Canada's Aaliyah Edwards, left, and Kayla Alexander, right, reach for a rebound along with Australia's Steph Talbot during a women's basketball game at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Michael Conroy
LILLE, France – Sami Whitcomb had 19 points as Australia downed Canada 70-65 in women’s Olympic basketball on Thursday.
Bridget Carleton led Canada with 19 points and eight rebounds, while Kia Nurse added 12 points.
The result dims Canada’s chances of making it through to the knockout round, with the country falling to 0-2 in pool play with one game left against Nigeria on Sunday.
The top eight teams from the combined ranking will move on to the quarterfinals, set to begin on Wednesday.
Australia (1-1) went on a 9-0 run in the first quarter that put them up 14-8, but Canada regrouped and slowly chipped away at the deficit before taking the lead early in the second.
The Aussies rallied took a 38-32 advantage into the break and, while the Canadians trimmed the deficit to two points in the third, they couldn’t dig themselves out of the hole.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 1, 2024.
