Ayim leads Canada past Brazil 84-45 at AmeriCup; qualifies for World Cup

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Miranda Ayim scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead Canada past Brazil 84-45 on Saturday to advance to the FIBA women’s AmeriCup final.

The Canadians qualified for the 2018 World Cup in Spain with the win and will play Argentina in Sunday’s championship game.

“We’re really happy to be qualifying for our fourth consecutive world championships and that’s the first and foremost goal coming into these FIBA Americas tournaments,” Canada coach Lisa Thomaidis said.

Kia Nurse and Nirra Fields had 16 points apiece for the Canadians, who are the defending tournament champions. Fields also had four rebounds and two assists.

Brazil was led by Isabela Macedo’s 14-point performance.

Argentina beat Puerto Rico 48-44 in the other semi.