Aaliyah Edwards of Canada plays against Nigeria at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Villeneuve-d’Ascq, France.Mark J. Terrill/The Associated Press
Aaliyah Edwards scored a game-high 22 points and added 15 rebounds as Canada dropped a 66-62 decision to Japan on Sunday at the FIBA women’s basketball World Cup qualifying tournament.
Edwards finished 8-of-11 from the field for Canada (2-2). Shay Colley and Kayla Alexander both added 12 points.
Mai Yamamoto led Japan (1-2) with 16 points.
The contest was a close one with Canada leading 21-18 after the first quarter before the two teams went into halftime tied 39-39. Japan took a 54-50 lead into the fourth which was the final margin of victory as both teams scored 12 points in the final quarter.
The loss was a big one for Canada. A victory would’ve automatically qualified the Canadians for the World Cup, which runs from Sept. 4-13 in Berlin, Germany.
Canada takes on Australia (3-0) on Tuesday.