| FINAL STANDINGS 1. United States 2. Spain 3. Serbia 4. France 5. CANADA Australia Turkey Japan 9. Belarus Brazil China Senegal | CANADIANS Natalie Achonwa (Guelph, Ont.) Miranda Ayim (London, Ont.) Nirra Fields (Lachine, Que.) Kim Gaucher (Mission, B.C.) Miah-Marie Langlois (Windsor, Ont.) Lizanne Murphy (Beaconsfield, Que.) Kia Nurse (Hamilton, Ont.) Katherine Plouffe (Edmonton, Alta.) Michelle Plouffe (Edmonton, Alta.) Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe (Penticton, B.C.) Tamara Tatham (Brampton, Ont.) Shona Thorburn (Hamilton, Ont.) Lisa Thomaidis – coach Steve Baur – assistant Shawnee Harle – assistant Bev Smith – assistant Anne Marie Thuss – manager Sarah Kim – physician Denise Dignard – team leader Peter Jensen – sport psychologist Joan Mlnynarczyk – chief therapist Danielle Dobney – therapist Chris DalCin – basketball scientist Dipesh Mistry – performance analyst |
| POOL A | AUS | FRA | TUR | JPN | BLR | BRZ | Record | ||
| Australia | —– | 89-71 | 61-56 | 92-86 | 74-66 | 84-66 | (5-0) | ||
| France | 71-89 | —– | 55-39 | 71-79 | 73-72 | 74-64 | (3-2) | ||
| Turkey | 56-61 | 39-55 | —– | 76-62 | 74-71 | 79-76 | (3-2) | ||
| Japan | 86-92 | 79-71 | 62-76 | —– | 77-73 | 82-66 | (3-2) | ||
| Belarus | 66-74 | 72-73 | 71-74 | 73-77 | —– | 65-63 | (1-4) | ||
| Brazil | 66-84 | 64-74 | 76-79 | 66-82 | 63-65 | —– | (0-5) | ||
| POOL B | USA | SPN | CAN | SER | CHN | SEN | Record | ||
| United States | —– | 103-63 | 81-51 | 110-84 | 105-62 | 121-56 | (5-0) | ||
| Spain | 63-103 | —– | 73-60 | 65-59 | 89-68 | 97-43 | (4-1) | ||
| Canada | 51-81 | 60-73 | —– | 71-67 | 90-68 | 68-58 | (3-2) | ||
| Serbia | 84-110 | 59-65 | 67-71 | —– | 80-72 | 95-88 | (2-3) | ||
| China | 62-105 | 68-89 | 68-90 | 72-80 | —– | 101-64 | (1-4) | ||
| Senegal | 56-121 | 43-97 | 58-68 | 88-95 | 64-101 | —– | (0-5) | ||
| QFs | Serbia 73 Australia 71 | |
| QFs | Spain 64 Turkey 62 | |
| QFs | France 68 Canada 63 | |
| QFs | United States 110 Japan 64 | |
| Semi | Spain 68 Serbia 54 | |
| Semi | United States 86 France 67 | |
| Bronze | Serbia 70 France 63 | |
| Final | United States 101 Spain 72 | |
In their opener, Canada clocked China 90-68. Canada led 19-9, 37-26 and 60-46 at the quarters and then sealed the outcome with a 12-0 outburst to open the final frame. “I looked at the stat sheet and it had 41 points off the bench. I think that kind of sums it up,” Canadian coach Lisa Thomaidis told Canadian Press. “When you get almost half your points from the bench, it shows our depth. It came through tonight because we could just roll people in and different threats were on the floor at different times. … We believe in every single player that we have. All 12 of them can go in and give us something. So it was great to see that expressed today.” Post Tamara Tatham said “we cleaned it up pretty quickly and then we ran away with it in the second half. So we’re really happy about that.” The Canadians missed their first six shots but Miranda Ayim hit a fadeaway jumper to get them on track. Then Kia Nurse, who was recovering from hernia surgery performed 81 days before the start of the Olympics, came off the bench, drove for a bucket and set up Shona Thorburn for a trey. “I don’t feel the pain,” she said. “I’m a pretty tough kid so I don’t feel a lot of pain anymore.” Thomaidis said she limited Nurse’s minutes. “We’re being aware of that and cognizant of that. She’s an amazing athlete and she’s still kind of getting back into the flow. We certainly don’t want to burn her out in game one. Just let her come back into the flow at her own pace instead of being thrown back in.” Canada dominated the boards. “That’s exactly what you think you’re going to get with Canada,” said China coach Thomas Maher. “Their individuals, their teamwork, their hardness, their toughness. They’ve got a high basketball IQ and they’re a very good passing team and they’re very physically tough.” Thomaidis said “it was a great way to start, I couldn’t be happier. There are still some things to shore up at the defensive end but we’re feeling good moving forward.” Natalie Achonwa called the game a “release” of tension after the build-up to the Games. “You still get jitters a little bit, and you shouldn’t be playing anymore if you don’t. It’s a great start for our tournament, and it helps us to get settled in all the excitement of the Olympics.” Nurse said playing in the Olympics is “something you dream about as a kid. It’s been incredible, but a little overwhelming to be out there, too. We’re turning into a basketball country. People are starting to hear us, people are starting to see us. We’re really fortunate to be a part of that. Hopefully we can inspire the next generation.” Nurse told Postmedia that “I don’t think anyone would be afraid to say that our goal is to bring home some hardware. We