FIBA Universality Qualifying Tournament 2, Utsunomiya, Japan
| FINAL STANDINGS 1 Australia 2. Canada | CANADIANS Michelle Plouffe (Edmonton, Alta.) Katherine Plouffe (Edmonton, Alta.) Paige Crozon (Humboldt, Sask.) Kacie Bosch (Lethbridge, Alta.) Cassandra Brown (Vernon, B.C.) Kim Gaucher – coach |
| POOL A | GER | BRZ | JPN | AUT | Record | |||
| Germany (1) | —– | 17-16 | 12-13 | 21-9 | (2-1) | |||
| Brazil (8) | 16-17 | —– | 13-12 | 21-11 | (2-1) | |||
| Japan (4) | 13-12 | 12-13 | —– | 21-15 | (2-1) | |||
| Austria (5) | 9-21 | 11-21 | 15-21 | —– | (0-3) | |||
| POOL G | AUS | CAN | NED | KEN | Record | |||
| Australia (6) | —– | 21-16 | 16-18 | 22-9 | (2-1) | |||
| Canada (2) | 16-21 | —– | 22-9 | 19-12 | (2-1) | |||
| Netherlands (3) | 18-16 | 9-22 | —– | 21-7 | (2-1) | |||
| Kenya (7) | 9-22 | 12-19 | 7-21 | —– | (0-3) | |||
| Semi | Canada 18 Germany 12 | |||||||
| Semi | Australia 18 Brazil 16 | |||||||
| Final | Australia 19 Canada 16 | |||||||
In their opener, Canada dispatched Kenya 19-12. Paige Crozon notched a 6-0 run as Canada took an 11-5 lead. Kenya rallied to within 12-10 but Katherine Plouffe hit a bucket and Crozon her fourth from the beyond the arc to ice the win. “Shout out to my teammates because they found me when I was open and trusted me with the ball, especially as the shot clock was winding down,” Crozon said. “[They] found ways to create second-chance opportunities. Having trust and faith in them really helped me find my shots and have the confidence to knock them down when needed. … Our focus
is always on the defensive end. Being really clean and crisp with all of our actions defensively and making sure that we are communicating well.” Paige Crozon paced Canada with 10 on 1-3 from the floor, 4-11 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 1 board. Katherine Plouffe added 4 on 4-5 from the floor, 2 blocks and 6 boards. Michelle Plouffe notched 3 on 1-3 form the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 1 block and 6 boards. Kacie Bosch scored 2 on 1-1 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 2 boards. Canada hit 7-12 from the floor, 5-18 from the arc and 2-2 from the line, while garnering 17 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 2 blocks, 6 turnovers and 1 foul. Madina Okot paced Kenya with 5 on 5-7 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc and 4 boards. Victoria Reynolds added 5 on 3-9 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 3 boards and 1 block. Mercy Wanyama notched 2 on 2-5 from the floor and 4 boards, while Natalie Mwangale was scoreless. Kenya hit 10-22 from the floor, 1-8 from the arc and 1-8 from the line, while garnering 18 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 1 block, 10 turnovers and 4 fouls.
Canada improved to (2-0) by dusting the Netherlands 22-9. Canada denied the perimeter to stymie the Netherlands, while Paige Crozon opened the affair with two pointer and Canada notched a 6-0 run to take a 15-5 lead and coasted to the easy win. Michelle Plouffe paced Canada with 9 on 1-3 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 7 boards. Paige Crozon added 8 on 2-4 from the floor, 3-3 from the arc, 1 block and 2 boards. Katherine Plouffe notched 4 on 3-7 from the floor, 1-1 from the line, 1 block and 2 boards. Kacie Bosch scored 1 on 1-1 from the floor, 1 block and 3 boards. Canada hit 7-15 from the floor, 5-8 from the arc and 5-5 from the line, while garnering 17 boards, including 4 on the offensive glass, 3 blocks, 8 turnovers and 7 fouls. Noortje Driessen paced the Netherlands with 4 on 4-6 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 1 block and 3 boards. Janis Boonstra added 3 on 0-2 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 5 boards. Loyce Bettonvil notched 2 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 1 boards, while Zoe Slagter was scoreless, nabbed 3 boards and blocked 1 shot. The Netherlands hit 5-12 from the floor, 1-13 from the arc and 2-2 from the line, while garnering 12 boards, including 5 on the offensive glass, 2 blocks, 8 turnovers and 7 steals.
