Sami Whitcomb had 19 points as Australia downed Canada 70-65 in women’s Olympic basketball on Thursday in Lille, France.
Bridget Carleton led Canada with 19 points and eight rebounds, while Kia Nurse added 12 points.
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.
Australia (1-1) went on a 9-0 run in the first quarter that put them up 14-8, but Canada regrouped and slowly chipped away at the deficit before taking the lead early in the second.
The No. 3 Aussies rallied took a 38-32 advantage into the break and, while the Canadians trimmed the deficit to two points in the third, they couldn’t dig themselves out of the hole.
Canada’s Olympic roster
- Natalie Achonwa (Guelph, Ont.)
- Kayla Alexander (Milton, Ont.)
- Laeticia Amihere (Mississauga, Ont.)
- Bridget Carleton (Chatham, Ont.)
- Shay Colley (Brampton, Ont.)
- Aaliyah Edwards (Kingston, Ont.)
- Yvonne Ejim (Calgary)
- Nirra Fields (Montreal)
- Sami Hill (Toronto)
- Kia Nurse (Hamilton)
- Cassandre Prosper (Montreal)
- Syla Swords (Sudbury, Ont.)