Kayla Alexander led the Canadian senior women’s national basketball team with 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds as they kicked off the FIBA Olympic pre-qualifying tournament with a 72-57 victory against Senegal on Monday in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Syla Swords and Delaney Gibb each contributed 13 points for the Canadian squad.
Canadian head coach Nell Fortner remarked, “This is a solid start for us. It’s always great to open with a win. I felt we played very tenaciously and did well on the boards. We understand that Senegal is a formidable rebounding team, so securing that aspect of the game was important.”
“It’s just great to have that initial victory behind us.”
Canada’s dominance on the boards was particularly noticeable on the offensive end, where they outperformed Senegal 15-8. Tara Wallack was instrumental, securing four offensive rebounds to provide her team with extra opportunities.
Swords was pivotal in establishing Canada’s early lead, sinking three three-pointers in the first quarter. The Canadians built a lead of up to 17 points and maintained their advantage throughout, although Senegal attempted to rally in the third quarter.
In the paint, Canada outscored Senegal 26-14, achieving a shooting percentage of 52.5% from that area. Both teams scored 11 points off turnovers, while Senegal narrowly led the bench scoring 31-29.
Canada will take a break on Tuesday before facing off against the Philippines on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET.