EL SALVADOR – Isalys Quiñones’ 17 points and 10 rebounds helped lift Puerto Rico over Costa Rica in Centrobasket action as PUR rolled over their opponent 79-39 on Saturday evening. With this win, Puerto Rico officially qualifies for the AmeriCup 2021 tournament in June.

Tayra Melendez led the charge for both teams in the first quarter, scoring almost a third of Puerto Rico’s 23 points with 7. Many of PUR’s points came off the fast break and ability to out-rebound their opponent defensively in the first ten minutes.

Arielle Varner added 7 points and 3 rebounds of her own in the second quarter as PUR held CRC to just 9 points in the second quarter as they took a 20-point lead going into the half, 46-26. Daniela Villalobos led CRC in points with 8 in the half, while Ariana Mora led the team with 5 rebounds in the half.

Quinones’ 8-points in the third quarter helped PUR continue their dominance during the third quarter, doubling their opponent’s score at multiple points. CRC held Melendez and Varner on the scoring end, but were unable to find the basket often enough to cut their deficit that extended to over 30 points.

Sofia Murillo was a defensive force to keep CRC in the game in any capacity, adding 3 rebounds in the third quarter alone and leading the team in rebounds and leading her team in efficiency.

In the end, fouls would allow PUR to extend their lead to 40 with just 26 seconds left to play, with CRC having no answer for PUR’s 5 players who all finished the game with 9 or more points. CRC only managed to score 2 points in the final 10 minutes of the game while PUR netted 13.

Murillo would finish the game with 7 points and 6 rebounds, while Villalobos finished the game with 10 points, scoring only 2 in the second half. Only 3 CRC players had more than 5 points in the game, and missed scoring chances allowed PUR to take such a large lead.

For PUR, Pamela Rosado was another key to their large victory, netting 9 points, 3 assists and grabbing 8 rebounds in the 40-point win. Gabriella Smalls was also a key player for PUR on the boards, finishing the game with 6 points and 9 rebounds.

PUR is now leading the Group A standings by 1 with 6 points, while CRC is tied for last in the standings with just 2 points in the group.

FIBA