Canada closed out pool play with a 21-16 loss to Australia. The difference proved to be perimeter shooting as Australia hit 5 from the beyond the arc, while Canada hit just 2. A two-pointer from Australia’s Alex Wilson broke a 14-all tie to give Australia the 16-14 advantage with 2:26 remaining. Michelle Plouffe was fouled on a baseline drive and made a free throw to draw Canada within 2 with 59.6 seconds remaining, but Canada couldn’t get shots to fall in the final minute as Anneli Maley hit 2 free throws to give Australia a 20-16 lead with 20 seconds remaining. After a miss from Katherine Plouffe, Maley was fouled again with 9.89 seconds and she closed the game at the line. Anneli Maley paced Australia with 9 on 2-2 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 3-3 from the line and 7 boards. Alex Wilson added 5 on 1-2 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 2 blocks and 4 boards. Marena Whittle notched 5 on 4-7 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 1 board. Lauren Mansfield scored 2 on 1-3 from the arc and 1 board. Australia hit 7-11 from the floor, 5-13 from the arc and 4-5 from the line, while garnering 16 boards, including 4 on the offensive glass, 2 blocks, 9 turnovers and 6 fouls. Paige Crozon paced Canada with 6 on 3-4 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 1 board. Michelle Plouffe added 5 on 1-6 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 1 block and 5 boards. Katherine Plouffe notched 4 on 4-6 from the floor, 0-2 from the line and 5 boards. Kacie Bosch scored 1 on 1-2 from the floor and 1 board. Canada hit 9-18 from the floor, 2-12 from the arc and 3-3 from the line, while garnering 15 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 1 block, 5 turnovers and 8 fouls.
Canada finished (2-1) in pool play, tied with Australia and the Netherlands, but qualified for the semis by virtue of points scored in round-robin matches.
In the semis, Canada dispatched Germany 18-12. Paige Crozen notched a putback and a two-pointer to give Canada a 9-5 lead with 6:15 to play. Germany trimmed the margin to 13-12 but Kacie Bosch found Katherine Plouffe cutting to the hoop for a layup. Canada’s defence forced a shot-clock violation on Germany and Crozon hit her second two of the game to push Canada’s advantage back to four points with 1:50 remaining as Canada went on to win. Katherine Plouffe paced Canada with 7 on 7-9 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 6 boards. Paige Crozon added 6 on 2-4 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 2 blocks and 2 boards. Michelle Plouffe notched 5 on 1-3 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 1 block and 3 boards, while Kacie Bosch was scoreless on 0-1 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 1 board. Canada hit 10-17 from the floor, 3-9 from the arc and 2-2 from the line, while garnering 13 boards, including 5 on the offensive glass, 3 blocks, 8 turnovers and 3 fouls. Luana Rodefeld paced Germany with 0-1 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc and 3 boards. Svenja Brunckhorst added 4 on 4-8 from the floor and 0-2 from the arc. Marie Reichert notched 2 on 2-5 from the floor and 3 boards. Sonja Greinacher scored 2 on 2-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 0-1 from the line and 3 boards. Germany hit 8-18 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc and 0-1 from the line, while garnering 12 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 9 turnovers and 7 fouls.
In the final, Australia defeated Canada 19-16. The Australians capitalized on free throw shooting to knock off the Canadians, including a pair from Alex Wilson with 5.6 seconds to play. Katherine Plouffe notched a bucket to draw Canada within 17-16 with 33 seconds to play but Wilson’s free throws iced the win. “They’re winners in their mannerisms, how they approach the offseason, their resiliency, their nutrition, their work ethic,” said Paige Crozon. “I’ve just been following their blueprint for the past five years and I’m trying to be like them. Trying to be great.” Alex Wilson paced Australia with 8 on 4-9 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 4 boards and 3 blocks. Marena Whittle added 8 on 3-4 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 3-5 from the line and 3 boards. Anneli Maley notched 2 on 2-3 from the floor and 2 boards. Lauren Mansfield scored 1 on 1-2 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 2 boards. Australia hit 10-18 from the floor, 1-7 from the arc and 7-9 from the line, while garnering 13 boards, including 3 on the offensive glass, 3 blocks, 6 turnovers and 8 fouls. Katherine Plouffe paced Canada with 6 on 5-7 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 7 boards. Michelle Plouffe added 5 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-7 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 8 boards. Paige Crozon notched 3 on 3-7 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc and 1 board. Kacie Bosch added 2 on 0-1 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 4 boards. Canada hit 10-20 from the floor, 1-11 from the arc and 4-4 from the line, while garnering 21 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 10 turnovers and 7 fouls.
