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MOSCOW REGION (FIBA U21 World Championship for Women) -  Canada won their second straight game at the FIBA U21 World Championship for Women as they beat Mali by a score of 71-47 moving their overall record to 2-1. The Canadian squad was led by Kendel Ross with 16 points and Kalisha Keane (Scarborough, ON) who chipped in with 10 points and two assists. Mali’s leading scorer was Fatoumata Bagayoko with 15 points.

The first quarter was back and fourth until the mid-way point when Canada began to open the game up. Led by Ross scoring five straight points, Canada was able to take a 15-11 lead six minutes into the frame. Canada locked in on defence for the final 4:30 of the quarter, holding Mali scoreless.

Mali would not back down as they started the second quarter with a 6-2 run in the first three minutes. Canada then went on a 13-4 run for the next 2:30 led by Ross, Miranda Ayim and Alisha Tatham to push their lead to 35-21. Mali ended the quarter with back-to-back three point plays, leaving Canada with a 42-30 lead heading into halftime. Kendel Ross led all scorers at the half with 16 points, while Keane had seven points.

Canada used some strong and aggressive inside play to start the third quarter leading to a 7-0 run. They did not let up the rest of the quarter and led 58-32 heading into the final frame. However, Canada was not disciplined on offence to start the fourth, and did not score until the 5:34 mark. The final score was 71-47 in favour of the Canadian squad.

Canada won the defensive battle and out-rebounded their opponents 43-35. Leanne Evans dominated in the paint as she led all players with 10 rebounds, while Krysten Boogaard (Regina, SK) chipped in with 7 rebounds. Canada continued their strong shooting from the floor as they shot 38.5% and held their opponent to 30%.

"It was more difficult to prepare for Mali as we had short turn-around time between games. We did not have the same discipline offensively and defensively today,” commented head coach Linda Marquis. “We lacked patience on offence taking early shots against a Mali team that was giving open shots, rather than running the offence. We look forward to a day of rest to prepare for France where we will need to be ready mentally and be disciplined both offensively and defensively in order to have a good performance against the second ranked team in our pool.”

The win moved Canada into a tie for third place in Group A. Mali moved to 0-3 for the tournament and sit in sixth place in the grouping. Canada will play their next game of the FIBA U21 World Championships for Women against powerhouse France on July 3 at 10:15 pm local time. They have been placed in Group A with France, China, Russia, Mali and Belgium. The preliminary round ends on July 4 and the top four teams in each group will move onto the medal rounds which will begin on July 6.

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