| FINAL STANDINGS 1. Soviet Union 2. U.S.A. 3. Bulgaria 4. Czechoslovakia 5. Japan 6. CANADA | CANADIANS Joyce Douthwright (Moncton, N.B.) Joanne Sargent (McBride, B.C.) Anne Hurley (Toronto, Ont.) Christine Critelli (St. Catharines, Ont.) Beverly Bland (Vancouver, B.C.) Coleen Dufresne (Halifax, N.S.) Sheila Strike (Vancouver, B.C.) Sylvia Sweeney (Montreal, Que.) Carol Turney (Cornwall, Ont.) Donna Hobin (Ottawa, Ont.) Angela Johnson (Preston, United Kingdom) Beverly Barnes (Ottawa, Ont.) Brian Heaney – coach |
| ROUND ROBIN | SOV | USA | BUL | CZE | JPN | CAN | Record | ||
| U.S.S.R. | —– | 112-77 | 91-68 | 88-75 | 98-75 | 115-51 | (5-0) | ||
| United States | 77-112 | —– | 95-79 | 83-67 | 71-84 | 89-75 | (3-2) | ||
| Bulgaria | 68-91 | 79-95 | —– | 67-66 | 66-63 | 85-62 | (3-2) | ||
| Czechoslovakia | 75-88 | 67-83 | 66-67 | —– | 76-62 | 67-59 | (2-3) | ||
| Japan | 75-98 | 84-71 | 63-66 | 62-76 | —– | 121-89 | (2-3) | ||
| Canada | 51-115 | 75-89 | 62-85 | 59-67 | 89-121 | —– | (0-5) | ||
Canada qualifies automatically as host. Two weeks before the Games, coach Brian Heaney cut the volatile Liz Silcott from the squad. Coleen Dufresne later noted that “he warned her that if she didn’t toe the line, she’d be gone. When that never happened, she went through months of training and you assume she’s on the team. Then, he cut her. That was wrong. If he’s going to cut her, he should have done it early. She would push everyone’s buttons as much as she could. But I also feel that what Brian did was extremely unfair. I don’t think he had a clue about her.” The move had a “big impact on (Silcott) because it was in Montreal, her hometown,” said Don McCrae, who coached Silcott at Waterloo. “She would have been playing in front of everyone who knew her.” Heaney defended his actions, saying “we were looking for a collection of players who would work within the team concept and make the common sacrifices to prepare for the Olympics. It was a difficult tournament at the time. But our staff felt it would be better to go the final stretch without her as part of the team.” Friends said Silcott’s teammates and coaches were witnessing the onset of what later was diagnosed as schizophrenia. The dazzling Silcott, who grew up in the Cote des Neiges area of Montreal, averaged 28.7 ppg at Waterloo in 1972. She garnered a reputation as a scorer, an innovator and a volatile temper, constantly becoming involved in catfights and tantrums. Silcott played for UBC between 72-74 and then one year for Waterloo. She bounced around a semi-professional league in U.S. between 1979-80. She later became a homeless drifter in Ontario. To replace Silcott, Heaney added Chris Critelli to the roster, saying she was more compatible and better suited to the team’s style of play.
In their opener, Canada was trounced 115-51 by the Soviet Union. The score was knotted at 14 when the Soviets blew the game open with a 10-0 run. They extended their lead to 55-30 at the half. Natalia Klimova paced the Soviets with 14, while 6-11 post Iuliyka Semenova added 12, Kurryakova 12, Shuvaeva 12, Rupshene 11, Fervabnikova 10, Davene 10, Zakaharova 9, Ouetchkina 8, Sukharnova 7, Zkharadova 6 and Barisheva 4. Bev Bland led Canada with 13. Joanne Sargent added 13, Carol Turney 8, Chris Critelli 7, Angela Johnson 5, Sheila Strike 2, Sylvia Sweeney 2 and Joyce Douthwright 1, while Anne Hurley, Coleen Dufresne, Donna Hobin and Beverley Barnes were scoreless. Canadian coach Brian Heaney told the Montreal Gazette that “I was very disappointed that the score was so lopsided. I think we were a little bit intimidated because of the Soviets awesome size. But we certainly could have played better. We didn’t rebound at all and our concentration was completely gone as you can tell by the say we shot today.”
