Big win for the women at the worlds

It was the most important half of basketball for a Canadian women’s team in a very long time.

From down seven at the half after trailing by 13 in the first half, Canada rallied to take the lead inside of five minutes and went on to beat China 65-61 at the women’s world basketball championships Friday morning.

Big win?

How about huge because it all but assures Canada will move on to the second round, which is no small accomplishment given the group of first-round teams they had to face.

China would need to beat Australia on Saturday (an upset of biblical proportions) while Canada loses to Belarus to keep the Canadians from advancing. And seeing the Aussies are touted to play for gold, that’s a huge stretch.

Kim Smith had 25 points for Canada – she was 11-for-17 from two-point range – while Tamara Tatham (11 points) and Krista Phillips (9) helped key that rally to start the second half.

We’ll be talking to coach Allison McNeill and a player or two in a couple of hours and will get back with as many more details as we can.

 

 

Comments

[Justin]

"And they have no shortage of assets, as Colangelo has found out in conversations with rival GMs." Do you actually write your own articles or does somebody from the team do it?

Blogger's note: I actually reflect more of the reality of the situation, actually. But thanks for the shot, cheap though it may be.

[Nick]

Hi Doug,
Huge win for Canada! Do you know what channel is airing the replay? I tried waking up to catch the fourth quarter (7 a.m is too early for my poor university lifestyle) but I missed it entirely, which leads me to believe that women's games don't run quite as long as men's (or at least overcommercialized nba games). That being said, on average, how long do the women's games last from your experience?
Thanks,

Blogger's note: TSN2 has it; and the games are 40 minutes like all FIBA games and usually go in under two hours.
Nick

[Justin]

Ok, if by "tradeable assets" you mean Reggie Evans - a guy who couldn't play more than 14 minutes a game on a Philly team that lost it's starting PF for the whole season.. or maybe Marcus Banks - a third string (if that?) PG that appeared in 22 games for a non-playoff team in the East that couldn't prevent penetration from the point.. What reality am I missing?

Blogger's note: If by tradeable assets what if they mean one of two starting PGs, two young wings and a draft pick? Not to mention Bargnani.

[Bill in NS]

Well done Ladies!!

[Peter]

Big win for the Canadian team! Advancing to the second has to be seen as a major accomplishment for this squad.

[DanH]

Justin:

The two players you so disparagingly listed as not being tradeable assets are in fact two of the most tradeable.

Expiring contracts in today's NBA are worth a great deal, especially to teams looking to dump long-term salary. They are an ASSET, not necessarily as a player, but as a contract - which allows for teams to save money in a trade, both immediately (by up to 25%) and in the long term.

[Justin]

Doug - If the Raptors are actively engaged in conversations about trading the additional players you mentioned (most notably Andrea or DeRozan), then yes they have tradeable assets... But is Andrea really any better than a streaky scorer that is best served as a 6th man on a good team? What would a good team trade for a 6th man? Yes he's tradeable, but not for much.

Dan H - Every team has expiring contracts. Guys like Banks and Evans are more likely to be used to match up salaries in the context of a much bigger deal (think about how we acquired Banks in the first place). Which means you need to actually be trying to acquire something valuable to make the salaries of Banks and Evans valuable.. and what else from our roster would other teams want more than what they have?

[John Dinner]

Great win ladies! Fantastic stuff. Congratulations. Keep making us proud!

A question for the Raptor haters (why you're even posting here now I have no idea) - if you hate what we have so much, why do you continue to pay attention? I mean, day after day of aggrevation has got to be taking a toll on you - mentally, physically, emotionally. I wouldn't want to continue to participate in something that gives me so much angst, so I am trying understand why you would.

Thank you. Have a nice day. Or at least try.

WAY TO GO CANADA!

[Peter]

Thanks very much for covering the women's basketball Doug. It's SO hard to get into following their team without a bit of knowledge of who the team has, and who they are playing. Your coverage allows me to take an interest. In my opinion, its coverage like yours that is needed in the basketball world. We can't possibly fake an interest when we have no idea who is who, or how we rank, or anything else.

Thanks for making Basketball in Canada a priority for your sports department. You really do deserve an award for the efforts that you are putting forth.

[jimmie]

Justin, you are wrong about how expiring contracts are "more likely to be used"... The contracts of Evans and Banks are just as valuable, if not moreso, on their own than they are as part of a trade package. Many teams are looking to dump salary at various points during any NBA season, and trading for expiring contracts is an easy way to get that done. In other words, players have 2 kinds of value to other teams: talent/skill that the other team wants to fill holes or needs, or contract value that is valuable to the bottom line.

And you're also most likely quite wrong on the value of the talent/skill of Raptors players as well. Of course, a team looking for an All Star is not likely to come calling, but a team looking for a solid backup PG (Jack/Calderon), a team looking for 10 minutes of hard rebounding (Evans/Dorsey), a team looking for a 6th man who can provide scoring punch (Barbosa), a team looking for young developing assets (Wright, Weems) -- all these needs could all potentially be addressed through players on Toronto's roster.

Every single player on every single NBA roster is a tradeable asset.

[Boko]

Whoa! Hold on!

Are one of Calderon or Jack tradeable? Yes! We want an upgrade to younger & faster there.

However, the last thing I'd do is trade DeRozan or Weems!!!!! They aren't there yet, but their upside is way more than anyone else on the team!!!!!!!! Use all the expiring contracts, the TPE & the high draft pick next summer, but DON'T trade away Johnson, Alabi, Davis, DeRozan, or Weems!!!!!!!!!!! (Even Dorsey & Wright are borderline right now. We need to see if those two have anything to offer this season ...)

If other teams don't want Bargnani, Evans, Barbosa, Banks, Kleiza, Andersen, and either Calderon or Jack, end of discussion!

[Lorie]

Hi Doug,
Just read that Russell Hicks was signed to the Lakers training camp roster. What sort of "signing" does this mean? Thanks!

Blogger's note: Non-guaranteed, training camp-fodder deal

[christine]

Funny that this blog entry is about the women's win and it is being hijacked by Raps talk.... typical!