IRAPUATO (Mexico) – The United States, Canada, Colombia, and Mexico secured their spots at the FIBA U17 Women’s Basketball World Cup 2026, set to be held in the Czech Republic, after winning their respective Quarter-Final matchups on Friday at the FIBA U16 Women’s AmeriCup. All four teams also advanced to the Semi-Finals, which will be played on Saturday. The defending champions, USA, will face the host nation, Mexico. Canada will play Colombia in the other Semi-Final matchup. In the classification round for 5th to 8th place, Argentina will play against Puerto Rico, and the other matchup will feature Venezuela and Panama. Here’s a recap of the best from Day 4:
USA 131 - 12 PAN
The United States kicked off Friday’s action with a statement win over Panama, securing a spot in the Semi-Finals and booking their ticket to the FIBA U17 Women’s Basketball World Cup for the eighth time. In the victory, the Americans also set several new records: largest margin of victory (119), most points in a single quarter (48 in the first), most team assists (39), and tied the tournament record for most field goals made in a game (55).
All 11 U.S. players who took the court scored, with seven reaching double digits. Ivanna Wilson (26) and Jordyn Haywood (20) led the scoring, each knocking down four three-pointers. Wilson also tallied 5 rebounds, 4 steals, and 2 assists for an efficiency rating of 33. Panama's Nickelys Álvarez led with 5 points, in an offense that converted just 4 of 38 field goal attempts— the lowest shooting mark in the tournament’s history.
CAN 72 - 47 PUR
Canada also secured its eighth appearance at the FIBA U17 Women’s Basketball World Cup after defeating Puerto Rico to advance to the Semi-Finals of the FIBA U16 Women’s AmeriCup. The Canadians outperformed in nearly every statistical category and led the scoreboard from start to finish.
Pippa Gibb led Canada’s offense with 14 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals. Other key contributors included: Frances Vollet (12 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals), Avery Arije (11 points, 3 assists), and Gabrielle Fajemirokun (10 points, 7 rebounds). Valeria Medina led Puerto Rico with 21 points. The team will move on to the classification round.
COL 44 - 39 ARG
Colombia is returning to the FIBA U17 Women’s Basketball World Cup for the first time in eight years after a win over Argentina.
Colombia pulled away in the second half after both teams struggled offensively during the first two quarters. The Colombian squad will be making its second appearance at the U17 World Cup, having debuted in 2018 in Minsk, Belarus. Alisson Restrepo was Colombia’s top scorer with 10 points, half of them coming from the free-throw line. However, a crucial spike for the team was Shery Montaño, who contributed 7 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. Maily Saavedra was also vital on defense with 4 points, 16 rebounds, 5 steals, and 1 block.
Argentina, which had appeared in the last three U17 World Cups (2018, 2022, 2024), will now miss out. Florencia Losada recorded an impressive stat line with 12 points, 8 rebounds, 8 steals, and 3 assists.
MEX 69 - 44 VEN
Mexico rose to the occasion in front of its home crowd, defeating Venezuela in the Quarter-Final showdown to qualify for its fifth FIBA U17 Women’s Basketball World Cup— and third in a row (2014, 2016, 2022, 2024, and now 2026). After a strong start by Venezuela, Mexico turned the game around with a dominant 19-0 run to close the first half, taking a 31-22 lead the team would never relinquish. Another 13-0 run in the third quarter fully blew the game open. Isamar Rumbo led the way for Mexico with a double-double of 19 points and 13 rebounds.
Venezuela is still reaching for its first qualification to the premier tournament in this age group. However, Albanys Ramírez stood out with 15 points and 6 rebounds.
Top performers - Quarterfinals
Ivanna Wilson (USA) PTS: 26 | FG: 11-14 | REB: 5 | AST: 2 | STL: 4 | EFF: 33 Jordyn Haywood (USA) PTS: 20 | 3PT FG: 4-4 | REB: 1 | AST: 6 | STL: 6 | EFF: 30 Caroline Bradley (USA) PTS: 10 | FG: 4-4 | REB: 9 | AST: 4 | STL: 2 | BLK: 3 | EFF: 26 Tatianna Griffin (USA) PTS: 14 | REB: 3 | AST: 4 | STL: 4 | BLK: 1 | EFF: 22 Isamar Rumbo (MEX) PTS: 19 | REB: 13 | AST: 2 | STL: 4 | BLK: 1 | EFF: 21
Upcoming games
Saturday, June 21
Classification games:
ARG vs. PUR - 12:30 p.m. (local time) PAN vs. VEN - 3:00 p.m. Semifinals:
COL vs. CAN - 5:30 p.m. USA vs. MEX - 8:00 p.m.
FIBA