don’t want to be one of those teams that is just happy to be here.” Thomaidis told the National Post that Kim Gaucher, playing in her 200th international game for Canada, warranted applause. “Only 3 per cent of the games she’s played internationally have been at the Olympics. So, it’s the other 97 per cent of the games she has played that make her a true Olympian. That kind of longevity, that kind of commitment to this program is just irreplaceable. … We are so indebted to her, for being here this long. She’s a big reason why we are here. The perseverance, the character. It goes so far for a team like this.” Thomaidis said Canada’s bench strength allowed her to “just roll people in and different threats were on the floor at different times. … Did I expect to win by 22? No. But if you ask me, I always expect a close game. I always think the other team is better than us.” Tatham said the “first quarter was just feeling it out: We came out, we missed a couple of easy ones under the basket, but we cleaned it up pretty quickly and really ran away with it in the second half, so we’re really happy about that.” Gaucher told the Toronto Star that playing in the Olympics again was “really cool. I’ve had some longevity in this program, and I’m really proud to have been through it and kind of helped bring it back to what it was before I got there. I have a great sense of pride in that.” Miah-Marie Langlois said “no one on our team has a big ego, so if Shona (Thorburn, another veteran point guard) is doing amazing, I want her to play a lot, and if Michelle (Plouffe, a centre) is killing it, give her the ball. We don’t care who scores. Everyone scored today. It’s hard to stop 12 players, and that’s what we rely on.” Thomaidis said playing exhibition games against China in the run-up to the Olympics was also advantageous. “We’ve played China so many times that you have that level of familiarity with them, so coming in we knew they’d have some new things ready for us. But I think any time in a first game, the more familiar you are with your opponent, the easier you can settle in and get through those first few minutes.” Tamara Tatham paced Canada with 20 on 2-5 from the floor, 4-4 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 6 boards and 2 steals. Lizanne Murphy added 12 on 2-3 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc and 2-3 from the line. Miah-Marie Langlois notched 11 on 1-4 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 4 boards and 4 assists. Miranda Ayim added 10 on 5-7 from the floor, 2 boards and 2 blocks. Katherine Plouffe scored 8 on 4-5 from the floor, 3 boards and 3 assists. Natalie Achonwa added 6 on 3-5 from the floor, 0-3 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists. Kia Nurse scored 5 on 0-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 2 boards and 4 assists. Shona Thorburn added 5 on 0-2 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 3 assists. Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe added 5 on 2-2 from the floor, 1-1 from the line, 4 boards and 2 blocks. Kim Gaucher notched 3 on 1-4 from the floor, 1-1 from the line, 10 boards and 7 assists. Michelle Plouffe scored 3 on 0-1 from the floor and 1-1 from the arc. Nirra Fields added 2 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 2 assists. Canada hit 32-64 overall, 21-47 (.447) from the floor, 11-17 (.647) from the arc and 15-20 from the line, while garnering 44 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 31 assists, 24 fouls, 15 turnovers, 6 steals and 6 blocks. Nan Chen paced China with 13 on 3-7 from the floor, 7-8 from the line and 3 boards. Xiaojia Chen added 12 on 0-3 from the floor, 4-7 from the arc and 3 assists. Song Gao notched 9 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Di Wu scored 8 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 2 boards. Sijing Huang scored 6 on 1-3 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 2 boards and 2 blocks. Ting Shao scored 6 on 2-8 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 3 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Wen Lu scored 5 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists. Mengran Sun added 4 on 2-5 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 0-1 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Zhifang Shao added 3 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 3 boards. Hongpin Huang added 2 on 1-1 from the floor and 3 boards, while Shanshan Li and Mengxin Sun were scoreless. Mengxin Sun dished 3 assists. China (coached by Maher, assisted by Limin Xu and Wei Zheng) hit 23-61 (.377) overall, 16-43 (.372) from the floor, 7-18 (.389) from the arc and 15-22 (.682) from the line, while garnering 31 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 21 fouls, 15 turnovers, 6 steals and 5 blocks.
