Listen to this article
Estimated 4 minutes
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.
The Canadian women’s wheelchair basketball team fell just short of its first world title since 2014 with a 77-76 loss to the United States on Saturday in Ottawa.
Despite another stellar performance from tournament scoring leader Kady Dandeneau, Canada was unable to slow down the Americans in the battle of undefeated teams at TD Place.
The U.S. won on a free throw with 20.8 seconds left in regulation time.
“That was particularly hard,” Dandeneau said. “It was my fault that we got that foul and it proved to be the difference and that sucks.”
The silver is Canada’s first medal at the wheelchair basketball world championships since the women won gold in 2014 in Toronto.
The Canadian women lost by one point to the United States in the gold medal game at the IWBF Wheelchair Basketball World Championships.
Dandeneau, from Pender Island, B.C., scored a game-high 34 points while adding 13 rebounds and five assists, shooting 15-for-34 from the field. The 36-year-old finished the tournament with 243 points across eight games.
Fellow Canadian standout Arinn Young posted a triple-double with 30 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, including a pair of three-pointers. The Legal, Alta., native finished second behind Dandeneau with 206 total points.
Canada started strong, outscoring the Americans 27-20 in the opening quarter, but the U.S. quickly closed the gap with an 18-14 advantage in the second to lead 41-38 at halftime. The game remained close with both teams nailing shots, but the Americans ultimately outscored Canada by two points in the third and fourth quarters.
“It was a tough first quarter,” said American Lindsey Zurbrugg. “Mad respect to Canada. I think we made some really good adjustments after that. I think like tiny adjustments of our chairs was the defensive edge we needed.”
Zurbrugg led the U.S. with 26 points, while fellow two-time Paralympic medallist Ixhelt Gonzalez scored 15, including some key free throws in the second half.
Canada was able to make a push late in the third quarter to take a one-point lead, 60-59, heading into the fourth.
“When you get into a world championship every team is good and you have to have that resilience and character to be down and be able to fight back,” said Jeremy Lade, head coach of the U.S. women’s team. “We’ve shown that in a few different games. We’ve shown the ability to score on offence and get the stops on defence.
“We made mistakes today, but we built enough character to be able to bounce back from mistakes.”
The U.S opened a seven-point lead, 71-64, with just over three minutes remaining in regulation. Canada came back to tie the game 76-76 with 39.1 seconds remaining.
A late foul put Courtney Ryan on the line where she hit what would prove to be the game-winning shot.
“We talk a lot about basketball being a game of runs and you want to mitigate their runs and maximize ours,” said Canadian head coach Joey Johnson. “And credit to the U.S. they had a one-point longer run than we did.”
Watch Canada take on the United States in the women’s gold medal game at the IWBF Wheelchair Basketball World Championships in Ottawa.
The reigning Paralympic champion Netherlands, which lost to Canada in the semifinals, beat Great Britain 63-50 for bronze earlier Saturday.
Canada’s men’s team was eliminated from medal contention with a loss to Poland in the Round of 16 on Monday.
Australia faces Italy in the men’s gold-medal game on Saturday at 4:45 p.m. ET, with live coverage on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem.
Canada finished fourth in both the men’s and women’s tournaments at the Paris 2024 Paralympics and has not won a Paralympic medal since the men captured gold in 2012 in London.
Adam van Koeverden, Secretary of State for Sport of Canada, attended the Wheelchair Basketball World Championships in Ottaw where he made the announcement. He praised Wheelchair Basketball Canada’s hosting of the tournament and their performance on the court, and said the additional investment aims to build on the event’s momentum. Earlier this year, the federal government announced a $1-billion investment in sport.
