England's women's basketball team have booked their place in the final of the Commonwealth Games courtesy of a 65-53 victory over Canada in the last four this evening.
England were beaten by Canada on their way to finishing behind them in the group stages of the competition, but they exacted a timely piece of revenge on the Gold Coast to set up a gold-medal showdown with either Australia or New Zealand.
The opening quarter was a tightly-contested affair which saw England move into the lead, only for Canada to fight back towards the end and go into the first changeover just two points behind.
England did begin to pull clear in the second quarter, though, going into half time with a 35-19 lead to put themselves well on course for the final.
Both teams scored 19 points apiece in the third quarter, leaving Canada with too much to do heading into the final period as they were condemned to a place in the bronze-medal match.
Canada will face the loser of the second semi-final between Australia and New Zealand for bronze on Saturday, while England will face the winners to determine the gold medal later that night.
Barney Corkhill