Canada improved to (2-0) by nipping Serbia 71-67 by rallying from a 20-point deficit. Kia Nurse rallied Canada as fans chanted “Ca-na-da” as the Canadians smothered and outscored Serbia 26-10 in the final period, CBC reported. With Canada leading by one Nurse drove the paint and pitched the ball to Miah-Marie Langlois for an open trey that buried Serbia’s hopes. “It was just a complete team effort,” said Nurse. “After the first half we said, ‘Let’s get it done on the defensive end’ and that’s what we did. We came down with some boards, got out in transition and made them run and executed extremely well in the second half.” Canadian coach Lisa Thomaidis said “Kia had a huge effort tonight. It was amazing what she was able to do, she was a game-changer and she wanted the ball when the game was close and caused a lot of turnovers with her pressure.” Nurse told the Toronto Star that “when we play in desperation mode, which we were playing in today, that’s when we’re really, really good. And that showed. … We aren’t that used to being down, we’ve had a lot of wins over the last two summers and Lisa (Thomaidis) told us we have to be conscious if we’re down, to just have extra energy and extra motivation, so that’s something we’re really conscious of on the bench.” Canada was sloppy through most of the affair, repeatedly throwing the ball and appearing unable to stop Serbia’s perimeter offence. But Thomaidis found a smaller, quicker lineup that was effective and Canada flummoxed Serbia with a full-court press. Then Kim Gaucher hit a trey and Mayo Raincock-Ekunwe notched an and-one in the paint off an offensive board to give Canada the lead. “You know what, my teammates just told me ‘Go out there and rebound. Own the boards’,” Raincock-Ekunwe said. “I just got in a good position and it just worked out perfectly.” Langlois said of her only bucket on the night that “I made the shot and I was thinking ‘Man, I gotta go back on defence.’ But then the buzzer went off and I look over at Kia, and Kia’s already screaming, everyone’s jumping up and down.” Thomaidis said “regardless of anything with respect to the Olympics, to beat the European champions from last year is massive. Throw in the fact we did it at the Olympic Games and it’s huge for us. Really proud of this team.” Thomaidis told Postmedia that Canada struggled in the first half because of Serbia’s “unorthodox style” but made the adjustments in the second half. “It was just a complete team effort and I think after the first half we just sat down and said ‘Let’s get it done on the defensive end’,” Nurse told Canadian Press. “And that’s what we did. We came down with some boards, got out in transition and made them run and we executed extremely well in the second half.” The score was knotted at 21 after one quarter. Serbia led 40-32 at the half and 57-45 after three quarters. Kia Nurse paced Canada with 25 on 4-7 from the floor, 3-4 from the arc, 8-10 from the line and 2 steals. Kim Gaucher added 8 on 2-8 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 6 boards and 3 assists. Miranda Ayim notched 8 on 4-8 from the floor and 3 boards. Nirra Fields scored 8 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc and 1-2 from the line. Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe added 7 on 3-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 9 boards and 2 assists. Tamara Tatham added 7 on 3-6 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 5 boards. Miah-Marie Langlois added 3 on 0-1 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2 boards, 5 assists and 4 steals. Shona Thorburn scored 2 on 0-1 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Katherine Plouffe added 2 on 1-2 from the floor and 2 boards. Natalie Achonwa scored 2 on 0-3 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 2 boards, while Lizanne Murphy was scoreless and Michelle Plouffe did not play. Murphy nabbed 3 boards. Canada hit 25-62 (.403) overall, 19-45 (.422) from the floor, 6-17 (.353) from the arc and 15-20 from the line, while garnering 41 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 19 assists, 16 fouls, 19 turnovers, 10 steals and 4 blocks. Jelena Milovanovic paced Serbia with 19 on 5-12 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 3 boards and 2 steals. Sonja Petrovic added 15 on 5-8 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 4 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Ana Dabovic scored 14 on 5-8 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 4-6 from the line, 5 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Sasa Cado added 11 on 1-2 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc and 4 boards. Dajana Butulija added 4 on 2-4 from the floor and 0-2 from the line. Danielle Page notched 4 on 2-7 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 6 boards, 2 steals and 4 blocks, while Tamara Radocaj, Sara Krnjic, Nevena Jovanovic and Milica Dabovic were scoreless and Aleksandra Crvendakic and Dragana Stankovic did not play. Radocaj nabbed 4 boards and dished 4 assists. Krnjic nabbed 3 boards. Serbia (coached by Marina Maljkovic, assisted by Milos Paden and Dragan Ratkovic) hit 26-66 (.394) overall, 20-44 (.455) from the floor, 6-22 (.273) from the arc and 9-12 from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 17 assists, 21 fouls, 17 turnovers, 11 steals and 8 blocks.
