The second day of the women's wheelchair basketball tournament ended with wins for Japan, Canada, Australia and the United States on Monday, September 8.
Japan dominated Mexico 52-34
Japan got its second win of the tournament by defeating Mexico 52-34 in its second pool B preliminary match at the National Indoor Stadium.
Japan's forward Mari Amimoto was the game's high scorer with 28 points, including a three-point shot she swished with five seconds left on the clock. Forward Ikumi Takubo contributed 16 points, and was her team's top rebounder with 10 boards, eight of which were defensive rebounds.
Japan also benefited from Mexico's ball handling errors, making 10 steals and scoring 19 points from Mexico's 26 turnovers.
Down by 10 points after three quarters, the Mexican players could not close the gap as they missed seven of the last 10 field goal attempts and their two last free throw attempts. They had more rebounds than Japan (44-28), but forward Lucia Vazquez was the only Mexican player to score in double digits with 10 points.
Mexico dropped to 0-2 in the tournament, while Japan remains undefeated. Both teams will play their third pool B preliminary games on Tuesday at the National Indoor Stadium (Japan vs. Canada, Mexico vs. China).
Canada beats the Netherlands 59-32
Reigning world champion Canada overpowered the Netherlands 59-32 to win their first pool B preliminary game.
Canada's tally included 44 points in the paint, with 16 points gained from the Netherlands' 22 turnovers. Three Canadian players scored in the double digits, including Los Angeles 1984 Olympian Misty Thomas, who led her team in rebounds (10) and assists (6).
The Netherlands held the lead only once in the game, but had 46 rebounds compared to the Canadian team's 36 rebounds. None of the Dutch players scored more than eight points. Petra Garnier had the most rebounds of the game (11), while Cher Korver had her team's most assists (4).
Canada is 1-0 and the Netherlands is 2-0 so far in the Beijing 2008 tournament.
Canada's next pool B game against Japan will take place on Tuesday, September 9 at the National Indoor Stadium. The Netherlands' next pool B game, also against Japan, will take place on Wednesday at the USTB Gymnasium.