Canada opens 2023 FIBA Women's AmeriCup with dominant 83-57 win over host Mexico

Shaylisha Colley

The Canadian Senior Women's National Team opened their 2023 FIBA Women's AmeriCup campaign with a dominant 83-57 victory over host-team Mexico in Leon, Guanajuato's Domo de la Feria on Sunday. Shaylisha Colley (173-G-1996, college: Michigan St.) led all scorers with a game-high 19 points, Kayla Alexander (193-C-1991, college: Syracuse) had a 10-point, 18-rebound double-double, and Nirra Fields added 14 points. Mexico was led by a 10-point performance from Sofia Payan, while Paola Beltran and Mariana Valenzuela each added nine points in the loss. Yvonne Ejim (185-F-2002) had 12 points and six rebounds in her debut with the Senior Women's National Team, while Cassandre Prosper (188-SF-2005) added six points, two rebounds and three steals in her debut. Merissah Russell (180-G-2002) had 11 rebounds in just 14 minutes of action. After jumping out to a 6-0 lead to start, Canada never trailed in the game and led by as many as 32 points late in the third. Thanks to the rebounding efforts of Alexander and Russell, Canada owned the glass, outrebounding Mexico 66-44, including 35-7 on the offensive glass as Alexander had 10 offensive rebounds herself. 'Canada is a top five team in the world,' Mexico head coach Lindsey Harding said. 'They go to every Olympics. We knew this would be a tough task for us, but it's also a good measuring stick for us to see where we want to be, where we want to go. That's what a top team looks like.' Canada's defence helped force Mexico into 20 turnovers, while they turned the ball over just seven times themselves. The Canadians held a 17-2 advantage in points scored off of turnovers, and also outscored Mexico 40-12 in the paint. Despite the wire-to-wire victory, and scoring 19 points on 7-for-15 field goals, including 4-for-9 from beyond the arc, Colley was already focused on the team's Monday meeting with Puerto Rico. "A win is a win, but we have high standards for ourselves so we have to regroup and come back tomorrow,' Colley said. Colley opened the game with a quick layup and Canada never looked back. A three-point play by Ejim gave Canada their first double-digit lead of the game with 4:38 remaining in the opening quarter. After a steal and layup for Fields and then a pair of free throws for Ejim, Mexico called timeout with 3:27 remaining in the quarter and Canada leading 18-4. Canada continued to score out of the timeout as Aislinn Konig (178-G-1998, college: NC State) hit the first three of the game to extend Canada's lead to 15 points. Canada led 23-7 after the opening 10 minutes. Fields opened the second quarter scoring with a layup. When Payan hit a corner three to give Mexico its first three-pointer of the game, Fields came back with a three of her own. A layup from Alexander made it 30-16 for Canada with 4:23 remaining in the half. After a pair of free throws from Mexico's Myriam Lara, Colley connected from deep, extending Canada's lead back to 15 points as they built a 34-21 advantage at the half. Mexico started with the ball to open the third quarter, but a steal from Prosper led to a jumper from Fields. After an unsportsmanlike foul called on Mexico, Edwards connected on one of two free throws to give Canada a 37-23 lead and begin an 8-0 run by Canada as they extended their lead to 19 points before a three from Ramos with five minutes remaining in the third. Colley responded with a three-pointer of her own while being fouled. She completed the four-point play to extend Canada's lead to 48-26. After another three from Colley, Canada's lead was 53-28. The Canadians closed out the third strong, scoring the final five points of the quarter, including another three-pointer from Colley, to take a 61-35 lead into the fourth. Canada opened the fourth with their youngest players on the floor and continued to push, despite the large advantage. Through the fourth, the Canadians kept pace with Mexico as each team scored 22 points in the quarter and Canada easily went on to pick up the win.
Courtesy of: basketball.ca

Tags : SHAYLISHA COLLEY, FRENCH BASKETBALL, CANADIAN NATIONAL TEAM