Canada's U19 women's basketball team defeated China 68-65 in the quarterfinals of the 2017 World Cup on Friday in Italy, setting up a Saturday semifinal against Russia, a 67-65 victor over Australia.
Sign Up to watch every NFL game, plus soccer, tennis and more on DAZN
Canada nearly squandered a 62-52 lead as missed shots and turnovers enabled China to close to 63-60 with 1:07 remaining. After a timeout by coach Carly Clarke, Canada got a driving layup by Laeticia Amihere, but Yu Tang drew a foul while shooting a three and hit all of her free throws to make it 65-63. Canada hit all of its free throws down the stretch to preserve the win.
Amihere led Canada with 21 points, while the Chinese were paced by Xu Han, who had 19 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocks.
China used a 17-2 run to take a 19-8 lead in the first quarter, but Canada kept its poise, worked the ball inside effectively, and went into intermission down 28-26. At the end of the third quarter Canada led 48-45.
