Canada beats Chile 98-52 to advance to tournament semifinals

MEXICO CITY – Christina Morra had a game-high 21 points and 10 rebounds as Canada beat Chile 98-52 on Sunday to advance to semifinals at the FIBA under-18 Women’s Americas Championship.

Taya Hanson joined Morra with a double-double, finishing with 16 points and 11 rebounds en route to Canada’s fourth straight win at the tournament after finishing the round robin a perfect 3-0.

The Canadians jumped out to a 22-7 lead after one quarter and went into halftime up 10, 39-29.

Any chance of a comeback by Chile went away in the third as Canada extended its lead to 70-38 entering the fourth.

“I’m really proud of our team and what we did today,” said Canadian head coach Claire Meadows.

“I thought especially in the second half it just showed what we can do when we play together as a team and we play with the pride and the passion that we have been talking about this whole trip so great team win for us and we’re on to the semifinals tomorrow.”

The quarterfinal victory guarantees Canada a spot at the 2019 FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup.

The Canadians will face either Mexico or Argentina in Monday’s semifnal.