Canada's women down Austria, Latvia on Day 1 of 3x3 basketball World Cup

Canada's women, minus star 3x3 basketball players Katherine and Michelle Plouffe, Canada's women's team opened World Cup play Monday with a pair of victories in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Cassandra Brown and Saicha Grant-Allen filled in admirably, taking turns dominating on the court against Austria and Latvia.

The Plouffes, who are twin sisters, were unable to play due to a scheduling conflict and minor injuries.

Brown scored a game-high nine points to lead the Canadians to their second win of the day, 20-15 over Austria.

The 33-year-old from Vernon, B.C., extended her team's lead to 17-13 and led it victory by making good on two foul shots with nine seconds left on the clock.

Brown was a member of Canada's five-on-five squad at the 2019 Pan Am Games and spent 10 years plying her trade internationally before committing to the 3x3 format, which sees games end when a team reaches 21 points, or the 10-minute time limit expires.

Also, the standard three-point line serves as the two-point line in 3-on-3, while baskets made from inside the arc are worth one.

Grant-Allen had six points against Austria while Paige Crozon posted nine rebounds, tops among all players.

Before the 20-team tournament, Crozon told CBC Sports the goal is to establish chemistry with Grant-Allen and Brown as she and Kacie Bosch have had with the Plouffes.

"There was a level of comfort because we understood each other's tendencies and there was a lot of trust that was built," said Crozon. "There's not as much comfort going into this tournament. However, I think we're all excited because we get to explore ways that we can expand our game."

Live coverage of the World Cup will be available on CBC Gem and CBCSports.ca continuing Monday at 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT through to the medal games on Sunday.

Despite Monday's outcome, the Austrians pushed Canada early in Monday's contest.

A two-point shot from Anja Fuchs-Robetin gave Austria a 6-2 advantage in the opening two minutes six seconds.

It was 8-4 Austria with 6:30 remaining but Canada scored four points to draw even and later went on a 6-0 run for a 14-9 lead.

The Austrians didn't let up, though, as Sigrid Koizar's two-pointer cut the deficit to 14-12 with 1:43 left. She finished the game with five points, three rebounds and went 3-for-3 from the foul line.

Grant-Allen was the story against Latvia, a game in which the Canadians never trailed en route to a 17-10 victory.

The 29-year-old from Hamilton had a game-high nine points, including the first three from either side, and eight rebounds.

Grant-Allen played four years at the University of Dayton in Ohio, graduating in 2017 before playing professionally in Russia, Spain and Turkey until 2022.

The Canadian women, who are ranked sixth, led 7-2 midway through Monday's game and pulled away with a 5-0 run to extend its lead to 12-4.

Brown and Crozon had four points apiece.

Canada returns to the court Wednesday at 5:10 a.m. ET against third-ranked France and opposes No. 11 Hungary at 7 a.m.

Sixteen countries will reach the single-elimination knockout stage, with division winners advancing to the quarterfinals.

Canada's best World Cup result was a silver medal in 2022. The team has won back-to-back regular-season championships on the 3x3 circuit and earned the inaugural Champions Cup title in March.

It also lost to the United States in the 2024 Olympic quarterfinal in Paris.

The Canadian men, making their first World Cup appearance since 2018, begin competition Tuesday, facing Austria at 2:55 a.m. and China at 7 a.m.

Canada's squad features Alex Johnson, who committed to 3x3 full-time in 2021, alongside Grant Audu, Jerome Desrosiers and Toronto Metropolitan University's Aaron Rhooms.

The Canadians are ranked 17th and grouped in Pool C with No. 3 France, No. 6 Austria, No. 11 China and No. 14 Puerto Rico.