USA vs Canada Women's Basketball: TV Start Time, Live Stream & Preview

The United States women’s basketball team will meet the Canadian women’s squad in the quarterfinals early Tuesday morning.

After completely demolishing the competition from Group A, the Americans will take on the 2-3 Canadian squad. Canada has limped their way to that mark, but they have played well in their losses. One was to the Group B-leading 5-0 French team and the others to Russia (3-2) and Australia (4-1).

The U.S. women really couldn’t have gotten an easier draw, though. They will not likely be tested until the probable meeting with France in the gold medal finale of this Olympic tournament.

In five historic FIBA World Championships matchups against the U.S. women, Canada has only won once. They defeated the U.S. 74-68 in 1975—37 years ago. The American women dominated in the last meeting between the two sides in 1994, 98-65.

Where: London, England

When: Tuesday, August 7 at 9 a.m. ET

TV: NBC Sports Network (Live)

Live Stream: NBCOlympics.com

Key Players to Watch:

USA: Angel McCoughtry

McCoughtry has been a pleasant surprise in these Olympic Games. She is averaging a team-high 13 PPG on a remarkable 65.7 percent shooting from the field.

She’s a role-player but has provided a big boost off the bench for the Americans.

Canada: Kim Smith

The U.S. women are going to get a heavy dose of Canada’s leading scorer, Kim Smith. She has been on the floor for 72 percent of the Canadian team’s Olympic appearance to this point. Against the U.S., she’ll likely follow that trend and play most of the game.

And rightfully so.

Smith is averaging 14 PPG and has done it on 61 percent shooting including an incredible 50 percent from the three-point stripe.

U.S. Key to the Game: Stop Kim Smith

The American women have been virtually unbeatable. After some early struggles in the opener against Croatia, they have cruised to four straight wins.

Their last victory came in a 114-66 mauling of the then-3-1 Chinese team. It was a head-to-head clash of the two biggest world powers, and it ended like most thought it would—U.S. dominance.

Kim Smith will be the biggest key for the American team, as she poses the biggest offensive threat from the Canadians. Her three-point and range shooting can create problems due to accountability issues that result from the constant movement of their offense.

Canada’s Key to the Game: Temper the Storm

No one expects Canada to come out and defeat the heavily favored Team USA. However, as in any game, no team is unbeatable. It’s possible Canada can stay close, as seen in the men’s Team USA vs. Lithuania game over the weekend, anything can happen.

Canada’s chances of winning might be slim, but they may be able to sneak out a surprise victory if they believe and play hard until the end. Even if they lose, a strong showing would be a great accomplishment for America’s northern neighbors.

Prediction: U.S. Wins

Even with a big performance from Kim Smith, the Canadian team is severely overmatched in nearly all aspects of the game.

With this being a quarterfinal, things could get ugly for the Canadians as the U.S. women are going to be bringing their A-game to London on Tuesday.

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