Sami Whitcomb had 19 points as Australia downed Canada 70-65 in women鈥檚 Olympic basketball on Thursday.

Bridget Carleton led Canada with 19 points and eight rebounds, while Kia Nurse added 12 points.

The result dims Canada鈥檚 chances of making it through to the knockout round, with the country falling to 0-2 in pool play with one game left against Nigeria on Sunday.

The top eight teams from the combined ranking will move on to the quarterfinals, set to begin on Wednesday.

Australia (1-1) went on a 9-0 run in the first quarter that put them up 14-8, but Canada regrouped and slowly chipped away at the deficit before taking the lead early in the second.

The Aussies rallied took a 38-32 advantage into the break and, while the Canadians trimmed the deficit to two points in the third, they couldn鈥檛 dig themselves out of the hole.

The Canadian Press