| FINAL STANDINGS 1. Cuba 2. Brazil 3. Argentina 4. CANADA 5. Chile 6. Mexico | CANADIANS Cal Bouchard (Richmond, B.C.) Stacey Dales (Brockville, Ont.) Phoebe De Ciman (Regina, Sask.) Carolyn Ganes (Saskatoon, Sask.) Isabelle Grenier (Charny, Que.) Michelle Hendry (Terrace, B.C.) Nikki Johnson (Niagara Falls, Ont.) Teresa Kleindienst (Abbotsford, B.C.) Dianne Norman (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.) Kim Smith (Mission, B.C.) Christine Shewchuk (Edmonton, Alta.) Tammy Sutton-Brown (North York, Ont.) Bev Smith – coach |
| POOL A | BRA | ARG | MEX | Record | |||
| Brazil | —– | 83-39 | 119-63 | (2-0) | |||
| Argentina | 39-83 | —– | 93-76 | (1-1) | |||
| Mexico | 63-119 | 76-93 | —– | (0-2) | |||
| POOL B | CAN | CUB | CHI | Record | |||
| Cuba | 70-63 | —– | 100-33 | (2-0) | |||
| Canada | —– | 63-70 | 79-41 | (1-1) | |||
| Chile | 41-79 | 33-100 | —– | (0-2) | |||
| SEMIS POOL | BRA | CUB | CAN | ARG | Record | ||
| Cuba | 79-78 | —– | 70-63 | 70-57 | (3-0) | ||
| Brazil | —– | 78-79 | 69-58 | 83-39 | (2-1) | ||
| Argentina | 39-83 | 57-70 | 51-50 | —– | (1-2) | ||
| Canada | 58-69 | 63-70 | —– | 50-51 | (0-3) | ||
| 5th | Chile 61 Mexico 55 | |
| Final | Brazil 88 Cuba 83 | |
Canada opened by thrashing Chile. They took an early lead with tough defence and a strong transition game. Chile opened in a zone but Nikki Johnson nailed a pair of threes, forcing Chile into a box-and-one. It didn’t work Canada led 23-4 after one quarter and hit three successive shots to extend their lead to 32-6. Canada led 48-13 at the half. They extended their lead to 60-19 before relaxing and coasting to the win. Cal Bouchard led Canada with 15 points including 6-6 from the floor. Johnson added 12 including 3 of 4 from the arc. Michelle Hendry scored 8, Dianne Norman 8, Tammy Sutton-Brown 7, Carolyn Ganes 7, Isabelle Grenier 5, Christine Shewchuk 6, Stacey Dales 5, Kim Smith 3 and Teresa Kleindienst 3. Canada shoots 20-36 from the floor, 7-23 from the arc and 18-24 from the line while out-rebounding Chile 48-21. Tatiana Valeska Gomez Kehsler paced Chile with 14. Chile shot 14-35 from the floor, 2-23 from the arc and 7-12 from the line. “It was our team’s first official international competition,” said coach Bev Smith. “We played a very good first half of basketball today against Chile. During the second half, we went away from our focus allowing Chile to score more than they did in the first half.”
Canada then dropped a 70-63 decision to Cuba. The Cubans jumped out to a 9-3 lead before Canada began to score buckets in transition and rallied back to a 24-19 lead on three from beyond the arc late in the first quarter. Michelle Hendry scored nine straight points for Canada in the second quarter and then Tammy Sutton-Brown picked up her third foul with 3:39 to play in the half. Teresa Kleindienst hit a pull up jumper with five seconds to play to give Canada a 39-32 lead at the break. Cuba closed the gap to 41-38 early in the third quarter and then tied the score at 44 with five minutes to play. Canada led 51-49 at the three-quarter mark but had difficulty with Cuba’s zone defence in the final quarter. The Canadians led 57-53 but struggled from the line down the stretch. Sutton-Brown missed two free throws with 18 seconds to play, resulting in a jump ball. Canada won the tip and Dianne Norman was fouled trying to put back a miss. She converted the first the missed the second, sending the game into overtime. Cuba’s pressure defence forced a series of turnovers and easy buckets in the extra session. Yamilet Martinez scored five of Cuba’s last 12 points. Hendry led Canada with 17 points and 8 boards. Norman added 11 points and 12 boards. Kleindienst scored 10. Cal Bouchard scored 8, Nikki Johnson 8, Stacey Dales 5, and Sutton-Brown 4. Canada shot 15-40 from the floor, 7-21 from the arc and 12-22 from the line, while grabbing 37 boards. Yamilet Martinez led Cuba with 21. Cuba shot 21-48 from the floor, 2-21 from the arc and 22-35 from the line while grabbing 42 boards. “We got ourselves in a situation where we could win – despite some struggles during the second half,” said coach Bev Smith. “Nothing has been compromised by this loss to Cuba, as we must play Brazil tomorrow and Argentina on Friday. We took their transition game away but we struggled in the second half with their zone and increased pressure.”
Canada finished (1-1) to advance to the finals pool.