Canada improved to (3-0) by dispatching Senegal 68-58 despite a sluggish performance. The Brazilian audience booed Canada consistently, as the favorites. “It’s a good thing, we always were kind of those underdogs,” Kia Nurse told Canadian Press. “Well
[the veterans]
were. They were in that position first, and they told us about that. They have explained to us that now we have targets on our backs in a different way. People are not looking past us, people are not happy to play us sometimes, when they see us in their pool play. That’s exciting, that’s a position you want to be in. That’s just what our vets have done for us. … (Guaranteeing a spot in the quarterfinals is) huge. That’s just a testament to the rise of basketball on the women’s side in Canada and how it’s continued to grow each and every day.” Canada led 17-10, 33-24 and 55-41 at the quarters, then withstood the Senegalese run that made it a six-point game, pulling away down the stretch. “That’s not one to write home about for sure,” Canadian coach Lisa Thomaidis said. “But Senegal is a tough team to play. We anticipated that coming in, that they would give us some difficulty with their physicality and athleticism so we’re happy to come out with the win. … It’s tremendous. We’re very, very happy to be where we are right now. To be 3-0 at this point in the tournament we’re ecstatic to know we’ve clinched a spot in the quarter-finals. Couldn’t be happier but still lots of things left on the docket that we want to check off our list and next up is the U.S.” Thomaidis told Sportsnet.ca that “they were going to give us some difficulty with their physicality and athleticism so we’re happy to come out with the win.” Kim Gaucher added that “at the end of the day, it’s great to be 3-0 at the Olympic Games. I think we have a lot that we can improve upon after that game.” Natalie Achonwa and Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe dominated the paint, while Nurse scored nine in 14 of play in the first half. But Senegal kept pushing the pace off of Canada’s eight turnovers. Yet despite shooting poorly from beyond the arc, Canada still led by nine at the half. They extended their lead to 16 in the third quarter but lacked focus, allowing Senegal to capital on turnovers to claw back in it. With the lead at seven with three minutes to play, Nurse again took command and Canada pulled out the win. After Manimouna Diarra hit a free-throw to get Senegal within 66-58, Kim Gaucher scored on a backdoor cut with 1:07 left to play. “The flow has come back, the touch has come back a little bit and the game is starting to act a little slower in my head,” Nurse told Yahoo Sports. Kia Nurse paced Canada with 14 on 3-8 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 5-6 from the line and 2 steals. Tamara Tatham added 13 on 5-7 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 0-2 from the line, 10 boards and 3 steals. Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe added 9 on 2-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 5-6 from the line and 3 boards. Miah-Marie Langlois scored 9 on 3-5 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 3 boards, 6 assists and 2 steals. Kim Gaucher added 7 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 6 boards and 2 assists. Natalie Achonwa scored 7 on 3-4 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 2 boards. Miranda Ayim added 2 on 1-6 from the floor, 3 boards and 2 assists. Lizanne Murphy scored 2 on 1-1 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc and 2 assists. Katherine Plouffe added 2on 1-4 from the floor, 4 boards and 2 assists. Michelle Plouffe added 1 on 1-4 from the floor. Nirra Fields scored 1 on 0-1 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists, while Shona Thorburn was scoreless. Thorburn dished 2 assists and pilfered 2 balls. Canada hit 26-67 (.388) overall, 22-48 (.458) from the floor, 4-19 (.211) from the arc and 12-18 from the line, while garnering 39 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 21 assists, 21 fouls, 16 turnovers, 12 steals and 2 blocks. Astou Traore paced Senegal with 24 on 7-11 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 10-11 from the line, 6 boards, 2 assists and 4 steals. Oumoul Thiam added 12 on 3-3 from the floor and 2-5 from the arc. Mame Marie Sy added 7 on 3-5 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 5 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals. Bintou Dieme added 5 on 2-3 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 3 boards and 6 assists. Maimouna Diarra added 4 on 1-3 from the floor, 2-4 from the line, 9 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Fatou Dieng added 3 on 1-2 from the floor. Aya Traore added 3 on 0-2 from the floor and 1-2 from the arc, while Diodio Diouf, Oumou Toure and Marie-Sadio Rosche were scoreless and Lala Wane and Aida Fall did not play. Diouf nabbed 2 boards. Senegal (coached by Moustapha Gaye, assisted by Parfait Adiivon and Elhadji Diop) hit 20-50 (.400) overall, 16-32 from the floor, 4-18 (.222) from the arc and 14-19 (.737) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass, 16 assists, 16 fouls, 23 turnovers, 11 steals and 2 blocks.
