Canada鈥檚 women鈥檚 basketball team continues to pick up steam at the FIBA World Cup.
Bridget Carleton scored 19 points while Kayla Alexander grabbed 11 rebounds, and the Canadian women beat Japan 70-56 on Sunday to remain undefeated and clinch a berth in the quarterfinals.
鈥淭hat was a big game for us,鈥� Carleton said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a tough team, they鈥檙e hard to play against, they鈥檙e fast, they like to shoot the three-ball so it鈥檚 a tough matchup, but definitely good to come away with the win.
鈥淎nd it felt good to see some shots go in for me,鈥� she added with a smile.
Shay Colley added 13 points and seven rebounds, Laeticia Amihere finished with 10 points, six rebounds and five assists for the No. 4 Canadians (3-0). Carleton, a forward for the WNBA鈥檚 Minnesota Lynx, also had six rebounds.
Maki Takada scored 11 points to lead eighth-ranked Japan (1-3), the reigning Olympic silver medallists.
The Canadians next face Australia (2-1) on Monday, then wrap up the preliminary round against Mali (0-3) on Tuesday. Their victory on Sunday will mean avoiding the United States (3-0 in Group A) in the quarters.
鈥淚 am very proud of my players because we are growing up as a team,鈥� said head coach Victor Lapena. 鈥淛ust congratulations to my players because today was a master class to have the control of the game, and it鈥檚 because they are very ready to do it.鈥�
Lapena, a Spaniard and longtime coach of that national program, was hired by Canada Basketball in January after the team鈥檚 disappointing first-round exit at the Tokyo Olympics.
The Canadians, who鈥檝e twice won World Cup bronze 鈥� in 1979 and 鈥�86 鈥� lost to Japan in World Cup qualifying a few weeks after the Olympics.
But the women have continued to mesh since gathering last month in Edmonton for World Cup preparations.
鈥淚 think we鈥檙e just seeing the benefit of all the time we put in over the last four weeks,鈥� Carleton said. 鈥淎nd every game it鈥檚 a different challenge. Every single game, every team plays so differently. So, being able to adjust, trusting the coaching staff and what our scouting is on the defensive end, on the offensive end, it changes every single game, but we wholeheartedly believe in Victor and the coaching staff and what they want us to do.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 exciting to see the improvement,鈥� she added. 鈥淲e鈥檙e getting used to playing with each other, how Victor wants to play, and I think it will just continue to get better.鈥�
Carleton scored Canada鈥檚 first five points after the team went scoreless for the first four minutes. The Canadians鈥� defence ignited their offence, and Canada took the lead for good, heading into the second up 20-12.
Japan sliced Canada鈥檚 lead to three points with 4:17 left in the first half, but the Canadians closed with a 13-0 run to lead 41-25 at the break. Canada鈥檚 smothering defence forced Japan into 10 first-half turnovers.
Canada kept up the momentum in the third quarter, and Carleton鈥檚 three-pointer with 1:19 to play sent the Canadians into the fourth with a 61-39 lead.
鈥淓very game we go into we think we can win,鈥� Carleton said. 鈥淲e think we should win. Our goal is always to be on the podium so this is exactly where we want to be. 3-0. We鈥檙e going to enjoy this, but get some rest and recovery tonight because we have one (Monday) again against the home crowd in a tough environment.鈥�
The Canadians opened the World Cup with a 67-60 win over Serbia and then beat France 59-45.
Australia defeated Serbia 69-54 earlier Sunday.
The Canadian Press
