “I’m asking the players to try to defend hard, try to be in good line of the pass, try to be in the right position. It’s not just about the intensity, it's about the position, the focus, the concentration."
The Canadians shot 56 percent from the floor, while holding Colombia to just 26 percent shooting in the game. Canada made 12-of-23 attempts from three, while Colombia connected on 7-of-24 attempts. They also held a 16-2 advantage in fastbreak points.
“My message to them is we are attacking all the time,” Lapeña said.
Canada recorded 26 assists on 33 made field goals in the game as Cassandre Prosper and Aaliyah Edwards recorded four assists apiece to lead the team.
“I’ve had an amazing experience,” Prosper said of joining the Senior Women's National Team for the first time. “It’s on-going right now. I’m learning a lot about the pro game and learning about things to translate into my games. Learning about the pros I'm playing against, the pros I’m playing with, my teammates. We’ve been really adjusting well and playing great together.”
Canada scored the first points of the game on a layup from Fields to open the scoring. She scored seven of Canada’s first nine points of the game and helped Canada to an 11-4 lead when Colombia called their first timeout of the game with 6:21 remaining in the opening quarter. Canada maintained their lead out of the timeout and a three-point play for Alexander extended the advantage to eight, 22-14, after the opening quarter.
A jumper from Edwards started the second quarter. Next possession, Edwards was the passer, finding Aislinn Konig for a three-pointer to put Canada ahead by 12.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">🇨🇦 Yvonne Ejim 👉 <a href="https://twitter.com/acekonig?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@acekonig</a> whit the BOOM! 💥 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AmeriCupW?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AmeriCupW</a> I <a href="https://twitter.com/CanBball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CanBball</a><a href="https://t.co/wbrZNiEXMu">pic.twitter.com/wbrZNiEXMu</a></p>— FIBA Women's AmeriCup (@americupw) <a href="https://twitter.com/americupw/status/1676385519159091200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2023</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Edwards had her fingerprints all over the game in the second, finding her teammates, blocking a shot, earning free throws and then assisting Shay Colley for a three-pointer that extended Canada’s advantage to 17 points with 6:34 remaining in the half.
After Colombia’s Esperanza Delgado hit a three-pointer, Alexander grabbed an offensive rebound and found Syla Swords for a three of her own. The 17-year-old had a fantastic second quarter effort for Canada, scoring eight points in just seven minutes, making all three of her field goal attempts as she helped Canada to a 47-33 lead into the halftime break.
“I think we just complete each other so well on the court,” Prosper said. “[We need to] keep sharing the ball, keep our defensive intensity, and [keep] finding each other.”
Both teams had a slow start to the third quarter until Alexander grabbed an offensive rebound and scored inside to put Canada ahead by 16. On Canada’s next trip down the floor, Colley hit a three to make it a 19-point lead. Canada opened the third on a 10-2 run as Fields hit a three and then followed with a jumper to make it 57-35 midway through the third. With the Canadians holding Colombia to just nine points in the quarter, Prosper found Sami Hill for a three to beat the buzzer and send Canada into the fourth with a 70-42 lead.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">🇨🇦 <a href="https://twitter.com/NirraFields?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NirraFields</a> is REALLY on fire 🔥 3️⃣ 🎯🎯 🎯<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AmeriCupW?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AmeriCupW</a> I <a href="https://twitter.com/CanBball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CanBball</a><a href="https://t.co/OcgT3tyKIM">pic.twitter.com/OcgT3tyKIM</a></p>— FIBA Women's AmeriCup (@americupw) <a href="https://twitter.com/americupw/status/1676401158191980544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2023</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Canadians opened the fourth on an 11-0 run to extend the advantage to 39 points with 6:32 remaining. Carolina Lopez scored Colombia’s first bucket of the fourth quarter with 6:12 remaining. With the game already out of reach, Canada went on to collect their third win in as many days.
Next up, Canada will take on the Dominican Republic on Wednesday at 4:40 p.m. ET/1:40 p.m. PT to close out group play. Fans can catch all of the action live on Sportsnet NOW.
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