TUNJA (FIBA Women’s AmeriCup 2019) – The South American Women’s Championship 2018 opened with celebrations from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Paraguay.

Paraguay opened the 2018 edition of the South American Women’s Championship with a 73-66 win over Chile in Group A action. The team started evenly, with neither team being able to pull away on the scoreboard. Paraguay took the lead during the final minutes and closed the game better to take away the victory. A fantastic Paola Ferrari, who had 33 points in the game, led the Paraguayan team to the important victory. Ziomara Morrison was the top performer for the Chilean squad with a 25-point and 14-rebound “double-double”.

Argentina began the South American Women’s Championship with a dominant 74-42 win over Ecuador. Argentina took control of the scoreboard from the get-go and captured a comfortable lead after a 25-10 first quarter. With every player adding to the scoreboard, the argentines went on to win the remaining quarter to take the win in Group B action. Andrea Boquete led the scoring for Argentina with 12 points.

Brazil started its South American title defense with a powerful 77-42 win over Venezuela. The Brazilians started the game with a 7-0 run and never looked back. The team coached by Carlos Lima went on to win every quarter to claim the win. Clarissa Dos Santos led the scoring for Brazil with 15 points. Ivaney Marquez was the top scorer for the Venezuelans with 11 points.

The host of the South American Women’s Championship debuted on the competition with a 84-28 win over Peru. Colombia set the tone and the rhythm of the game to escape to a 26-1 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Colombians never dropped the intensity and headed to the win. Mayra Caicedo was the top scorer for Colombia with 17 points.

Tomorrow on the second day of the South American Women’s Championship, Group A will feature Brazil vs Paraguay and Chile vs Venezuela. Meanwhile, Group B will present Argentina vs Peru and Colombia vs. Ecuador.

The top four teams from the South American Women’s Championship will qualify to the FIBA Women’s AmeriCup 2019.

FIBA