XALAPA, Mexico -- Canadas womens basketball team defeated Puerto Rico 73-48 on Friday to advance to the gold medal game at the FIBA Americas championship. With the win, Canada also earns a spot at the 2014 world championship in Turkey for a third consecutive time. Mission, B.C., native Kim Gaucher led Canada (5-0) to its fifth straight victory at the FIBA Americas tournament with 14 points, 11 rebounds and three assists. Though shes pleased with the result, the veteran of Canadas womens program knows the win is just a step toward the teams ultimate goal. "It feels great, but it feels like were not done yet," said Gaucher. "We came here to get the gold, not just to qualify so it feels like we still have a job to do right now. "We truly feel like were a team on the rise and were a force to be reckoned with in womens basketball. To continue what weve been doing in the last few years, we knew we couldnt just come here and not play our best and not qualify ... We feel like were good enough to be in the finals and thats what we came here to do." The Canadians will play Cuba for gold on Saturday. Canada opened up the contest with a late 12-0 run to lead 26-8 after the first 10 minutes of play. Puerto Rico outscored Canada 18-13 in the second quarter to cut into the lead, but the Canadians held a 39-26 advantage at halftime. Puerto Rico continued to apply pressure in the third, trimming the lead to single digits on two occasions. Canada finished the third with a 10-1 stretch to go ahead 58-40, and closed-out the match by holding Puerto Rico to eight points, while scoring 15. Natalie Achonwa of Guelph, Ont., added 11 points and 10 rebounds for Canada, while Brampton, Ont., product Tamara Tatham tallied 10 points and seven rebounds as Canada out-rebounded Puerto Rico 49-23. "Us winning this game is almost a relief -- so much excitement -- but also a relief that we did qualify," Achonwa said. "To be able to get rid of the jitters of qualifying and now to play for the gold, it will be a great experience." Carla Cortijo was the top scorer for Puerto Rico with 22 points. Cuba, meanwhile, advanced to the final by upsetting Brazil 72-68 on Friday. Clenia Noblet scored 18 points for the Cuban squad while Leidys Oquendo added another 17. With 15 points, Adriana Pinto was Brazils top scorer. The top three teams from the tournament advance to the 2014 championship. Puerto Rico will face Brazil on Saturday for the bronze medal, and the final spot in Istanbul. Canada has not reached the final of the FIBA Americas since hosting an Olympic-qualifying edition of the competition in Hamilton in 1995. The Canadians went on to win gold in that tournament to earn a spot at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta. 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Malone will become an unrestricted free-agent and as per the collective bargaining agreement, the Lightning will be responsible for two-thirds of the remainder of his contract over twice the length of the rest of the deal.TORONTO - Speaking at an event for season ticket holders before the season began, Masai Ujiri urged Raptors fans - and by extension the team itself - to help make the Air Canada Centre a daunting place for opponents to visit. "We have to make this place a living hell for [opponents] to come play here," the Raptors general manager pleaded. So far its been anything but. "We have far more focus on the road than we do at home and that is a concern," coach Dwane Casey said after his team dropped to 4-8 at the ACC, losing another heartbreaker, 104-102 to the Bobcats in overtime Wednesday. With a record of 5-6 outside of Toronto, the Raptors are one of three Eastern Conference teams with more wins on the road than at home. Wednesdays loss to the Bobcats, a team theyve had difficulty with in the past, was an especially bitter pill for them to swallow. After coughing up a 16-point lead in the third quarter, the Raptors were able to hold it together long enough to force overtime. In the extra frame, DeMar DeRozan - seemingly exhausted after playing over 40 minutes - split a pair of free throws to tie the game up with one second remaining. A second overtime period seemed imminent. As Josh McRoberts inbounded, Kemba Walker curled off a screen set by Al Jefferson. Freed up for just a moment before Jonas Valanciunas closed out hard on the Bobcats leading scorer, Walker drained the dagger that handed the Raptors yet another unsettling loss in their own building. "It hurts," admitted Kyle Lowry, whose three-pointer sent the game into overtime. "Everyone loses a game [to] a buzzer-beater but youd rather get blown out by 50 than lose on a buzzer-beater." The building went silent as the buzzer sounded, keeping in mind the noise level rarely exceeded a dull roar on the night. Attendance was listed at a generous 15,201 Wednesday evening, shy of the teams 17,774-season average, 12th best in the association according to ESPN.com. Many of those fans - the ones still rooting for this team to win - left shaking their heads, disappointed but not in the least bit surprised. It was awfully quiet for most of the game, but its hard to blame the fans in attendance. They havent been given much to cheer about. "Weve got great fans, great crowd, warm building, hot building so theres no reason why we cant come out with that type of fire and intensity [we have on the road]," Casey said. Offensively, the teams numbers are almost identical at home as they are on the road. The drop off, at least statistically, is on the defensive end where the Rapptors are allowing 100.dddddddddddd4 points per game, 4.1 more than they surrender away from the ACC. A home-court disadvantage is nothing new. Last season Toronto was one of four teams in the NBA to average more points and shoot a higher field goal percentage on the road than at home. Still, no one can seem to pinpoint whats causing it. "I have no idea, I really cant explain it," said Lowry, who had 17 points and six assists in the loss. "I think weve just got to figure out a way to turn it around." "Weve got to start to use our home court to our advantage and not feel too comfortable or think were going to be able to pull it out in late-game situations," added DeRozan after a 30-point performance. DeRozan, who is fourth in the league in minutes played per contest, appeared to be gassed by the end of the game, going 1-of-4 from the field in overtime and missing a crucial free throw down the stretch. He was quick to dismiss the suggestion of fatigue after the loss. "No I was good, I was good," he insisted. "I could have played four more overtimes if we had to." As a team, the Raptors shot just 3-of-11 in the extra period, missing their first six shots. Valanciunas, who had 10 points and six rebounds in 22 minutes, played most of overtime after sitting out the entire fourth quarter. For Casey, it was a decision made with the match-up in mind. "We were mixing it up, we had to mix it up," Casey said of the teams coverage on Jefferson, the Bobcats crafty and undersized centre. "Jonas did as much as he could with Jefferson. Jefferson is one of the most potent low-post scorers in the league but for [Valanciunas] to learn those are the guys hes going to have to guard." "I thought he fought and battled him and used his height as much as he could and I thought Jonas did a good job on the other end, taking it to him in the paint and scoring on him." Still, Casey maintains that its a give and take with Valanciunas on the floor in these scenarios. Although you have a theoretical advantage offensively with Valanciunas against the smaller Jefferson, its understood that you are giving something up on defence. Is one worth the other? Instead, Casey rotated the more experienced, more versatile trio of Amir Johnson, Tyler Hansbrough and Patrick Patterson in the fourth. For now, the Raptors will have to put their home-court conundrum on hold as they focus on what lies ahead. On Friday theyll begin a challenging four-game road trip in Dallas before visiting Oklahoma City, San Antonio and New York. ' ' '