| FINAL STANDINGS 1. U.S.A. 2. South Korea 3. China 4. CANADA 5. Australia 6. Yugoslavia | CANADIANS Lynn Polson (St. Catharines, Ont.) Tracie McAra (Victoria, B.C.) Anna Pendergast (Kensington, P.E.I.) Debbie Huband (Ottawa, Ont.) Carole Sealey (Montreal, Que.) Alison Lang (Saskatoon, Sask.) Beverly Smith (Salmon Arm, B.C) Sylvia Sweeney (Montreal, Que.) Candi Lohr (Hamilton, Ont.) Toni Kordic Andrea Blackwell (Kingston, Ont.) Misty Thomas (Los Angeles, California) Don McCrae – coach Kathy Shields – coach |
| ROUND ROBIN | USA | KOR | CAN | CHN | AUS | YUG | Record | ||
| United States | —– | 84-47 | 92-61 | 91-55 | 81-47 | 83-55 | (5-0) | ||
| South Korea | 47-84 | —– | 67-62 | 69-56 | 54-48 | 55-52 | (4-1) | ||
| Canada | 61-92 | 62-67 | —– | 66-61 | 56-46 | 68-69 | (2-3) | ||
| China | 55-91 | 56-69 | 61-66 | —– | 67-64 | 79-58 | (2-3) | ||
| Australia | 47-81 | 48-54 | 46-56 | 64-67 | —– | 62-59 | (1-4) | ||
| Yugoslavia | 55-83 | 52-55 | 69-68 | 58-79 | 59-62 | —– | (1-4) | ||
| Bronze | China 63 Canada 57 | |
| Final | United States 85 South Korea 55 | |
In the Olympic draw at Los Angeles, Canada opened with a stunning 67-62 loss to Korea. The Koreans simply outhustled and outran the Canadians, generating a bushel of points in transition.
Canada got its first win with a sterling defensive effort to defeat China 66-61. “Defence was definitely the key to our game tonight,” said 27-year-old forward Sylvia Sweeney, who scored 15. “We sort of got over the complacency that hit the team before the first game. …We were more cohesive as a team tonight and perhaps over our apprehensiveness. We handled the pressure a little better tonight, although we’ve still got to move the ball better in tight situations.” Sweeney was aggressive in defence against a 6-7, 6-7 and 6-9 Chinese front line. “We knew that Sylvia was capable of playing that way because she’s our strongest player physically,” said coach Don McCrae. “Sylvia gets the opposing players involved with her because she’s so smart at getting in the way. The 6-9 player really got agitated and was taken right off her game completely. We needed that kind of effort to get back to playing where we should be.” The team had held a team meeting earlier in the day to deal with the bickering that ensured from the Korean loss. Bev Smith scored 11, Candi Clarkson-Lohr and Misty Thomas each added 10. Thomas started in place of veteran guard Debbie Huband, who became ill during the warm-ups. Canada led 35-33 at the half and opened the second frame with a 16-1 run, while holding China without a field goal for seven minutes. Canada extended its lead to as many as 17 before China rallied with four quick hoops to cut the margin to nine. The Chinese chipped away at the lead down the stretch but never came close than five points. The Chinese were paced by 6-7 centre Zheng Haixia, who scored 13 but fouled out with seven minutes to play.
Canada improved to (2-1) by dumping Australia 56-46 in a highly physical affair. “When we play against Australia, it is more like a war than a basketball game because they are so physical,” said Bev Smith. ‘We have to prepare mentally for that kind of game. Sometimes, they can beat us with this style, wo that any time we can beat them, we are happy.” Smith added that the Canadians were still hopeful for a medal despite their opening round loss to Korea. “We always seem to do things the hard way. Somehow, when we get into a hole, we end up scratching our way out. It is to be hoped that our experience as a team that has been together the past seven years will keep us going.” Canada quickly moved ahead by 10 and held a 15-17-point lead until the final minutes of the match. Although the Canadians often had difficulty handling Australia’s fullcourt pressure, they outshot the Australians .430 to .400. “It was a little frustrating at times,” said Smith, a forward who often had to bring the ball up. “We’re rushing it a bit and not being patient.” Coach Don McCrae said his squad played excellent team defence. “Turnovers are a touchy spot. We’re in our third game and are still making a lot of them. I hope it doesn’t become an anchor around our necks. People sense our guards are having trouble and they are pestering them. We are still not playing as well as we should be. But don’t put all the blame on our guards. People have to get open so they have someone to pass to.” Sylvia Sweeney and Andrea Blackwell each scored 12 to pace Canada. Patricia Mickan led Australia with 12.