The United States handed Canada its first loss by a decisive 81-51 count with a display of defensive prowess. The United States led 18-16, 36-22 and 60-36 at the quarters. “I think we played really hard today on defence,” U.S. guard Sue Bird told Associated Press. “Everyone’s been talking about our offence, but it’s been our defence that has been the most consistent. Tonight, was a good example of that. It wasn’t that we couldn’t score, but we just weren’t scoring at the rate you saw in the first three games. It was our defence that was there for us to rely on.” The United States did an exceptional defensive job on Canadian star Kia Nurse, forcing her left on every possession and holding her to a single field goal. Maya Moore was outstanding as the US took command in the second quarter. She stripped the ball from Nurse and raced for a transition layup while dominating the floor. “We all have those moments, kind of welcome to the next level moments. I had them, she’ll have them,” Moore said. “And then when she’s in my position, she’ll be giving it to the next generation. So, it’s one play. We all have to get our pockets picked. But I was trying to be aggressive. I’m sure it’ll be something she uses for the next game. … Our defensive effort was great.” Canada got its only basket in the second quarter on a three-point play by Nirra Fields with 39 seconds left in the period. Diana Tuarasci nailed a pair of treys to ignite an 8-0 run as the US extended its lead to 20 early in the second half. Canada drew no closer than 15. Diana Taurasi paced the United States with 12 on 0-3 from the floor, 4-5 from the arc, 2 boards and 2 assists. Maya Moore added 12 on 4-6 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 8 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Tina Charles added 10 on 3-6 from the floor, 4-6 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Elena Delle Donne added 9 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 6 boards and 3 assists. Brittney Griner added 9 on 4-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 2 boards and 3 blocks. Angel McCoughtry notched 8 on 4-6 from the floor and 3 boards. Lindsay Whalen scored 6 on 3-5 from the floor and 2 steals. Breanna Stewart added 5 on 2-2 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 2 boards. Seimone Augustus added 4 on 2-7 from the floor and 2 boards. Sylvia Fowles scored 4 on 1-1 from the floor, 2-3 from the line and 5 boards. Tamika Catchings added 2 on 1-2 from the floor and 2 boards, while Sue Bird was scoreless, nabbed 4 boards and dished 9 assists. The United States (coached by Geno Auriemma, assisted by Cheryl Reeve and Dawn Staley) hit 31-59 (.525) overall, 26-47 (.553) from the floor, 5-12 (.417) from the arc and 14-19 (.737) from the line, while garnering 43 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 22 assists, 22 fouls, 18 turnovers, 8 steals and 4 blocks. Miranda Ayim paced Canada with 8 on 1-6 from the floor and 2-3 from the arc. Nirra Fields added 7 on 1-3 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2-3 from the line and 2 boards. Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe added 6 on 3-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 0-2 from the line and 8 boards. Natalie Achonwa added 6 on 2-6 from the floor, 2-3 from the line and 3 boards. Katherine Plouffe scored 6 on 2-4 from the floor and 2-2 from the line. Tamara Tatham added 5 on 1-3 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 3 assists. Kim Gaucher notched 5 on 1-1 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 5 boards and 2 steals. Kia Nurse scored 3 on 1-6 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 2 boards. Shona Thorburn scored 3 on 1-3 from the floor and 1-1 from the line. Miah-Marie Langlois added 2 on 1-2 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc and 3 assists, while Lizanne Murphy and Michelle Plouffe were scoreless. Michelle Plouffe dished 2 assists. Canada hit 19-58 (.328) overall, 14-41 (.341) from the floor, 5-17 (.294) from the arc and 8-13 (.615) from the line, while garnering 25 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 19 fouls, 20 turnovers and 5 steals.