With the loss, Canada failed to earn an automatic berth to the Olympics and was relegated to the last-chance Olympic qualifying tournament, where three Paris berths were on the line.
FIBA OLYMPIC QUALIFYING TOURNAMENT, DEBRECEN, HUNGARY
| FINAL STANDINGS 1. Spain 1. Germany 3. CANADA 4. Hungary 5. Japan 5. Czechia 5. Italy 5. Poland 9. Ukraine 9. Tunisia 9. Lithuania 9. Chile 9. Mongolia 9. Egypt 9. Netherlands 9. Israel | CANADIANS Michelle Plouffe (Edmonton, Alta.) Katherine Plouffe (Edmonton, Alta.) Paige Crozon (Humboldt, Sask.) Kacie Bosch (Lethbridge, Alta.) Cassandra Brown (Vernon, B.C.) – alternate Kim Gaucher – coach |
| POOL A | GER | POL | UKR | TUN | Record | |||||
| Germany (1) | —– | 20-18 | 9-7 | 17-7 | (3-0) | |||||
| Poland (8) | 18-20 | —– | 21-18 | 21-7 | (2-1) | |||||
| Ukraine (12) | 7-9 | 18-21 | —– | 21-8 | (1-2) | |||||
| Tunisia (16) | 7-17 | 7-21 | 8-21 | —– | (0-3) | |||||
| POOL B | CAN | CZE | LIT | CHI | Record | |||||
| Canada (2) | —– | 17-10 | 19-16 | 21-11 | (3-0) | |||||
| Czechia (9) | 10-17 | —– | 19-21 | 21-19 | (1-2) | |||||
| Lithuania (7) | 16-19 | 21-19 | —– | 12-16 | (1-2) | |||||
| Chile (15) | 11-21 | 19-21 | 16-12 | —– | (1-2) | |||||
| POOL C | SPN | JPN | MNG | EGY | Record | |||||
| Spain (3) | —– | 21-12 | 21-7 | 22-5 | (3-0) | |||||
| Japan (6) | 12-21 | —– | 16-13 | 19-14 | (2-1) | |||||
| Mongolia (14) | 7-21 | 13-16 | —– | 17-15 | (1-2) | |||||
| Egypt (10) | 5-22 | 14-19 | 15-17 | —– | (0-3) | |||||
| POOL D | HUN | ITA | NED | ISR | Record | |||||
| Hungary (4) | —– | 18-19 | 13-11 | 21-16 | (2-1) | |||||
| Italy (11) | 19-18 | —– | 9-13 | 21-11 | (2-1) | |||||
| Netherlands (5) | 11-13 | 13-9 | —– | 21-18 | (2-1) | |||||
| Israel (13) | 16-21 | 11-21 | 18-21 | —– | (0-3) | |||||
| QF | Germany 16 Japan 14 | |||||||||
| QF | Hungary 16 Czechia 9 | |||||||||
| QF | Canada 21 Italy 8 | |||||||||
| QF | Spain 21 Poland 13 | |||||||||
| Semi | Germany 19 Hungary 17 | |||||||||
| Semi | Spain 19 Canada 18 | |||||||||
| Bronze | Canada 21 Hungary 10 | |||||||||
| Final | Not played | |||||||||
In their opener, Canada defeated Chile 21-11. Canada took an early 4-point lead on a pair from beyond the arc by Michelle Plouffe. Chile rallied within one but Canada locked down on defence and held Chile scoreless for the final 5:38 of the game, while ripping off a 9-0 run. Paige Crozon drilled a trey with 3:03 to play to end the contest. “We worked some things out on defence to make the least mistakes possible,” Katherine Plouffe said. “We did pretty good, we came out with a win.” Michelle Plouffe paced Canada with 8 on 2-4 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 4 boards. Paige Crozon added 6 on 3-4 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc and 1-1 from the line. Katherine Plouffe notched 5 on 1-1 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Kacie Bosche scored 2 on 2-2 from the floor. Canada hit 8-11 from the floor, 4-8 from the arc and 5-5 from the line, while garnering 11 boards, including 3 on the offensive glass, 2 turnovers and 5 fouls. Fernanda Ovalle led Chile with 4 on 1-1 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 1-1 from the line. Ziomara Morrison added 4 on 1-1 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 3 boards. Catalina Abuyeres notched 2 on 0-1 from the floor and 1-2 from the arc. Jovanka Ljubetic scored 1 on 1-2 from the floor and 0-4 from the arc. Chile hit 3-5 from the floor, 3-11 from the arc and 2-2 from the line, while garnering 6 boards, including 2 on the offensive glass, 6 turnovers and 6 fouls.
