Canadian women's basketball team routs Venezuela to open Olympic pre-qualifying tourney

Laeticia Amihere led the way with 11 points and 11 rebounds as Canada thumped Venezuela 81-39 on Thursday in FIBA Women's Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament action.

Cassandre Prosper, Kia Nurse and Bridget Carleton each added 10 points, while Kayla Alexander chipped in another eight with 10 rebounds.

Mariana Duran paced Venezuela with 10 points.

The event consists of the four teams that finished between third and sixth place at the FIBA Women's AmeriCup back in July. Canada finished third at the AmeriCup after falling to the U.S. in the semifinals, before defeating Puerto Rico in the bronze-medal game.

The top two teams will qualify for one of the four respective FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying tournaments, which will take place in February. There are 10 remaining spots to be claimed for the Olympics, with the U.S. and France having already qualified.

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