CADETTE WOMEN FINISH GROUP STAGE ON TOP

MERIDA, Mexico – Audrey-Ann Caron-Goudreau (Gatineau, Que.) scored a game-high 16 points and Kia Nurse (Hamilton, Ont.) added 15 as the Canadian Cadette Women’s National Team (CWNT) captured first place in Group A of the 2011 FIBA Americas U16 Championship for Women with a 79-30 victory over host Mexico on Wednesday.

Caron-Goudreau and Nurse were extremely efficient from the floor, both shooting over 60 per cent from the field. The team as a whole shot well, converting 45.9 per cent of the team’s 74 field goal attempts.

As good as the offence was, the real game-changer for Canada (3-0) came on the defensive end as it managed to hold Mexico (1-2) to just 16.4 per cent shooting.

The excellent defence that the team played is something that CWNT head coach Carly Clarke was proud of, particularly because it allowed players other than the offensive leaders on the roster to shine.

“Super fun game today,” Clarke said. “Atmosphere was electric and the team used the energy effectively. We got contributions in many ways from many people today, for example, Cheyanne [Roger] (Toronto) had 12 rebounds and Emma [Wolfram] (Kamloops, B.C.) had six blocked shots. If our girls continue to take pride in those small details, we will continue to have success in this tournament.”

Seven of Roger’s rebounds came on the offensive end and Wolfram also pulled down nine rebounds in the game.

Mexico’s Meliza Cassillas was her team’s leading scorer with 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting.

With the win, Canada finishes the group stage of the tournament at the top of Group A. So far, the Canucks have looked like the most dominant team, scoring a tournament-high 271 points and giving up a tournament-low 113 points. Only the United States have come close to matching these numbers as the Group B winner has scored 267, while giving up 132.

The CWNT’s next opponent will be on Friday against Group B’s second place finisher, Brazil, for a chance to advance to the championship game on Saturday. You can watch the game (6 p.m. local time, 7 p.m. ET) live online at http://www.fibaamericas.com/.