ANKARA
Turkey has beaten Canada 55-44 in Group B of the FIBA World Championship for Women, remaining undefeated and topping their group.
The game in Ankara Arena was very close throughout three quarters in which both teams were able to score 31 points each.
Shooting guard Kim Gaucher was able to hit a buzzer-beating three-point shot for Canada to equalize the score at 31 but the Canadians were not able to hold off Turkish power forward Lara Sanders in the last quarter.
Turkey scored 24 points in the last quarter under point guards Isil Alben and Birsel Vardarli's leadership and Sanders' great inside game.
Turkey played solid defense against the Canadians to finish the game and secure their second victory.
Sanders was on top form for Turkey and finished with 18 points, six rebounds and dominating five blocks.
Center Nevriye Yilmaz joined her teammate with 13 points and five rebounds.
Gaucher and forward Katherine Plouffe's nine points were not enough for Canada as no player could score double-digit points for the North American side.
Canada lost their first game and will play a crucial last match against France on Tuesday at 21.15 local time in Ankara (GMT +3).
With that victory, Turkey topped Group B after two games and will play with Mozambique on Tuesday at 19.00 local time in Ankara (GMT +3).
- Group C: Belarus - Cuba: 70-69
In the other game of the tournament Belarus beat Cuba thanks to their small forward Katsiaryna Snytsina's three-point shot with 14 seconds to go.
Cuba started the game strong and lead the first quarter 22-15 thanks to their shooting guard Leidys Oquendo's good performance in the Group C game, which was played in Istanbul.
However, Belarus pulled the game back in the second quarter, only trailing by two after the first half, 35-37.
The Cubans played good defense throughout the third quarter to increase their lead to six after third, 56-50.
In the final quarter, Cuba choked offensively and could not score a single point after leading 69-58 with three minutes and 19 seconds to go in the game.
After that point, the Belarusian team benefited from inside and outside, getting their shots to fall.
Katsiaryna Snytsina put the dagger in Cuba's heart as she sank a three-point shot with 14 seconds to go. The Cuban team could not use the final chance and Belarus got their second victory to claim second place in Group C after two games.
The loss was the second-in-a-row for Cuba.
Two other games have already started; in Ankara, Spain takes on Brazil in Group A and the U.S. is facing Serbia in Group D.
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