ANKARA, Turkey - Canada locked up a quarter-final berth at the FIBA womens world basketball championship Wednesday with a 91-71 victory over the Czech Republic. Ronald Jones II Buccaneers Jersey .Kim Gaucher of Mission, B.C., led Canada with 17 points and Nirra Fields of Montreal added 15 points. Canada will play Australia on Friday.Canada jumped out to an early lead against the Czechs and kept the pressure on throughout the game. Canada led 22-13 after the first quarter and 44-32 at the half before pulling away in the fourth quarter.Our speed negates their size, Canadian head coach Lisa Thomaidis said on a conference call. We really had advantages all over the floor with our speed and you could see it really was what (helped us) dominate at the offensive end tonight. Later Wednesday, France will play Brazil, Belarus will take on China and Serbia meets Cuba.Canada finished third in its group phase after posting a win over Mozambique and losses to Turkey and France. The Czechs, meanwhile, posted comfortable wins over Brazil and Japan before falling to Spain.It was an impressive bounceback performance from the Canadians after a tough four-point loss to France a day earlier.Were ecstatic to get to the top eight, the last time we got there was 1994, Thomaidis said. As happy as we are with this win, were carrying on with business as usual and moving on. Weve got a tough opponent in two days and weve got to see what we can do here.These opportunities dont roll around very often. We had a great win at the perfect time but weve got to keep this thing rolling because we seem to be getting better each game.Australia, the United States, Spain and host Turkey all earned direct quarter-final berths after posting unbeaten records in the group phase. Japan, Angola, Mozambique and Korea were eliminated after going winless in pool play.The other quarter-final games were also scheduled for Friday. The semifinals were set for Saturday and the championship game was scheduled for Sunday.The Czechs reached the final of the 2010 world championship before falling to the United States. Canada finished 12th at that tournament.Canada is making its third consecutive womens world championship appearance. Custom Buccaneers Jerseys . 15 in Hamburg. The fight was originally slated for Sept. 6 but had to be postponed after Klitschko tore a bicep in sparring and was forced to miss four weeks of training. Buccaneers Jerseys . -- Masahiro Tanaka knows that first appearance in a spring training game for the New York Yankees will be scrutinized. http://www.shoptheofficialbuccaneers.com/Elite-Jordan-Whitehead-Buccaneers-Jersey/ . In the days leading up to the draft, TSN.ca and TSN Radio basketball analyst Duane Watson looks at some of the names that will be headlining the event. Tonight, Michigans Nik Stauskas of Mississauga, Ontario.Melbourne, Australia (SportsNetwork.com) - Maria Sharapova dominated Eugenie Bouchard to reach her third Australian Open semifinal in four years, while Ekaterina Makarova had a similarly easy time ousting third-seeded Simona Halep during Tuesdays quarterfinal action at the years first Grand Slam event. The second-seeded former world No. 1 Sharapova, the 2008 Aussie champ and a two-time runner-up, needed just 77 minutes to down the seventh-seeded 2014 Wimbledon finalist Bouchard by a 6-3, 6-2 score. I felt pretty good from the start, said Sharapova. I thought I had a really good start. I kept my focus throughout the whole match. I didnt feel that I had too many letdowns, which is important. When I did have a few slips I was able to come out with great first serves or really powerful returns. But overall really happy with the way the match went. Makarova, meanwhile, landed in her second career Grand slam semi by overpowering a mistake-prone Halep, the worlds third-ranked player and a finalist at last years French Open. The Romanian star committed 31 unforced errors and double-faulted four times in dropping a 6-4, 6-0 decision to the 10th-seeded Russian left-hander. I had a bad day, said Halep. But she played well and everything was in for her. Im really sad a little bit now that I could not play my tennis, my game, but thats tennis and I have to look forward to the next tournament. Makarova, meanwhile, will play in her second straight Grand Slam semifinal. She dropped a 6-1, 6-3 decision to Serena Williams in last years U.S. Open semis. Maybe Ive brought all the atmosphere and memories here from New York, said Makarova. Im really enjoying myself. Its a really nice time for me. Sharapova, who will face Makarova in Thursdays semifinals, hasnt dropped a set since escaping with a 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 win over qualifier Alexandra Panova in the second round. M.J. Stewart Jersey. . The five-time Grand Slam champion credited a phone call from her father for helping turn things around. I dont want to face that phone call with my father too many times during a tournament, she said. He told me that I was working much harder than I had to. If I was maybe a little bit smarter, did a few things maybe a little bit differently, maybe it could have been easier. Its been pretty easy for Sharapova against her fellow Russian Makarova. Makarova hasnt beaten Sharapova in five all-time meetings, dropping the last four in straight sets. The two met twice previously at the Australian Open, with Sharapova taking quarterfinal matchups in 2012 and 2013. Well, Ive never beaten her, so it will be tough, said Makarova about again facing Sharapova. Definitely shes a great fighter. Like here in the second round, she almost lost, but she turned (it) around. The Williams sisters will each take part in Wednesdays two quarterfinal matches, with top-seeded Serena continuing her quest for a sixth career title in Melbourne by taking on No. 11 seed and last years Aussie runner-up Dominika Cibulkova. The 18th-seeded former top-ranked star Venus will square off against 19-year-old fellow American Madison Keys. Serena is 4-0 lifetime against Cibulkova, while Venus is 1-0 versus her compatriot Keys. The reigning U.S. Open champion Serena owns 18 Grand Slam singles titles, including five here in Melbourne. Venus, a seven-time major champion and 2003 Aussie runner-up to Serena, is a perfect 9-0 this year, including a title in Auckland three weeks ago. 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