| FINAL STANDINGS 1. Cuba 2. CANADA 3. United States 4. Brazil 5. Argentina 6. Dominican Republic | CANADIANS Michelle Hendry (Terrace, B.C.) Cal Bouchard (Richmond, B.C.) Stacey Dales (Brockville, Ont.) Nikki Johnson (Niagara Falls, Ont.) Teresa Kleindienst (Mission, B.C.) Cynthia Johnston (Calgary, Alta.) Dianne Norman (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.) Claudia Brassard-Riebesehl (Kuala Lampur, Malaysia) Kelly Boucher (Calgary, Alta) Tammy Sutton-Brown (North York, Ont.) Elizabeth Hart Joby McKenzie Bev Smith – coach |
| Team | BRZ | CUB | USA | CAN | ARG | DOM | Record | ||
| Brazil | —– | 84-78 | 77-72 | 70-59 | 67-65 | 124-68 | (5-0) | ||
| Cuba | 78-84 | —– | 95-64 | 76-65 | 76-56 | 113-40 | (4-1) | ||
| United States | 72-77 | 64-95 | —– | 62-46 | 63-55 | 92-80 | (3-2) | ||
| Canada | 59-70 | 65-76 | 46-62 | —– | 61-48 | 89-75 | (2-3) | ||
| Argentina | 65-67 | 56-76 | 55-63 | 48-61 | —– | 74-70 | (1-4) | ||
| Dominican Rep. | 68-124 | 40-113 | 80-92 | 75-89 | 70-74 | —– | (0-5) | ||
| semi | Cuba 87 United States 78 | |
| semi | Canada 56 Brazil 54 | |
| 5th | Argentina 98 Dominican Republic 80 | |
| Bronze | United States 85 Brazil 59 | |
| Final | Cuba 72 Canada 63 | |
In their opener, Canada defeated the Dominican Republic 89-75. Canada dominated the boards 45-23 and led 48-40 at the break. The Canadians put on a fastbreak clinic in the second half. They moved ahead 57-45 as Cal Bouchard fed a long pass to Stacey Dales, who volleyed it to Michelle Henry for a bucket. Hendry scored 20 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. Claudia Brassard added 14, four boards and two blocks. Dianne Norman tossed in 13 points and six boards. Stacey Dales scored 11 and Tammy Sutton-Brown 11. Bouchard dished for eight assists and had only two turnovers.
The Canadians then defeated Argentina 61-48. Scoring inside easily, they jumped ahead 11-5 before relinquishing a 6-2 run. But Dales hit a free throw, Bouchard hit a three and Canada stepped up its defensive intensity and moved ahead 28-20. A Dales steal and a Teresa Kleindienst trey put Canada ahead 38-20 at the break. Argentina went to a full-court press in the second half and trimmed the lead to 57-41 but Kelly Boucher stole the ball and fed it to Sutton-Brown for a fastbreak layup to stifle the rally. Michelle Hendry led Canada with 13 points. Sutton-Brown added 11 and 7 boards. Nikki Johnson nabbed 9 rebounds. Cynthia Johnston hit for four points in limited action.
Canada dropped from the unbeaten ranks by losing to Brazil 70-59. Canada jumped ahead 14-6 by pounding the ball inside as Dianne Norman and Michelle Hendry dominated the pain and took Kelly Santos of Brazil out of the game with three fouls. But Brazil went on a 10-0 run to take the lead midway through the half and stretched their margin to 39-33 at the half. Hendry led Canada with 11 points. Tammy Sutton-Brown added 9. Leila Sobral led Brazil with 11 points. Although Canada briefly cut the gap to seven midway through the second half and held Brazil scoreless for seven minutes, the rally fell just short. “They are one of the top five teams in the world and I guess you have to look at the positives,” said Fredericton’s Dianne Norman, who scored 14 points and hauled down eight rebounds for the Canadians against Brazil. We messed up a bunch of times and had a good seven-minute hiatus where we didn’t make too much happen and they still only scored 70 points. We probably gave 15 of the those points with turnovers on transition.” Canada opened strongly with a 14-6 run in the first five minutes, but was behind 35-26 with three minutes left in the period. Canada closed to within six at the intermission but Brazil opened the second half on a 11-3 tear and then withstood a Canadian comeback to move to 3-0.
