| FINAL STANDINGS 1. Brazil 2. United States 3. Argentina 4. Cuba 5. CANADA Mexico Costa Rica Ecuador | CANADIANS Karalyn Church (Guelph, Ont.) Jennifer Cunningham (Kingston, Ont.) Carla Evans (Richmond, B.C.) Carli Halpenny (Victoria, B.C.) Kristy Himeline (Etobicoke, Ont.) Lindsay Jacques (St. Leonard, Que.) Teresa Kleindienst (Mission, B.C.) Caroline Levasseur (Amos, Que.) Christine Rigby (Victoria, B.C.) Jennifer Rigg (Toronto, Ont.) Tammy Sutton-Brown (North York, Ont.) Taryn Turnbull (Kingston, Ont.) Tom Kendall – coach Allison McNeill – assistant |
| POOL A | USA | CUB | MEX | CRC | Record | ||
| United States | —– | 94-68 | 79-47 | 95-35 | (3-0) | ||
| Cuba | 68-94 | —– | 88-63 | 103-76 | (2-1) | ||
| Mexico | 47-79 | 63-88 | —– | 69-42 | (1-2) | ||
| Costa Rica | 35-95 | 76-103 | 42-69 | —– | (0-3) | ||
| POOL B | CAN | BRZ | ARG | ECU | Record | ||
| Brazil | 73-64 | —– | 69-60 | 128-27 | (3-0) | ||
| Argentina | 83-65 | 60-69 | —– | 100-42 | (2-1) | ||
| Canada | —– | 64-73 | 65-83 | 120-45 | (1-2) | ||
| Ecuador | 45-120 | 27-128 | 42-100 | —– | (0-3) | ||
| semi | Brazil 100 Cuba 89 | |
| semi | United States 81 Argentina 66 | |
| Bronze | Argentina 69 Cuba 61 | |
| Final | Brazil 82 United States 78 | |
In its opening game, Canada drops a 73-64 decision to Brazil. Canada trailed 41-35 at the half after struggling with Brazil’s full-court press. Brazil quickly took a double-digit lead in the second half before Canada rallied to tie the score and then move ahead by one with five minutes to play. But Brazil dominated down the stretch. Carla Evans led Canada with 12 points. Tammy Sutton-Brown added 11, Jennifer Rigg 8 and Teresa Kleindienst 7.
In an 83-65 loss to Argentina, Teresa Kleindienst scored 12, Jennifer Rigg 10 and Taryn Turnbull 10. “They demolished us in the first 10 minutes,” said Kendall. “We did not do a good job starting that game. We fell behind early and played catch-up.” The Argentina loss precludes Canada from possibly qualifying for 1997 worlds.
Canada closed out the tourney with a 120-45 win over Ecuador as Jennifer Rigg scored 28, Tammy Sutton-Brown 20 and Taryn Turnbull 11. Canada led 39-27 at the half.
Coach Tom Kendall later laments Canada’s lack of experience and preparation. “We had a short training camp with no competition beforehand. Both Brazil and Argentina played in a pre-tournament. That gave them a bit of an advantage. We arrived one day before the tournament and it was very hot and humid. …Our opposition was wearing light cotton uniforms. Our kids were wearing heavy winter uniforms. It was like playing with an extra 20 pounds on.”
Canada needs to revamp its international program, Kendall argued. “The system is not very good. Our young players don’t get enough competition. It’s a financial problem. It is very difficult. That is the issue. Our kids are not going to get any better if they don’t play. We face an uphill battle in the coming years.”
The former U of Winnipeg mentor had moved along to division II California University of Pennsylvania. “The longer I’m down here, I’m more convinced Canadian kids can play with anybody in the world. There is absolutely no reason why Canadian kids and Canadian teams cannot compete internationally with anybody in the world. We are more mature, more responsible, work as hard, but don’t have the experience.”