Former Utah star Kim Smith scored 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds to help Canada blast Mali 89-23 on Monday in the first game of a last-chance women's basketball qualifying tournament for the London Olympics.
With the dominating victory, the Canadians all but assured themselves of reaching the quarterfinals of the tournament in Ankara, Turkey —Â which they must do, to have a chance to reach London.
The Canadians have not reached an Olympics since the 2000 Sydney Games.
Smith is one of three Utes on the Canada roster, along with fellow former player Shona Thorburn and current Ute Michelle Plouffe. Only Plouffe started, and the trio combined to shoot just 4-for-17 - though they contributed to holding Mali to 15.4 percent shooting and just eight points in the second and third quarters, combined.
The Canadians play France on Tuesday, before France plays Mali in the final group-stage game on Wednesday. The top two teams in the three-team group advance to the quarterfinals.
