Hailey Brown, Alyssa Jerome & Canada Take Down South Korea in World Cup Opener
U19 Team Canada Women’s defeats South Korea 91-45 in their opening game of the FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup.
A total team performance led Canada to a comfortable win in Group C action. Six players finished the game scoring in double figures.
Game Recap
First Half
Canada got off to a very slow and nervous start to the game. A strong Korean start and careless Canadian turnovers lead to an early lead for Korea.
It took until the 6:30 mark in the first quarter for the Canadian women took their first lead off a Aislinn Konig three pointer. Konig finished the game scoring all of her nine points from deep.
However, Canada wasn’t able to extend their lead because of turnovers, which kept Korea in the game only down 12-11 at the end of the first quarter.
Much like the first quarter, Canada fell behind to start the second but a Hanna Hall and-one finish at the rim saw the women take back the lead and never give it back. Hall controlled the game very well and was one of the lone bright spots at the free throw line, going 4/5 at the charity stripe.
As the quarter went on, Canada grew more and more comfortable taking the game to Korea. Canada went on a 15-0 run in six minutes to completely blow the game open. During that span, the women were aggressive attacking the basket and finished consistently even through contact.
The U19 girls used their size advantage over Korea to control the glass both offensively and defensively. They were able to close out defensive possessions and score on second chance opportunities.
A strong effort on both ends of floor in the second quarter propelled Canada to a 38-22 halftime lead.
Second Half
Shaina Pellington was a force all game and especially to start the second half. She was able to get to the basket with ease and have a perfect shooting day going 4/4 from the field. Pellington showed her strength being able to finish through contact.
Team Canada slowed the pace down in the third quarter as they kept feeding the ball inside to Angela Bongomin. Bongomin did all her work inside the paint, scoring eight points and grabbing six rebounds. She was also able to facilitate from down low and find open teammates.
Using Bongomin’s size and Hailey Brown’s energy and athleticism, Canada got into the paint on most offensive trips very easily.
The unselfish team ball didn’t stop throughout the game. Every player on the court would get a touch or a play for them to get involved. The ball movement created many high percentage looks and the girls filled the cup.
Defensively, Canada denied Korea any easy buckets and forced them into taking threes. Korea shot a total of 41 three pointers in the game, only making five.
Canada completely dominated the glass (81-21) using their size to out-rebound a much smaller Korea team. In fact, they had more offensive rebounds (32) than Korea had total rebounds.
The women shot 56% from inside the arc but struggled from deep, going 5/21. Just like the U19 boys, it will take this team some time to adjust to the further out three-point line.
Another area for concern is the free throw shooting. Canada only shot 49% from the charity stripe. This will have to improve against the stronger teams in the tournament.
The host cities of the 2017 FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup are Udine and Cividale del Friuli in Italy.
Top Performers
Hailey Brown: 10 points | 13 rebounds | 1 block
Alyssa Jerome: 10 points | 10 rebounds
Shaina Pellington: 10 points | 7 rebounds | 2 steals | 1 assist
Laeticia Amihere: 10 points | 8 rebounds | 3 assists
Summer Masikewich: 10 points | 6 rebounds
Sarah Donovan: 10 points | 2 assists | 1 rebound | 1 steal
Up Next
The U19 Women’s National Team will look to continue their strong start to the FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup when they play France. The game is set for Sunday, July 23 at 9:45 AM in Cividale del Friuli.
