George had a pair of 3-pointers, including one just prior to the buzzer in the second quarter, before adding a few big buckets down the stretch in the fourth on her way to 11 points.
Elsewhere, Sami Whitcomb was a steady presence throughout the entire game and finished with 19 points, 10 assists and five rebounds, while Marianna Tolo expertly executed her role off the bench with 11 points.
Ezi Magbegor and Whitcomb were the standouts for the Opals in the first quarter, combining to go 6-for-6 from the field and scoring 16 of Australia’s 18 points.
Canada jumped out to a 5-0 lead before the Opals, having missed their first three field goal attempts of the game, turned defence into offence off a Magbegor block.
The Seattle Storm star converted the fastbreak opportunity on the other end and then Whitcomb, Australia’s leading scorer in the loss to Nigeria, drained a 3-pointer to tie it up.
After a clean start, turnovers started to creep in for the Opals as a Bridget Carleton steal saw Kia Nurse put Canada back up 8-5 but Magbegor answered on the following possession with a triple to level the game once more.
Whitcomb was the one setting that 3-point look up, although she made her second of the night soon after to give Australia an 11-8 lead.
While the Opals were having success with their outside shooting early in the game, Lauren Jackson had two looks at the rim blocked by Kayla Alexander.
Magbegor though was having an immediate impact in the first quarter, scoring with a nice spin move on another fastbreak opportunity after a Steph Talbot rebound.
The Opals pushed their buffer out to 18-11 at one point before Canada finished the quarter on a 5-0 run, carrying the momentum into the second to open up a 21-18 lead as Carleton racked up another steal and 3-pointer.
Meanwhile, after a rough start, Talbot started to find her rhythm with a pair of driving layups to level the game up at 24-all.
Kurse quickly put Canada back ahead with an and-1 before George made an immediate impact as she hit a 3-pointer 17 seconds after checking into the game.
It was the start of a scoring flurry from the Opals, who went ahead 33-27.
Even if the shots weren’t always falling for Talbot, she did well after one missed attempt to hustle for the rebound and then hand it off to Whitcomb before cutting to the basket for what ended up being an easy finish.
The Opals closed out the quarter with a bang as Whitcomb whipped a pass to George who made her second 3-pointer of the period, putting Australia ahead 38-32.
Canada was able to reduce the deficit to 44-42 midway through the third quarter as the Opals struggled to get back into an offensive rhythm, turning the ball over five times.
Despite the lack of consistent offensive production in the quarter, Australia stepped up on the defensive end to maintain a 51-44 lead heading into the fourth.
There was also a highlight moment for 19-year-old Isobel Borlase late in the quarter as she scored her first Olympic debut after a Whitcomb steal.
