SAO PAULO, Brazil – The Canadian women pummeled Bolivia 73-15 on Friday morning at the Americas Cup wheelchair basketball tournament to conclude the preliminary round with a perfect 3-0 record.
The competition is a qualifier for the IWBF World Championships November 16-27, 2022 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Arinn Young led Canadian scorers with 14 points, and four rebounds as all 11 members of the team registered at least a point.
“It’s one of my favourite things about the sport when we can get our whole team to score, and it’s just really rewarding – everyone feels a part of the game, a part of the moment,” said Young.
Élodie Tessier chipped in nine points, while Cindy Ouellet added eight points, four rebounds, and four assists. Kady Dandeneau scored eight points, five rebounds, and three assists. Aurélie Jacob-Verreault contributed eight points.
Canada shot 31 of 53 from the field and scored 25 points off Bolivian turnovers.
“With the different lineups that we had out there today, we were working on different feels, different types of passes, working on our non-dominant hand, and it was really rewarding to see,” Young said. “Our steals were really clean, so once we have a harder game, we’ll be better prepared.”
Melanie Hawtin, who played professionally in France this season, contributed five points in the victory. It was an opportunity for the Oakville, Ont. native to showcase what she worked on in her game during the regular season.
“My teammates in France really helped me fix my shot, so it’s fun to kind of see that in a tournament,” Hawtin said. “It’s the first time that I’ve come back from France and then played a major tournament and kind of see how my shot is performing.”
The men were idle Friday as they split their two preliminary round matches.
Both Canadian teams now await the conclusion of the preliminary round to determine their semifinals opponents.
The top three women’s teams and the top four men’s teams qualify for Dubai.
Team Canada’s men’s and women’s games will be streamed on the CBBC TV YouTube channel and the IWBF Facebook page.
(With files from Wheelchair Basketball Canada)