In game two, the Canadians were whipped 121-89 by Japan. Canada held a 39-38 lead with three minutes to play in the first half but Sheila Strike and Sylvia Sweeney got into foul trouble, which allowed the quicker Japanese squad to explode with an 18-2 run to take a 54-51 lead into the lockers. “We thought we’d be in pretty good shape going into the locker room,” coach Brian Heaney told Canadian Press. “We had to make some substitutions. We had some people in foul trouble and we made those substitutions. Japan put some backcourt pressure on us. We had problems handling it and we turned the ball over five or six times and they converted them into baskets.” Miyako Otsuka paced Japan and 38. Keiko Namal added 20. Sylvia Sweeney led Canada with 26. Canadian coach Brian Heaney told the Montreal Gazette that “the roof just caved in on us at the end of the first half. We played very well for 18 minutes but unfortunately, the game is 40 minutes long. … Our defence was our biggest problem. They moved the ball really well against us. The Japanese have mastered the technique of throwing those long, cross-court passes, which is unusual to the North American style of play. Such a style forces a team to shift from side-to-side constantly and opens up more holes in a defence.” Japanese coach Takeshi Ishkama said his troops tried to outrun the slower Canadians. “We also constantly changed our defence from a zone to man-to-man, and back. I think Canada must work harder on defense. They are very good on offence already.”
Canada then fell 89-75 to the United States. Canadian coach Brian Heaney told the Montreal Gazette “turnovers, that the story of the game. … We lost that game because of our weakness in passing the ball. We also lost several key players because of foul trouble which forced us to lose the good tempo which we had set.” American coach Billie-Jean Moore said “we did come out flat in the first half, but during the half, we decided we could play better defence and run the Canadians a little more.”
Czechoslovakia handed Canada its fourth straight loss by a 67-59 count. Canada trailed 38-33 at the half and never really threatened. Bozena Miklisovica paced Czechoslovakia with 24. Carol Turney led Canada with 14. Bev Bland and Joyce Douthwright each added 12. Canadian coach Brian Heaney told the Montreal Gazette that “we only played well in spots.”
Canada closed out its schedule by dropping an 85-62 decision to Bulgaria, which got 28 points from Petkana Makaveeva. Canada shot .360 per cent from the floor in the first half as they fell behind 39-31 and again, never threatened. Penka Stoyanova added 19 for Bulgaria, Shtarlcolova 8, Bogoanova 7, Methodeva 6, Mikhaylova 6, Skerlatova 6, Dilova 2, M Stoyanova 2 and Yordanoya 1, while Gottcheva and Guidorova were scoreless. Bev Bland led Canada with 15. Sylvia Sweeney added 10, Sheila Strike 8, Joanne Sargent 6, Carol Turney 6, Coleen Dufresne 5, Angie Johnson 4, Chris Critelli 3, Joyce Douthwright 2, Anne Hurley 2 and Donna Hobin 1, while Bev Barnes was scoreless.
After the Olympics, Brian Heaney, head coach at St. Mary’s, ended his one-year stint with the national women’s program. Hired to replace him was Waterloo men’s coach Don McCrae, who played university ball at Queen’s, Western and McMaster and played at the 1959 Pan Am Games in Chicago and 1960 Olympics in Rome. Coached high school for eight years, leading Kitchener Forest Heights to a provincial title, before moving into university ranks. Although he had little experience coaching women, McCrae expected no problems. “I am a basketball coach who will be coaching a basketball team. At this level, the players are motivated by excellence and that’s all that will concern me.”