Canada improved to (2-0) by defeating Lithuania 19-16. With the score knotted at 10, Michelle Plouffe scored 6 straight points. Lithuania rallied to within 16-14 with 1:50 remaining. Free throws from Paige Crozon and Kacie Bosch extended the lead to four and Canada held on for the win. “I’m super proud of these girls,” Katherine Plouffe said, “It feels good to get [wins] against good teams.” Michelle Plouffe paced Canada with 9 on 2-7 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 3-3 from the line and 6 boards. Katherine Plouffe added 6 on 6-9 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 0-1 from the line and 5 boards. Kacie Bosch notched 2 on 1-2 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 4 boards. Paige Crozon scored 2 on 0-2 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 2-3 from the line. Canada hit 9-20 from the floor, 2-9 from the arc and 6-9 from the line, while garnering 17 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 4 turnovers and 7 fouls. Kamile Nicickaite paced Lithuania with 8 on 4-6 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc and 3 boards. Gabriele Sulske added 3 on 1-1 from the floor and 1-3 from the arc. Monika Grigalauskyte notched 3 on 3-4 from the floor and 4 boards. Giedre Labuckiene scored 2 on 2-2 from the floor, 3 blocks and 4 boards. Lithuania hit 10-13 from the floor and 3-10 from the arc, while garnering 13 boards, including 2 on the offensive glass, 4 blocks, 7 turnovers and 10 fouls.
Canada closed out pool play at (3-0) and qualified for the quarterfinals by dusting Czechia 17-10. Canada scored the first three points of the game and quickly went ahead by 8 before Czechia scored its second point. A Michelle Plouffe layup gave Canada a 10-2 lead. Paige Crozon found Katherine Plouffe for a bucket and then Plouffe scored again on a drive to the basket. After a two-pointer from Kateřina Suchanová trimmed Canada’s lead to 4 with 1:25 remaining, Plouffe notched a putback. A Plouffe-to-Plouffe connection ended with a layup for Michelle to close out the affair. “When we stick to our game plan good things happen,” Kacie Bosch said. “We started off aggressive and good things happened. When things start to take a turn, that’s when we have to evaluate what’s going well, what’s not, but our defence was superb the whole time. We did a really good job of taking away their twos which was a big key for us. … “I know my role on this team is to try to get us as many possessions as possible. The hustle plays keep my energy up, too. I know our offence is in really good hands when Katherine, Michelle and Paige, especially when they’re on fire, it gives me fire. Knowing that my role is to make those hustle plays and play solid defence, I was really happy with how it went.” Katherine Plouffe paced Canada with 7 on 6-10 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 1 block and 7 boards. Michelle Plouffe added 6 on 4-5 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc and 5 boards. Kacie Bosch notched 2 on 2-4 from the floor and 5 boards. Paige Crozon scored 2 on 2-4 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc and 1 block. Canada hit 14-23 from the floor, 1-8 from the arc and 1-1 from the line, while garnering 20 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass, 2 blocks, 5 turnovers and 4 fouls. Alzbeta Levinska paced Czechia with 4 on 3-4 from the floor, 1-1 from the line and 7 boards. Katerina Suchanova added 3 on 1-4 from the floor and 1-5 from the arc. Katerina Galickova notched 2 on 0-2 from the floor and 1-7 from the arc. Anna Rylichova scored 1 on 1-2 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc and 2 boards. Czechia hit 5-12 from the floor, 2-15 from the arc and 1-1 from the line, while garnering 13 boards, including 5 on the offensive glass, 7 turnovers and 5 fouls.
In the quarterfinals, Canada torched Italy 21-8. Canada opened with a 9-1 run. Back-to-back two-pointers from Crozon (her third and fourth of the game), made it 19-7 Canada with 2:30 remaining and then the Plouffe sisters closed it out as each notched a bucket. Katherine Plouffe paced Canada with 9 on 6-6 from the floor, 1-4 form the arc, 1-1 from the line and 5 boards. Paige Crozon notched 9 on 1-2 from the floor, 4-6 from the arc, 2 boards and 1 block. Michelle Plouffe notched 3 on 3-5 from the floor, 0-5 from the arc, 1 block and 8 boards. Kacie Bosch was scoreless, while nabbing 3 boards. Canada hit 10-13 from the floor, 5-15 from the arc and 1-1 from the line, while garnering 19 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 2 blocks, 4 turnovers and 5 fouls. Laura Spreafico paced Italy with 4 on 2-4 from the floor and 1-3 from the arc. Sara Madera added 2 on 2-4 from the floor and 8 boards. Chiara Consolini notched 1 on 1-2 from the floor and 0-3 from the arc. Raelin D’Alie scored 1 on 1-6 from the floor and 0-3 from the arc. Italy hit 6-16 from the floor and 1-9 from the arc, while garnering 12 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass, 6 turnovers and 4 fouls.
