'We were out for blood': Canada's women to play for 5th at wheelchair basketball worlds
Get redemption against Spain; Men's squad also plays Monday for 5th place vs. Italy
Like Canada's men before them, the women secured their spot in the fifth-place match at the wheelchair basketball world championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Led by Arinn Young, Canada built a 15-point lead by halftime and played Spain even the rest of the way for a 60-47 win in Sunday's 5-8 crossover game.
The 26-year-old from St. Albert, Alta., converted her lone three-point attempt of the game to extend her team's first-quarter lead to 17-8.
Young collected 13 points in the first 20 minutes but was also instrumental in her own end, pulling down 11 defensive rebounds to lead all players. She finished with a game-high 23 points, was 4-for-4 from the free throw line and added a team-high seven assists.
"I think we were out for blood in this game to redeem ourselves from the prior loss to Spain," Young told Wheelchair Basketball Canada "I think we played really aggressively, which got us our leads in this game."
"We're excited about battling for fifth and proud to be in that position," said head coach Marni Abbott-Peter, whose . "We know some of those teams that are playing in the semifinals; we had some really good games against them, so we know we're in that mix, for sure."
10-0 run to open 2nd quarter
On June 12,
It was great to have some payback. It's great to know we can beat a team like that.— Canada head coach Marni Abbott-Peter on her team getting redemption with win over Spain
"It was great to have some payback. It's great to know we can beat a team like that," said Abbott-Peter, whose players shot 45.6 per cent from the field and went 7-for-7 from the foul line. "They gave us a bit of a run there in the third and tightened the lead a bit, but we kept our composure, kept our defence and communication strong, and were able to come out with the win."
The world championships determine the number of spots each zone will receive for the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. The four zones in the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) are Africa, Americas, Asia Oceania and Europe.
Canada's men's and women's wheelchair basketball teams will also compete at the 2023 Parapan American Games (Nov. 17-26), which will serve as the Americas zone qualification tournament for the Paris Games.
WATCH | Full game coverage of women's 5-8 crossover — Canada vs. Spain:
Canada's women's roster
- Sandrine Bérubé — Beauharnois, Que.
- Kady Dandeneau — Pender Island, B.C.
- Sofia Fassi-Fehri — Montreal
- Melanie Hawtin — Oakville, Ont.
- Puisand Lai — Toronto
- Tara Llanes — North Vancouver, B.C.
- Cindy Ouellet — Quebec City
- Megan Smith — Vancouver
- Tamara Steeves — Mississauga, Ont.
- Élodie Tessier — Saint-Germain de Grantham, Que.
- Arinn Young — Legal, Alta.
Men's roster
- Patrick Anderson — Fergus, Ont.
- Vincent Dallaire — Quebec City
- Reed De'Aeth — Sherwood Park, Alta.
- Nik Goncin — Regina
- Bo Hedges — Wonowon, B.C.
- Colin Higgins — Rothesay, N.B.
- Chad Jassman — Calgary
- Lee Melymick — Toronto
- Tyler Miller — Kitchener, Ont.
- Blaise Mutware — Toronto
- Garrett Ostepchuk — Regina
- Jonathan Vermette — Sherbrooke, Que.
