| FINAL STANDINGS 1. Cuba 2. Brazil 3. CANADA 4. United States 5. Argentina 6. Dominican Republic 7. Mexico 8. Peru | CANADIANS Misty Thomas (Los Angeles, California) Carol Hamilton (Oakville, Ont.) Janet Fowler (Victoria, B.C.) Andrea Blackwell (Calgary, Alta.) Jodi Evans (Calgary, Alta.) Lori Clarke (Abbotsford, B.C.) Anna Stammberger (Kensington, P.E.I.) Janet Fowler (Victoria, B.C.) Merelynn Lange (Port Severn, Ont.) Marianne Kowal Johnson Kelly Boucher (Calgary, Alta). Wayne Hussey – coach |
| POOL A | BRA | CAN | MEX | PER | Record | ||
| Brazil | —– | 80-58 | 93-73 | 112-56 | (3-0) | ||
| Canada | 58-80 | —– | 82-64 | 73-37 | (2-1) | ||
| Mexico | 73-93 | 64-82 | —– | 60-59 | (1-2) | ||
| Peru | 56-112 | 37-73 | 59-60 | —– | (0-3) | ||
| POOL B | CUB | USA | ARG | DOM | Record | ||
| Cuba | —– | 78-77 | 106-90 | 96-39 | (3-0) | ||
| United States | 77-78 | —– | 101-68 | 99-58 | (2-1) | ||
| Argentina | 90-106 | 68-101 | —– | 101-93 | (1-2) | ||
| Dominican Republic | 39-96 | 58-99 | 93-101 | —– | (0-3) | ||
| MEDALS POOL | CUB | USA | BRA | CAN | Record | ||
| Brazil | 116-89 | 95-90 | —– | 99-72 | (3-0) | ||
| Cuba | —– | 71-67 | 89-116 | 80-72 | (2-1) | ||
| United States | 67-71 | —– | 90-95 | 93-70 | (1-2) | ||
| Canada | 72-80 | 70-93 | 72-99 | —– | (0-3) | ||
| Bronze | Canada 71 United States 63 | |
| Final | Cuba 87 Brazil 84 | |
Canada opened with a 73-37 win over Peru, holding a nine-point lead at the half and Hussey told the vets they weren’t concentrating and made them practice through the 15-minute intermission. They went on win 73-37. Lori Clarke paced Canada with 16. Misty Thomas added 9. Canada led 33-24 at the half.
Canada moved to (2-0) and guaranteed itself a spot in the medal round by defeating Mexico 82-64 as Janet Fowler scored 18. Carol Hamilton, Misty Thomas and Andrea Blackwell each added 14. “That was our goal coming here, to make sure we took the first two games seriously,” said coach Wayne Hussey. “Even though the competition wasn’t what we were used to, we knew we had to get by these two to get to the worlds. The veterans are the ones who have to come through. They’re the ones who experienced the Olympic qualifying loss and they’re the ones who have to rebound from that and make sure we deal with these weaker teams in the proper manner.” Canada led 44-33 at the half. Mexico cut the deficit to five but Hussey called a timeout and the Canadians came out and retook command.
Canada closed out pool play by losing 80-58 to Brazil. Hortencia Maccari led Brazil with 19. Carol Hamilton led Canada with 24. Brazil led 47-28 at the half.
Canada finished (2-1) to advance to medals pool play and automatically qualify for the worlds in Malaysia.
In medals pool play, Brazil thrashed Canada 99-72 despite 16 points from Carol Hamilton, 15 from Janet Fowler and 13 from Misty Thomas. “We just didn’t play with any heart, with any pride tonight,” said coach Wayne Hussey. Hortencia Maccari led Brazil with 19.
Cuba dumped Canada 80-72. “Qualifying was the good thing but not the only thing,” mused coach Wayne Hussey. “If we could win (in the bronze medal match), we’ll show that we can playing with the top teams in the world.” Lori Clarke paced Canada with 15. Andrea Blackwell added 10 and Carol Hamilton 9. Cuba led 44-37 at the half. Canada rallied to a 53-48 lead in the second frame but faltered.
Canada finished (0-3) in medals pool play.
Misty Thomas scored 23 as Canada defeated the US 71-63 in the bronze-medal match. Jodi Evans of Calgary added 12 and Janet Fowler 11. Venus Lacy and Medina Dixon each noted 11 to lead the U.S. “Intensity is the trademark of our team,” said Hussey. “We showed a lot of physical play, and that’s what we have to do to be successful at this level.” Win avenged earlier 93-70 loss to Americans in round-robin play. Canada led 28-26 at the half and widened their lead to as many as 10 in the third quarter. “I’m not sure what brought that intensity out today,” said Thomas. “Before today, we were inconsistent. Never were all five people on the floor putting out a super intense effort at the same time.” Hussey also expressed disappointment with the performance of the team. “Overall, our performance here was not good. Even though I’m pleased with what happened here today . . . I was disappointed with our hustle and heart. We have to find out what went wrong there.”
Qualifying for the worlds saved Hussey’s job, said Howard Bloom, national teams co-ordinator for Basketball Canada. “It’s a tremendous burden off Wayne’s back. He was too good a coach and the players were too good for Canada to keep coming back empty-handed. If they hadn’t qualified, he’d have had to expect a change.”