Canada loses to Cuba 76-65 in the third match. Cuba led 32-30 at the break and their defensive pressure forced a series of Canadian turnovers in the second half. Michelle Hendry led Canada with 14. Claudia Brassard added 12. “Cuba is classic,” said Fredericton’s Dianne Norman, who was plagued by foul trouble throughout and didn’t score in just 14 minutes of action. “They always have another gear, they always have another level. You make a mistake and they capitalize. Canada stayed with the powerful Cubans through the early stages, jumping ahead 27-18 at one point before settling for a 32-30 edge at the intermission. They accomplished it with a 60 per cent shooting display from the perimeter, including a 5-9 run from the arc. In the second stanza, Cuba jumped ahead 45-36 by the 6:10 mark, only to see Canada rally with a 9-0 run of their own, tying it on Cal Bouchard’s three-pointer at the 9:32 mark. Then Cuba couldn’t miss, pulling off a 12-0 run before Canada was able to celebrate its comeback before another sparse crowd at the University of Manitoba – all in a span of 1:45. “The Cubans turned up their intensity and aggressiveness,” said Canadian coach Bev Smith of their opponent’s high-pressure defence which led to 28 Canadian turnovers. “That’s not easy to deal with but I think we should have dealt with it better. We started to second guess ourselves and doubt ourselves. Instead of making the quick-easy release pass we were trying the thread-the-needle pass. Four minutes later, the Cubans led by 20 points before settling on the 11-point win. “It’s not very often in our careers that we can say we ran with Cuba,” said Norman. “Just to have them pull their tricks one more time is hard.
Against the United States, Canada gets bombed 62-46 as Umoh scores 4, Webb 2, Cunningham 3, Marciniak 17, Pride 9, Brown 15, Wynne 5, Gaither 1 and Herrig 6 for the Americans. The U.S. hit 23-54 from the floor and 14-18 from the line. They led 35-28 at the half, shot 2-9 from the arc and outrebounded Canada 39-32. Michelle Hendry scored 11 for Canada. Kelly Boucher added 6, Cal Bouchard 2, Stacey Dales 2, Nikki Johnston 5, Theresa Kleindienst 3, Dianne Norman 9, Claudia Brassard 6, and Tammy Sutton-Brown 2. Canada shot 18-55 from the field, 9-10 from the line and 1-10 from the arc. Canada scored just 18 points in the second half. Hendry proved to be Canada’s go-to gal during the Pan Am Games. She’s made the Olympic squad at age of 29 and the national team in 1992 but Canada didn’t qualify for Barcelona Games. Hendry was cut in 1996 when Canada qualified for Atlanta. She tried to make the national team in 1997, but coach Bev Smith wanted to go with a younger team. Still, Hendry kept playing ball in Germany. “I never stopped playing basketball and I think maybe my body is in better shape now because I didn’t play the summer. I’m not angry. I’m loving basketball now and I’m just having a great time playing. That’s what it’s all about.” Hendry was the team’s leading scorer at the Pan Am Games. “She’s been our most consistent player,” coach Bev Smith said. “When I cut her in 1997, we were looking at younger posts we felt could shoot a little bit further out than her and had little bit more range. But she’s playing well.” Hendry says “I’m pretty much going to do what Bev wants of me. If it’s to score or rebound or just to pump up the team when I’m on the bench. I mean I’ll do whatever it takes. I don’t feel pressure to be a leader but if that’s what I can do then I’ll be a leader.” Cynthia Johnston said “our coach felt we were not prepared emotionally and mentally.” The Americans jumped ahead midway through the first half and stretched the advantage to 35-28 at the intermission.
Dianne Norman netted nine points for Canada, converting four of six shots from the field. She hauled down five rebounds but committed four turnovers in 29 minutes of action. Canada was held to a low 32 per cent field goal percentage while committing 20 turnovers. The Americans shot 42 per cent and turned the ball over 18 times. The Americans jumped ahead midway through the first half and stretched the advantage to 35-28 at the intermission. Then, the United States took its defence to another level, shutting the Canadians down to 18 points in the second half, on a 7-for-31 shooting performance. Fredericton’s Dianne Norman scored nine points for Canada, converting four of six shots from the field. She hauled down five rebounds but committed four turnovers in 29 minutes of action.
