From early on, it was clear who was going to walk out of Toronto Metropolitan University’s Mattamy Athletic Centre with the win on Wednesday night, as Canada cruised to a 104-56 victory over Brazil.
Canada started the game firing, with Avery Howell opening the scoring immediately with a pull-up three. Tara Wallack would then follow that up with a hoop plus the harm, then back-to-back 3-pointers to help give Canada the quick and early 12-2 lead at the first timeout.
That advantage would only grow for the Canadian women thanks to the great point of attack defence, as the team would force five turnovers in the quarter, many of them being live-ball giveaways, allowing Canada to grab nine points off those hiccups. Howell would hit a couple more shots from distance, a theme throughout the evening, as Canada would get out to a 29-11 lead after the first quarter.
The second frame started with Canada’s captain, Yvonne Ejim, getting it done on both ends. First, the 23-year-old timed a block on defence before nailing a pull-up middy on offence. A couple of minutes later, she would grab another two points off a drop step down low to extend the Canadians’ lead to 36-17 with seven minutes remaining in the half.
Canada would finish the rest of the quarter by continuing their stifling defence, as Brazil struggled to get good looks off. The Canadians would only allow six points the rest of the half and 12 in the quarter as a whole, finishing on a 17-6 run and taking a commanding 53-23 lead heading into the break.
The third quarter wouldn’t begin much differently, as Howell continued to add onto her 17-point first half, while Merissah Russell got to the line and nailed a couple of 3-pointers, allowing Canada to start on a 9-2 run. Brazil would find their footing offensively as the quarter went along, but Canada would still outscore Brazil 27-14 in the frame to lead 78-37 after three.
The fourth quarter would be smooth sailing for Canada, as they continued to disrupt everything the Brazilian women were doing at the point of attack defensively, while continuing to nail shots from deep offensively, finishing the game at an even 50 per cent from distance. Canada would ultimately win by 48, taking the win 104-56.
”I think with this group, the past week of practices, we put a lot of work into building that trust,” said Howell, who finished with a team-high 19 points.
“Obviously, it’s a new group, but I think this team, the past week, has been doing a good job of finding each other and trying to make the most of it.”
”I think that’s one of the cool things about Globl Jam and kind of what I know Canada’s trying to develop with this tournament being in place, and especially being in Toronto on home soil for a lot of these players. But I think it’s cool that we have a lot of different people from different levels [at] different ages.”
Looking ahead, Canada will take on Texas, representing the USA, on Thursday after they cruised to an 85-45 victory over Puerto Rico earlier on Wednesday. This sets up a battle of undefeated teams between Canada and Texas, with the winner putting themselves in pole position to be featured in Sunday’s gold medal match.
Key performers:
Canada
Avery Howell, 19 points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals, 5-for-7 from distance.
Tara Wallack, 11 points, nine rebounds, five assists, one steal.
Yvonne Ejim (C), 11 points, five assists, four rebounds.
Kyrah Daniels, 12 points, five assists, two rebounds.
Brazil
Isabella Nascimento (C), 25 points, four assists, two rebounds, one steal.
Ana Beatriz da Silva, six points, one rebound, one steal.
Heloisa Carrera, four points, six rebounds, two steals.
