HAMBURG, Germany – The Canadian women’s wheelchair basketball team was eliminated from medal contention after a 63-56 setback to China in the quarter-finals at the 2018 World Wheelchair Basketball Championships on Thursday.
China was the better team on this day and executed well on both sides of the ball, while Canada struggled to get its offence and defence clicking in unison.
Cindy Ouellet (Quebec, Que.) was on fire early in the first half, but secondary scoring woes hindered Canada’s offensive output. China held a three-point lead at halftime, but defensive lapses and turnovers by the Canadians in the second half allowed China to stretch the lead.
The Canuck offence heated up late in the fourth quarter, but with the clock working against them the Canadians ran out of time to close the gap.
“It’s a young team,’’ said Team Canada head coach Marc Antoine Ducharme. ‘’We only have one starter who played in Rio on this team. It’s all players who need playing time and minutes against good teams to be better at this level.
‘’This experience helps us to grow up as a team. We still have two big years to improve and be ready for Tokyo.”
Ouellet was an absolute force for Canada with 23 points, nine rebounds and two assists. Arinn Young (Legal, Alta.) had 15 points and Kady Dandeneau (Pender Island, B.C.) added 11 points.
The Canadian women return to action in the consolation round on Friday, while the Canadian men will play their final match in a placement game on Saturday.
Canada’s games will be livestreamed at Facebook.com/CDNParalympics, Facebook.com/wheelchairbasketball, cbcsports.ca and via the CBC Sports app
Team Canada information: http://www.wheelchairbasketball.ca/event/2018-world-wheelchair-basketball-championships/
Official website: https://iwbf.org/event/2018-world-championships/
