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Junior Women Beat China, Move Into Quarter-Finals At World U19

Published by AJ on July 30, 2009

BANGKOK, Thailand – Tough defense and a strong second quarter offensive push helped Canada defeat China 75-67 at the FIBA U19 World Championship for Women on Wednesday. With this victory, Canada advances to the quarter-final round for the first time in 24 years.

“It was a pleasant surprise, but our goal was to finish in the top eight,” said Rich Chambers, Head Coach for the Junior Women’s National Team (JWNT). “This was a goal we set in the FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Women last year. And this was the goal we had set ourselves after we finished ninth in the last championship. We told ourselves that the next time we play here we will aim for a top-8 finish and fight for a medal.”

Fiba.com

The Canadians had three players in double digits including Taryn Wicijowski (Regina) who scored a game-high 20 points and 13 rebounds. Kayla Alexander (Milton, Ont.) also recorded a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Natalie Achonwa (Guelph, Ont.) contributed 14 points in the game.

Lu Wen was the high scorer for China with 20 points. Zhao Shuang had 19 and Cheng Dan 18.

As in previous matches throughout this tournament, Canada’s defence helped win this game. China was only able to convert six points on second chance shots, while Canada recorded 20. The red and white also dominated on the boards, collecting 20 offensive and 31 defensive rebounds. China struggle to gather 30 boards overall.

So powerful are the Canadians defensively that two players are ranked in the top-five rebounders overall in the tournament. Alexander currently sits in second place averaging 10.7 rpg, and Wicijowski is tied for fourth with 8.8 rpg.

Team Canada also played a tough inside game, driving to the basket rather than playing the perimeter. This strategy paid off as the girls recorded 48 points in the paint, and were twice as effective as the Chinese team that only gathered 24.

The Canadians got off to a good start offensively in the first 2:30 minutes of the game, executing team offense and making shots inside. But the team went on a slump for the next four minutes, turning over the ball and rushing shots, allowing the Chinese team to go on a 14-0 run. After a JWNT timeout, they switched to zone and did a better job on defense, keeping the Chinese scoreless in the last three minutes of the first quarter to finish down seven (12-19).

Canada came out firing in the second and controlled the entire period. The ladies found their rhythm and played more assertively, getting the ball up on transition. China had no answer for Canada’s offense that moved the ball to create a size advantage on the inside and fought for the second chance points. Canada took the lead in the game scoring 34 points in the quarter.

It was an outstanding offensive performance by Wicijowski, Achonwa and Alexander, who collectively scored 35 of Canada’s first half points to give their team the lead 46-34.

The third quarter saw China and Canada jockey for control offensively. While the Canadian women only recorded 13 points, they still managed to maintain a ten point lead to finish the third at 59-49.

China stepped up the intensity on defence in the fourth period, overplaying passing lanes and playing a very physical game. They went on a 10-0 run tying the game at 59 with eight minutes remaining in the game. But the Canadians settled down, held their ground and controlled the tempo of the game, led my co-captains Taryn Wicijowski and Elyse Jobin who contributed 7 points and 4 points respectively to give Canada the win 75-67.

Up next – Quarter Final Action:

Canada (3-3) currently sits in sixth place, behind Australia (6-0), Spain (6-0), USA (5-1), Russia (4-2) and Argentina (4-2). After a day off, the FIBA U19 World Championship for Women tournament will resume with Canada facing an undefeated Australian team on Friday, July 31 at 1:00 pm local time (2:00 am ET).
“It’s going to be tough, but we are looking forward to it,” stated Chambers.

-by Tanya Phillipps-

For complete box scores and live stats for the FIBA U19 World Championship for Women, visit the official tournament website at www.thailand2009.fiba.com.

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