Aislinn Konig showed the value of the three-pointer on Tuesday, hitting 10 shots from behind the arc to help Canada defeat Latvia 74-70 at the FIBA U19 Women's World Cup in Italy.
Konig ended up with 32 points as the Canadians remained undefeated through the group stage of the tournament, bringing a 3-0 record into the round of 16. Canada will face Mexico at the first hurdle of the knockout phase on Wednesday, and if it wins, would face the survivor of China vs. Egypt in the quarterfinals. A semifinal against Russia could be around the corner and a final against tournament favorite U.S.
"We knew going into this game Latvia was going to be a challenging matchup," head coach Carly Clarke said. "They are a tough defensive and disciplined team. We were happy to grind out a win and we knew it would be a forty-minute battle. Ace [Konig] had a very special performance with 10 threes and it was exciting as a team to work together to get her the ball to make open shots.
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"We are continuing to buy into that process of togetherness. It's great to take home first place in our pool and we look forward to playing in the round of 16."
Canada finishes the #FIBAU19 Group Phase undefeated thanks to some sharp shooting from @acekonig 🎯 vs. Latvia 🇱🇻 #WeAreTeamCanada pic.twitter.com/zArUJjuIIK
— Canada Basketball (@CanBball) July 25, 2017
Shaina Pellington and Laeticia Amihere were also on the mark on Tuesday for the high-flying Canadians, with 15 and 14 points against Latvia, respectively.
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Along with Mexico, Canada joins Puerto Rico, Egypt, Spain, Russia, France, Hungary, Latvia, Australia, Korea and Japan as teams that have already qualified for the round of 16.
The Canadian women's success at the U19 tournament comes of the heels of the men's team winning gold earlier this month.