Toronto, ON - The U16 Women's National Team fought Cuba to earn a victory in their U16 FIBA Americas tournament opener. Team Canada won 85-43 over Cuba, for their first win in Pubela, Mexico.

Alyssa Jerome lead Canada in scoring with 16 points, pulled down 8 rebounds and assisted on 6 shots in 21 minutes. Cuba's Elianis Armentero was the standout, pouring in 19 points in 33 minutes of action. For a full boxscore, click here.

"It was great to get a win under our belt and start the tournament off with a win. We improved as the game went on and got solid contributions from all 12 players" said Co-Head Coach Carly Clarke, who went to her bench early as all 12 players saw the floor in the first quarter.

Team Canada did not score until the 6:17 mark in the first quarter, but Canada would settle in and took a 13-12 lead by the end of the quarter. Cuba started the second quarter on a 6-3 run, which forced Canada to call a timeout. Canada responded with a 6-0 run and took a 33-25 lead at half.

The second half would see Canada pull away offensively, outscoring Cuba 28-11 in the frame. Canada headed into the fourth with a 61-36 lead. In the final quarter, all 12 players contributed to the scoreboard as Canada won the quarter by 17 points. The rebounding disparity of 61 to 28 in Canada's favour, proved to be the difference to secure the 85-43 victory. Clarke added, "we put some great building blocks in place to continue to improve as the tournament goes on."

With the win, Canada is 1-0 in the FIBA Americas tournament. The squad takes on Venezuela tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. EST.

For full team roster and coaching staff, click here.
 

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Bailey Williams
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E-mail: bwilliams@basketball.ca
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