The Bay Area Phoenix Qualified for the Next Round of the Americas Championship

The Bay Area Phoenix continued their tournament in Medellin, Colombia, looking for a second straight win. Salvadorenas, which had experience in this format and had most of their roster playing together for an entire season in the local league in El Salvador, needed a win to prevent the possibility of being eliminated by the end of the day. The opposition came out swinging and the teams were close after the first quarter. The Phoenix, which made a change to the starting lineup, continued their strategy of speeding up the game to negate the size disadvantage at the center position, building a lead by halftime. They built a lead in the third quarter, but Salvadorenas made one more run that had to be stopped before a 90-82 win.

Rebecca Harris’s shooting helped the team get the win as she led the way with 38 points. Aliyah Collier continued to attack the basket effectively on the way to a 22 point game. Danielle Robinson had 13 points and Ameela Li had 10 points off the bench. For Salvadores, the Cuban duo of Anisleidy Galindo and Maria Montero helped them stay in the game. When possible, they utilized Brandi Harvey-Carr in the paint with their size advantage.

Salvadorenas [82]: Anisleidy Galindo 23/10r Maria Montero 21/6r/8a Brandi Harvey-Carr 13 Rachel Contreras 10/8r Silvia Vega 6 Gabriela Alfaro 3 Guadalupe Vazquez 3 Elisa Dominguez 3 Astrid Heredia 0 Monica Aristondo 0 Fatima Aviles 0 Fabiola Mendoza DNP
Bay Area Phoenix [90]: Rebecca Harris 28 Aliyah Collier 22/7r Danielle Robinson 13 Ameela Li 10 Faatimah A 6/7r Kamilah Jackson 5 Emer Nichols 4 Jazmine Jackson 2 Mo Bennett 0 Aquira DeCosta DNP

With the game over, the teams needed to wait for the late game to be played to know what the implications were for the final day. The Pioneras, facing elimination with a loss, did challenge the home team, but ended up losing 70-57. That result means that the Phoenix and Antioquia both qualify for the final phase of the competition in November. All the teams will play on the final day, but the Pioneras and Salvadorenas have already been eliminated. The Phoenix and Antioquia will play for the top spot in the group, which will affect which team from the other group that they face in their semifinal.