In the finals pool, Canada then dropped a 69-58 decision to Brazil. The Canadians defended the glass early and scored in transition, keeping it close. Christine Shewchuk slashed to the paint and was fouled, hitting both her free throws as Canada rallied to within 19-17 at the quarter. Nikki Johnson nailed a pair of threes to give Canada a 33-27 lead with 2:49 to play in the half. Canada led 35-31 at the half. But Brazil opened the third quarter with a full-court press and ripped off a 6-0 run. They extended the margin to 50-43 and led 55-49 at the quarter. Both teams struggled in the final frame. Brazil led 59-53 with 5:50 to play and then ripped off another 6-0 run to put the game out of reach. They moved by 13 and coasted. Johnson led Canada with 11 points, including 3-3 from beyond the arc. Dianne Norman added 9 points and 12 boards. Tammy Sutton-Brown scored 9, Carolyn Ganes 6, Michelle Hendry 6, Stacey Dales 6, Teresa Kleindienst 5, Christine Shewchuk 4 and Cal Bouchard 2. Canada shot 19-48 from the floor, 4-14 from the arc and 8-12 from the line while grabbing 37 boards. Kelly da Silva Santos led Brazil with 16. Brazil shot 24-43 from the floor, 3-15 from the arc and 12-14 from the line. “We played a very good first half offensively and defensively,” said Smith. “In the second half, Brazil increased their pressure on defence. But our defence was solid too, allowing them to score only 69 points.”
In a must-win situation to qualify for the worlds, Canada dropped a 51-50 decision to Argentina to close out the tournament. Both teams started slowly with Argentina leading 9-8 after a quarter. Canada’s shooting improved in the second quarter and they maintained a small lead until the half. Isabelle Grenier nailed a three with 41 seconds to go to give Canada a 27-22 lead at the half. Canada struggled with Argentina’s full court press in the second half. Argentina rallied to within 48-45 with four minutes to play. Argentina missed a pair from the line with 1:45 to play but grabbed an offensive board. The Argentinians missed another shot and Dianne Norman grabbed the rebound with Canada leading 50-48. A foul on offensive screen gave Argentina the ball with 35 seconds to play. With 14 seconds left, a jump ball was called. Argentina recovered the ball and nailed a trey with two seconds on the clock to earn the berth in the world championships. Isabelle Grenier led Canada with 15 points on 5-5 from the floor. Carolyn Ganes and Teresa Kleindienst each added 8, Cal Bouchard 4, Nikki Johnson 4, Michelle Hendry 2, Christine Shewchuk 2, Stacey Dales 3, and Dianne Norman 2. Canada shot 9-17 from the arc, 8-26 from the floor and 7-9 from the line, while being outrebounded 29-28. Carolina Erica Sanchez led Argentina with 13. Andrea added 10. Argentina shot 12-36 from the floor, 6-21 from the arc and 9-19 from the line.
The match-up is a de facto bronze medal match. Canada finishes fourth and fails to qualify for worlds.
2001
Bev Smith announces that she is resigning as head coach of the national team to become head coach of her alma mater, the University of Oregon. Smith says it is in everyone’s best interest that she focus her energies on just one job, the Ducks, rather than the Canadian team. She had assumed the national coaching reins in 1997. “Today is a day that I hoped wouldn’t come,” said Canada Basketball’s executive director, Leslie Dal Cin. “Bev Smith is the epitome of Canadian women’s basketball and she has represented her country and sport with the utmost respect and passion. Canada Basketball’s loss is the University of Oregon’s gain. We’d like to thank Coach Smith for her unwavering dedication to the Canadian women’s basketball program and for building a foundation for Canadian women’s basketball as her legacy,” continued Dal Cin.” Smith says that “I am a proud Canadian and I have loved the time I served as head coach of the Canadian women’s basketball team. But at this time, I had to make the decision to commit myself to the University of Oregon.” Smith tells the Globe and Mail she is fed up with the inadequate resources provided the national team. “I would have done this if I felt we were going forward and we were going to provide our athletes with some more investment. I almost kept doing it, but I felt I wasn’t being fair to my athletes. I don’t have the right energy for them because I’m looking at all the battles I can’t win. For so long we’ve tried to the best that we could with what we had and where we were and that’s just not enough anymore. We don’t have any intense and elite development for our younger athletes and the rest of the world does. If you can’t win or even be qualified for junior world championships, which we haven’t done either on the men’s or women’s side for a long time, then you can’t expect your senior athletes to be able to magically do that.” Smith says Canada needs more resources for coaching and regional training centers. “I feel bad for the athletes and I feel I’m sort of bailing on them a little bit.”
In December, 2001, Allison McNeill, former head coach at Simon Fraser and assistant coach at Oregon, is appointed head coach of the national team. A former Salmon Arm Jewell and Laurentian Voyageur, where she played on two CIS title teams, McNeill then transferred to the University of Oregon. She began coaching as a graduate assistant at Oregon and was head coach of Simon Fraser from 1988-2001. McNeil had been coaching the junior national team. “I am very honoured and excited to be named the coach of our Canadian national team,” said McNeill. “I have coached five junior and youth national teams as well as helping with the senior team so I have a good feel for the players. Bev Smith has done a great job of getting the program going in the right direction and I hope that I can continue the growth of the program.” Canada Basketball president Robert Gordon said Canada was “extremely fortunate to have Coach Allison McNeill as the new head coach. Allison has been coaching our developmental squads and has worked at the Nike All-Canada Camps. The women’s program will not skip a beat. She knows the strong depth of our women’s basketball pool and I’m confident our program will continue to grow.” McNeill later noted that she was excited by the opportunity. “And when I told Bev I’d accepted the job, she gave me a big hug and said: that’s the best thing that could happen.’ Good support from a good friend. …I’m not going in with rose-coloured glasses on or anything. I know what the problems are. I Also know, when your country calls, it’s a pretty big thing. I’ve been involved with the players for a long time, and I feel like I know them and can help them. It’s easy to sit on the sidelines and bitch. Or you can jump in and try to help. That’s what Bev did. She’s done her part and now it’s time to do my part.”