Canada evened its record at (2-2) by dropping a 69-68 decision to Yugoslavia after being completely dominated in blocks by larger Yugoslavians. Canada moved ahead by seven early but quickly fell into their old habit of turning the ball over against pressure, allowing the Yugoslavs to build a 34-33 lead at the half. The Yugoslavs took command in the second half as 6-5 centre Polona Dornik began posting up with regularity. She finished with 24 points. Bev Smith led Canada with 27. Andrea Blackwell added 13. “I think we played good defence against them,” said Smith. “We thought we could get some weak-side defence. But they pulled their low post up. When we’re four inches smaller than their big girl, they put the ball over our heads. We can only cross our fingers and hope she misses. She didn’t miss much.” The Yugoslavs led by seven with just under two minutes to play and Canada tried to rally with full-court pressure, cutting the margin to one on a trio of buckets by Sylvia Sweeney. “We really expected to win tonight,” Smith said. “I think I can speak for everyone when I say we’re disappointed. But there is always a tomorrow.”
Canada closed out the round-robin by getting clocked 92-61 by the United States. “I’m not so much embarrassed as I am disappointed,” said Bev Smith. “We obviously had a higher goal. Unfortunately, we didn’t play well in the first game and we took that along with us into our other games. I hoped that we can come out and redeem ourselves against China” in the bronze medal game, which Canada qualified for despite its (2-3) record. Canada was factor for only a few minutes as they hit their outside shots and defended well. But the U.S. soon took command and put the game well out of reach with a 28-2 run to open the second half. The Americans were paced by 6-8 centre Anne Donovan, who scored 14. Cheryl Miller added 12. “Credit really goes to the American team,” said coach Don McCrae. “They really shove the ball inside as good as many men’s teams. I’ve very positive about this game, except for the first few minutes of the second half. It was the first time we sustained any intensity. We could recognize when we were playing well. Until now, our play had been mediocre.” Smith led Canada with 15 points. Andrea Blackwell added 12.
Canada shot poorly in the bronze medal match against China, hitting .448 from the floor while the Chinese were .586. Coach Don McCrae said the team deserved a medal because of the obstacles they overcame over the past year. “On this particular day, I don’t know if we deserved the bronze,” said Andrea Blackwell. “Throughout the tournament we were definitely a contender for the silver, let alone the bronze. But it just didn’t work out that way. … As far as I’m concerned, we won a medal here. The fact that we don’t have one given to us is irrelevant to me. This is a medal team by my standards and I hope the Canadian public thinks the same thing. I hope I will be able to translate that to the girls.” Sylvia Sweeney, who announced plans to immediately retire after the Games, scored just four points before fouling out. Bev Smith scored 13 and Debbie Huband 12. “We were trying to get the ball inside against China but couldn’t,” said Sweeney. “On offence, we were tense and not performing to our level.” Canada never led, although they twice rallied to within one in the second half. Song Xiabo led China with 16 points. Xiu Lijuan added 13. Bev Smith paced Canada with 13. After closing the margin to one with three minutes to play, Canada failed to score a field goal on their final seven possessions. “A bunch of rims,” said McCrae. “They were ahead the whole game. We tried to put the ball inside and it just wouldn’t go in for us.” The Chinese squad outshot Canada .560 to .460. Smith said that “I don’t know if we froze at the end. But I do know we did things we don’t usually do. We felt in control and masters of our own destiny in the middle of the second half. Then, we made some mistakes. I, for one, threw a few passes away over the middle of the court.”
Following the Olympics, Basketball Canada announced that Wayne Hussey had been appointed the first full-time head coach of the national team, succeeding Don McCrae of Waterloo, who coached the women on a part-time basis for eight years. Hussey was from Montreal, where he attended St. Thomas More High School and later Concordia and Bishop’s. He coached at John Abbott from 1974-77, including coaching Lady Islanders to national title in 1977. He coached provincial men’s team to gold medal in 1975 Canada Games and women to gold medal in 1979 Canada Games. He was coach of Bishop’s Gaiters for past seven years, leading them to two CIAU titles, in 1983 and 19884. He was named CIAU coach of the year in 1983. “We are obviously shooting for a gold medal in 1988. One of our first hurdles, however, is the World Championships in 1986.”