BUENOS AIRES (Argentina) - The FIBA U18 Women’s Americas Championship continued Tuesday with USA and Canada remaining unbeaten while Colombia and Argentina won their first game of the competition at the Obras Sanitarias Stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Colombia 63 – 39 El Salvador

After a less than ideal start to the tournament against USA, Colombia found their form on Tuesday kicking off the action with a win over El Salvador to move to 1-1 in Group B.

Out of the gate Colombia came out fast on offense and put the pressure on El Salvador to just five points in the first quarter. Then El Salvador put the pressure right back outscoring their opponent 14-7 and cutting Colombia’s lead to just one point heading into halftime.

The third quarter continued to be a back-and-forth battle and El Salvador even took the lead back midway through the third. But a breakout fourth quarter from Colombia and just 7 points from El Salvador sealed their fate.

Six Colombia players scored six or more points in the win including Maria Salguedo who led the team in both points with 14 and assists with 7. Leidy Montaño added 11 points in the win.

El Salvador’s Gabriela Alfaro scored one-third of her team’s total points with 13, while the rest of the roster did not have any player score more than 6 and shot just 25 percent from the floor.

Puerto Rico 38 – 93 USA

USA continued to dominate. This time against Puerto Rico moving to 2-0 in Group B to hold strong at the top of the group.

Both teams were hungry for a win as the two were tied at 12 points each at the end of the first, and even continued to be an even-strength battle halfway into the second quarter.

However, USA adjusted their gameplan and jumped to a 13-point lead at the end of the second to carry into the half to pull away from a feisty Puerto Rico team.

USA got back on track defensively and allowed just 14 points in the second half. They recorded 10 blocks and 11 steals as a team, capitalizing on turnovers for 22 points and scoring 33 points in transition.

Leading on the boards, shooting 49 percent from the floor, and having full bench effort led USA to a dominant second half that Puerto Rico could not figure out how to stop.

With five scorers in double digits, USA’s leading scorer was Cotie McMahon with 15, but Aalyah Del Rosario’s 14-point, 12 rebound double-double was a huge factor in the dominant win.

Dianne Crespo had another big game for Puerto Rico with 13 points and Nicole Carreno added 12, but the rest of Puerto Rico contributed just 13 points.

Brazil 38 – 80 Canada

Though Brazil took an early lead, Canada took back the reins three and a half minutes into the battle and would not give it up again to notch another win and move to 2-0 in Group A.

While Canada didn’t have their best shooting night at 34 percent, they made up for it defensively, off the bench and in their playmaking. They got every player on the roster onto the scoresheet in their win over Brazil.

Frustrated in their play Brazil gave up 15 turnovers that resulted in 22 points for Canada, and allowing Canada to control the boards also gave them a 12-point advantage in terms of getting a second shot at the net.

Going on runs as big as 18-0, Canada’s T'yana Todd once again had an all-star night. Lemyah Hylton tallied an almost double-double with 10 points and 9 rebounds in the win.

Ana Paula de Oliveira led all Brazilian scorers with 13 points and 8 rebounds, and Taissa Nascimento Queiroz added 9 points and 11 rebounds.

Mexico 53 – 67 Argentina

After dropping their first game in front of the home crowd, Argentina looked to be in danger again after Mexico started the game on a 10-0 run. But Argentina answered with a 10-0 run of their own and the teams closed out the first quarter with 13 points each.

Argentina went on a scoring frenzy in the second quarter while also holding Mexico to just 8 points, getting a 13-point lead going into the halftime that seemed comfortable enough as the bench continued to pour points and force Mexico to turn the ball over.

However, Mexico did not give up in the fight, winning the third quarter 19-15 and being first to strike in the final ten minutes of play, cutting what was once Argentina’s 19-point lead down to just 8 points with the momentum on their side.

Nicole Tapari’s 17 points on 84 percent shooting led Argentina to win. Julia Fernandez added 10 points while being a key defender for Argentina along with Natassja Kolff. Lara Tribouley led the team in rebounds as her two-way play accounted for 11 points and 8 rebounds.

Anisa Jeffreis was once again a shining light for Mexico, leading the team with 14 points and 7 rebounds in the loss.

FIBA