Canada’s women’s basketball team pushed hard until the final buzzer on Thursday.
Its relentless effort wasn’t enough.
The Canadians fell 70-65 to Australia in group play at the Paris Olympics, dropping to 0-2 in the tournament.
“I felt like we played hard. It was disappointing, the ending, because we were right there,” Canadian centre Kayla Alexander, who had 10 points, said from Lille, France.
“I felt like at the end, though, we gave it our all, just trying to close that gap and get that W. Unfortunately we fell a little short, but I felt like we gave it our all and that we were relentless to the last second.”
Bridget Carleton led Canada with 19 points and eight rebounds, while Kia Nurse added 12.
The result dims Canada’s chances of making it through to the knockout round, with the country falling to 0-2 in pool play with one game left against Nigeria on Sunday at 7:30 a.m. ET.
The top eight teams from the combined ranking will move on to the quarterfinals, set to begin on Wednesday.
Fifth-ranked Canada would be eliminated from quarterfinal contention later Thursday with a Nigeria win over France.
Canada’s best Olympic finish came in 1984 at fourth.
WATCH | Canada drops 2nd straight game at Paris 2024:
Australia defeats Canada 70-65 in women’s basketball tournament group play at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. The Canadians are on the brink of elimination from the knockout round.
Australia, which improved to 1-1 in pool play, got 19 points from guard Sami Whitcomb.
The two sides traded chances early Thursday before Australia got off to a 9-0 run and took a 14-8 lead in the first quarter.
Canada regrouped and chipped away at the deficit before going up early in the second.
The Aussies rallied, retaking the lead midway through the frame, but Aaliyah Edwards appeared poised to ignite the Canadians with 11 seconds to go in the first half.
The WNBA rookie stole the ball and dished it to Alexander, who made a bucket in tight under pressure, and drew contact for a three-point play.
Cayla George snuffed out the momentum with a three-point buzzer beater that gave Australia a 38-32 lead going into the break.
Canada shot 35 per cent from field
Canada trimmed the deficit to two points in the third quarter, but couldn’t climb out of the hole.
“I think we did a great job in all of our roles except in one, in defence,” said Canada head coach Victor Lapena.
The team had options offensively, but couldn’t execute, shooting 35 per cent from the field.
“I think this is the key,” Lapena said. “We need more than 65 points with Australia. We need more than 70 or 75 points to beat France. We’re working really hard. What [the players have] is all my confidence.”
Four-time Olympian Natalie Achonwa looked visibly frustrated in the second half after missing free throws.
“You can’t miss four free throws. In a tight game you can’t miss four free throws,” she said. “I think that’s where I was really hard on myself, because I’m better than that. But there’s other ways that I know I contributed to the game and it’s not points.”
Even when the odds are stacked against them, the players are motivated by the fact that they’re playing for the Maple Leaf, Achonwa said.
“At the end of day, we play a kids’ game for a living,” she said. “And to know that we’re here representing Canada, we do that regardless of the score, regardless of the outcome. We do that with how we show up and how we continue to show up and how I know that if I leave everything on the floor.
“And if I play how I played today, if we play with grit and fight like we know that we can, I’d be proud to look any Canadian face and say that I represented you well.”
Germany clinches quarterfinal berth
Germany continued its dazzling Olympic debut by beating Japan 75-64 to clinch a spot in the quarterfinals. Spain and Serbia grabbed the first quarterfinal berths with wins Wednesday.
France also can clinch its group and a quarterfinal berth with a win over Nigeria.
The United States, chasing an unprecedented eighth straight Olympic gold medal, needs only to beat Belgium in Thursday’s finale to book its spot.
Satou Sabally scored 23 of her 33 points in the first half for Germany. Her sister, Nyara, didn’t play, with the WNBA forward in concussion protocol after being helped off the court in the Germans’ opening win.
Satou Sabally, a forward for the WNBA’s Dallas Wings, handled her absence easily, tying for the eighth-most points in an Olympic game.
Alexis Peterson added 11 points for Germany, and Luisa Geiselsoder had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Japan, which grabbed silver at the 2021 Tokyo Games, will need a win and some help Sunday wrapping up against Belgium to grab one of the final two quarterfinal spots. Germany concludes pool play against the U.S.