Christina Morra’s double-double leads Canada to 73-49 win over Columbia

MEXICO CITY – Christina Morra had a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds to lead Canada to a 73-49 victory against Columbia to open group play at the FIBA U18 Women’s Americas Championship on Wednesday.

Morra was 8 for 11 on shooting, while Taya Hanson chipped in 14 points and nine boards.

“I think it was a great team win. I think we were all aware of our individual roles that were required to be successful and we executed those goals very well,” said Morra.

Maria Alvarez had a game-high 19 points for Columbia.

Canada controlled the game from the outset, dominating on the boards to go out in front 14-7 after the first quarter.

The Canadians stretched their lead to 36-20 heading into halftime, using a full-court press to force Columbia into turnovers.

Columbia cut the lead to 54-36 in the third and kept the pressure on early in the fourth, jumping out to a 9-0 run. But Canada finished on a 19-4 run to close it out.

“I thought it was a great team effort. Everybody did their job and did their job really well. Everybody was able to contribute to the win and I thought we were able to weather a little bit of a storm in the second half,” said Canadian coach Claire Meadows.

“We did a good job sticking together. All in all, it was a great team win and a great start to the tournament.”

Canada is slated to face El Savador in its second group-play match Thursday.