June 18, 2019 - 6:56 PM
AYSEN, Chile - Avianna Thompson led the way with 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Canada beat Puerto Rico 83-40 on Tuesday to advance to the quarterfinals at the FIBA Under-16 Americas Women's Championship.
Isaline Alexander added 11 points and six rebounds for the Canadians (3-0), who topped Group A by going undefeated.
Strong defence early on allowed the Canadians to jump out to a commanding lead.
They started the game with a 14-0 run and were up 21-5 after one quarter.
Canada forced 19 turnovers in the first half and went into the break up 27 points.
The Canadians will play the fourth-place team from Group B in Thursday's quarters.
Canada opened the Americas with a 79-33 win over Ecuador before beating Brazil 78-39.
The Canadians earned silver at the last U16 Women's Americas Championship in 2017 and have medalled in each of their previous five tournaments.
The top-four teams at the tournament qualify for the FIBA U17 Women's Basketball World Cup 2020.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2019