VALVIDIA, Chile - Their Olympic hopes dashed two days earlier, the Canadians played party poopers for the host team Sunday at the FIBA Americas Olympic qualifying tournament.
Isabelle Grenier of Ste. Foy, Que., led a balanced attack with 17 points as Canada beat Chile 86-68 to finish fifth in the eight-team tournament. The victory was the Canadians' second straight, but it rang hollow since only the top four teams in the tournament are eligible for the Beijing Olympics.
The U.S. advanced directly to Beijing with a 101-71 win over Cuba in Sunday's final. The Cubans join Argentina and Brazil in a 12-team last-chance Olympic qualifying tournament to be held June 9-15, 2008 at a yet-to-be-determined location.
Canada was knocked out of Olympic contention Friday with an 85-37 loss to the U.S.
Kim Smith, the lone WNBA player on the Canadian roster, had 15 points while fellow Mission, B.C., native Teresa Gabriele added 13 and Sarah Crooks and Jordan Adams had 10 apiece. The Canadians led 22-10 after the first quarter, 42-29 at the half and cruised from there.
"We had a great overall defensive effort today despite having little time to prepare," said Canadian head coach Allison McNeill. "Chile runs good offensive sets, but I thought we were able to take away some of their offence with our strong defence."
We also showed some good mental fortitude coming back from the losses earlier in the tournament."
Canada went 1-2 in Group B action, losing to Cuba and the U.S. while beating Jamaica.