In the semis, Spain booked its Olympic ticket on a miracle, two-handed bucket at the buzzer as Gracia Alonso nabbed a baseline rebound and heaved it backwards over her head into the basket that gave them a 19-18 win over Canada. Spain took an early 6-0 lead over the nervous Canadians but they rallied by capitalizing on their height advantage, and despite foul trouble, knotted the score at 18 on a Michelle Plouffe bucket with 10 seconds to play. Sandra Ygueravide paced Spain with 8 on 6-9 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Gracia Alonso added 6 on 5-6 from the floor, 1-1 from the line and 5 boards. Vega Gimeno notched 3 on 1-2 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 2 boards. Juana Camilion scored 2 on 0-3 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 3 boards. Spain hit 12-20 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc and 5-5 from the line, while garnering 13 boards, including 2 on the offensive glass, 9 turnovers and 5 fouls. Michelle Plouffe paced Canada with 8 on 6-10 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 0-1 from the line and 6 boards. Katherine Plouffe added 7 on 6-8 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 1 block and 7 boards. Paige Crozon notched 3 on 3-6 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc and 1 block. Kacie Bosch was scoreless. Canada hit 15-24 from the floor, 1-10 from the arc and 1-3 from the line, while garnering 18 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 2 blocks, 6 turnovers and 8 fouls.
In the bronze medal match, Canada booked its’ Olympic ticket by thrashing host Hungary 21-10. Canada broke to a 3-0 lead and was never threatened. A block from Katherine Plouffe ended with a fadeaway jumper for Crozon and then a two-point play from Michelle Plouffe extended the advantage to seven, 12-5, for the Canadians with 4:30 remaining. Canada led 18-10 with 1:32 remaining. After back-to-back buckets from Katherine Plouffe, Paie Crozon nabbed a board of her own shot hit the game winner with 30 seconds on the clock. “It hasn’t quite set in yet, however being here with everybody now, it feels a little more real,” said Kacie Bosch. “Being on the court with everybody as the confetti is falling, you get the goosebump moment and then it kind of clicks in that you’re going to be an Olympian. … Nobody is more deserving than those three. They built this program from the ground up. They were going on their own money, they were booking their own trips, they were doing everything, just themselves. I always say being a small part in their journey making it to the Olympics is what drives me every single day. I do it for them because they are so deserving of this.” Katherine Plouffe said “[This feels] so so good,” Katherine Plouffe said. “I just don’t have many words. We knew we were going to do it. And that it would be the hard way. We just had a chip on our shoulder that it’s meant to be like this. We’re so grateful. It’s like a sigh of relief, of gratitude, of all the things for the people who got us here. It’s just such a team effort.” Bosch said “we’re pretty good at refocusing and compartmentalizing. As soon as we knew we had one more game [to play] we were immediately going to film, we were getting treatment, we were moving into the next phase, like, ‘Okay this is the game we need to win against the home team. Do whatever we need to do to get by’, and we did it.” Katherine Plouffe paced Canada with 9 on 9-9 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1 block and 9 boards. Katherine Plouffe added 8 on 3-7 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 3-3 from the line and 8 boards and 1 block. Paige Crozon notched 3 on 3-5 from the floor, 0-5 from the arc and 3 boards. Kacie Bosch scored 1 on 1-1 from the floor and 2 boards. Canada hit 16-22 from the floor, 1-10 from the arc and 3-3 from the line, while garnering 22 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 3 blocks, 3 turnovers and 6 fouls. Vivi Borondy paced Hungary with 4 on 3-4 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc and 1-1 from the line. Virag Kiss added 3 on 2-3 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 3 boards. Fanni Szabo notched 2 on 1-1 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc and 1-1 from the line. Klaudia Papp scored 1 on 1-5 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 0-1 from the line and 5 boards. Hungary hit 7-13 from the floor, 0-11 from the arc and 3-4 from the line, while garnering 11 boards, including 5 on the offensive glass, 6 turnovers and 6 fouls.
Katherine Plouffe was named MVP of the qualifying tournament.