RSS Feed
Follow us on Twitter
Star YouTube Channel
Vanessa Gidden
NEIVA HUILA, Colombia (CMC):
Nicole Louden again played a starring role, yet failed to spark Jamaica's offence which ran out of steam, when Canada beat them 66-49 in the FIBA Americas Women's Championship on Wednesday.
Playing their final group match at the Alvaro Sanchez Silva Coliseum, the Jamaicans produced the highest scorer for the third straight game, with Louden collecting 22 points.
No other Jamaica player reached double figures, and they also suffered in other areas of the game, with the Canadians out-rebounding them 50-24.
It was the third straight defeat for the Jamaicans in the tournament. After opening with a 69-64 victory over Mexico, they sputtered when Brazil flogged them 73-50, and Paraguay edged them 71-69.
Jamaica finished fourth in Group B with five points behind Brazil, on eight points, Canada, seven, and the Mexicans, five.
There are no consolation play-offs, so the Jamaicans are expected to return home this weekend.
Jamaica started the game stronger than their previous three, but Canada still finished the first quarter with a 15-13 lead.
The Jamaicans continued to be competitive in the second period, yet they fell behind down the stretch, as Canada jumped to a 33-25 lead at half-time.
Jamaica fell apart in the third period, and Canada took a huge advantage, springing to a 50-34 lead at three-quarter time.
The Jamaicans dug deep in the final quarter, matching the Canadians for intensity, but the damage had already been done.
Louden finished the group stage as the joint-leading scorer with 75 points and joint-leading points per game average of 18.8.
Vanessa Giddens finished fourth among the scorers with 73 points with an 18.3 ppg average, and was the second most successful rebounder with 33 boards at 8.3 rebounds per game.