In the semis, Canada defeated Brazil 56-54. “We always believed we could do it,” said Cynthia Johnston. “We have always given the Brazilians a run for their money. The games have generally been close but they have always been able to pull through when the going got tough. It’s wonderful because we have never been in a gold medal game before. This is the first time in my career I have played in a gold medal game, other than the Francophone Games and we are talking Brazil. They are in the top five in the world. We have been owing this to them for a while.” Tammy Sutton-Brown netted the winning bucket with 2.8 seconds left on a neat pass from guard Teresa Kleindienst, who raced end-to-end after Cintia Santos lifted Brazil in front from the foul line with just 8.7 seconds remaining. Sutton-Brown laid the ball in with her left hand for a one-point edge, was fouled and hit the resulting free throw for the final margin of victory. The Canadians took an early lead, essentially trading baskets until they broke free with the score tied 16-16. “Everyone had to look deep within as well as a team. We had to connect, I felt. There was a totally positive feeling from the moment we walked into the arena.” Those vibes translated into a 20-11 run in the first half that provided Johnston and her teammates with a 36-27 advantage at the intermission. Then, after the Brazilians cut the deficit to three points six minutes into the second half, Canada sped away again, this time using a 13-2 run to forge a 53-39 lead with 7:23 remaining. Game, set and upset. Right? Well, the Canadians won’t get any points for style as they completely fell apart offensively, looking helpless at times against the more poised Brazilians, who cut the deficit to five points with 3:45 remaining, to one point with 1:26 left and finally edged ahead when Santos canned two free throws after she was fouled by Nikki Johnston underneath the hoop. “I could see they were sending out players specifically for shooting roles,” said Johnston. “They were calm and we started to get a little tight and I could see us starting to spin. Everything sped up and we were thinking that we had to score quickly to keep the lead. We had a hard time scoring and fell into what they wanted us to do but fortunately, time ran out.” The Canadians, backed by 1,054 fans, bent but didn’t break and finally found a way past Brazil. In 10 previous Pan-Am Games, Brazil has won nine medals, including three gold, the most recent in 1991, the last time the women’s hoops competition was held. On the other hand, Canada owns just three bronze medals and only finished higher than Brazil on one occasion (1979 San Juan). “This was huge,” said Johnston amid a mob scene underneath the hoop normally reserved for championship celebrations. Kelly Boucher led Canada with 17 points while Sutton-Brown added 12. Fredericton’s Dianne Norman scored six points, grabbed seven rebounds and added four assists.
In the final, Canada dropped a 72-63 decision to Cuba but coach Bev Smith was elated with the squad’s first silver medal in Pan Am competition. “We need to play a full 40 minutes but we’ll get there,” Smith says. “This is our first silver ever so I think these players need to hold their heads high.” The Canadians suffered a second-half lull as the Cubans patiently built a 61-48 lead after opening the frame with an 8-0 run, including a pair of free throws off a technical called against Kelly Boucher for vehemently protesting a foul on a three-point shot just before the buzzer, which hadn’t been called by NBA official Dee Kantner. But Canada rallied to within 65-61 with 2:30 to play before Cal Bouchard missed a layup that would have cut the margin to two. “I’ll replay that one for a while,” said Bouchard. “But I’m happy with the silver. Nobody expected us to do this well.” Cuba countered by feeding the ball inside to 6-0 centre Yamilet Martinez for a pair of buckets to ice the win. “We just didn’t get our shots to drop,” said Smith. “Had we hit a couple of shots that we got that were open, you would have seen another result like Brazil (which Canada upset in the semis) out there. Licet Castillo, the other twin tower in Cuba’s double low post sets, scored 20 points while Martinez ran up 16. Boucher, the first Canadian to play in the WNBA, led Canada with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Michelle Hendry added 12 and Teresa Kleindienst 10. Canada shot 35 per cent from the floor as Cuba’s zone defence forced them to perimeter. The Canadians hit only 5-17 from the arc. Dianne Norman was delighted with the silver medal. “It’s the first time I have ever experienced something like that because we never play in Canada and it seems like I have never been on the podium since my university days [World University Games 1991].” Cynthia Johnston said “we gave the Cubans a better run for their money this time than the last time [round robin] but in the end, I think it was fatigue.” The Cubans jumped ahead 12-5 in the opening four minutes. Canada closed it to within one with 3:28 remaining on Nikki Johnson’s slashing run for a bucket but again the Cubans responded and led by five at the half. That’s when Canadian Kelly Boucher picked up a technical foul for arguing a non-call, a move which handed Cuba two foul shots to start the second half. This ignited the slightly dormant Cuba offence, which pulled off one of its patented runs, sprinting to a 16-point edge thanks to a 9-0 break in the first 4:25. Canada rallied twice but it time it got close, the Cubans, led on the inside by forward Tania Seino, answered, such as when Canada cut the lead to six points with 13:34 remaining and again when the home team battled back to trail 65-61 with 2:30 remaining. “It is good but gold would have been nicer,” said Norman, who scored four points and was plagued by foul problems the entire game. “It seems to be a style we have against Cuba, playing catch up the whole time. We just get within reach and they would make a tough shot or we would make a mistake and we’d go to back to six, eight or 10 points. “In terms of where were at the beginning of the summer, we were third COPABA, minus the Americans and now we are second with the same teams, so it’s a step up,” said Johnston. “Let’s hope we can keep climbing.” Johnston said the emotional hangover from the semifinal win over Brazil was difficult to deal with, despite plenty of flag waving support in the stands. “It varies for everybody,” she said. “A game like we had against Brazil is draining emotionally and physically and it is hard to come back, even though we had a day off. We have played a lot of games, didn’t have major clean wins so I bet you there will be people going home and resting for a week. Smith said “I am really proud of our athletes. The last time we played Cuba in May, we got burned by 20 points and we got burned by 11 the last time. Today, we hung in there. We still need to play 40 minutes. We went into a couple of dives offensively but we are going to be there. These players need to hold their heads up high. In Cuba, we were third, here we are second, so we are making a little bit of progress.