Canada closed out round-robin play at (3-2) by dropping and 73-60 decision to Spain, essentially folding its tent in the final quarter. Spain led 18-16, 33-29 (on a bank shot trey by Marta Xargay at the buzzer) and 49-47 at the quarters. Spain took a 47-35 lead early in the third quarter with a 14-6 run but Canada countered with a 12-2 run to rally within two after three quarters. But Spain scored 11 straight to open the final frame before Kia Nurse finally stemmed the bleeding with a free throw. “It’s a long tournament and we just have to leave this one behind us. We have to be at our best come the game against France,” Canadian coach Lisa Thomaidis told Associated Press. Canada was dominated on the boards, reached on defence and committed a host of unforced turnovers. Kim Gaucher told the Toronto Star that “you hate to lose (and) what’s worse is we didn’t play our best game tonight, so that’s even more disappointing. When you lose and you feel like you maybe had so much more in you, that sucks.” Thomaidis said Spain is “very veteran, they play very well together and I think they took us out of some of the things we wanted on the offensive end and we struggled because of that. When we were trying to manufacture some points, we just weren’t able to do it.” Spain’s guards, particularly Alba Torrens, outclassed Canada, pressing on the screen and roll and clogging the passing lanes. Torrens is “such a creative player, she can create whatever shot she wants whenever she wants . . . she created some large problems for us. They did some things defensively to keep the ball out of our guards’ hands so some other players were stuck with the ball who aren’t used to creating an advantage for us. It was a good game plan by them. … Foul trouble hurt us huge. We couldn’t play who we wanted to play in certain matchups and lineups and that took its toll. She (Raincock-Ekunwe) was one of the ones we were going to try to exploit against them, I thought she did a good job of that and when we had to take her out, that changed some things for us.” Natalie Achonwa told Canadian Press that “it’s tough because we gave up, and that’s not Canada. We don’t give up. That’s the hard part to swallow right now. It’s not the loss, it’s the fact we gave up in the (fourth) quarter.” Kim Gaucher said “that was disappointing. That’s one you want to take back, for sure.” Natalie Achonwa said “I don’t know, I don’t know (what happened). It sucks. But we’re not done. We still have a chance at our goal and that’s to medal. We’ve just got to take a different path, but no matter what we can’t give up. That’s not Canada basketball.” Thomaidis said “we knew what to expect against them. I’m sure they’re very frustrated, but the good thing is we’re still moving onto the quarters and we’ve still got a chance to do some pretty special things here. It’s going to be important to leave this one behind, take what we can from it and learn and get ready for France.” Achonwa said “it’s going to be really competitive. (France) is really physical. We’re going to have to really (bear) down and put on our big boy pants.” Alba Torrens paced Spain with 20 on 5-10 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 7-8 from the line, 5 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Marta Xargay added 13 on 1-9 from the floor, 3-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 5 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Anna Cruz notched 10 on 3-8 from the floor, 4-4 from the line, 2 boards and 3 assists. Astou Ndour added 8 on 3-9 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 9 boards and 4 blocks. Laura Nicholls scored 8 on 1-6 from the floor, 6-8 from the line, 12 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Silvia Dominguez scored 6 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 2 assists. Laura Gil scored 6 on 2-4 from the floor, 2-4 from the line and 3 boards. Laia Palau added 2 on 1-1 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2 boards and 6 assists, while Leticia Romero, Leonor Rodriguez, Lucila Pascua and Laura Quevedo did not play. Spain (coached by Lucas Mondelo, assisted by Victor Lapena and Isabel Sanchez) hit 21-60 (.350) overall, 17-51 (.333) from the floor, 4-9 (.444) from the arc and 27-33 (.818) from the line, while garnering 44 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 19 assists, 25 fouls, 13 turnovers, 8 steals and 7 blocks. Nirra Fields paced Canada with 13 on 5-9 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 4 boards and 3 steals. Miah-Marie Langlois added 9 on 3-6 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 3 boards. Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe added 9 on 4-8 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 7 boards. Kia Nurse scored 8 on 1-7 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 6-7 from the line and 2 assists. Natalie Achonwa added 8 on 4-6 from the floor, 0-2 from the line and 7 boards. Kim Gaucher scored 7 on 3-4 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 4 boards. Tamara Tatham added 4 on 2-6 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 0-2 from the line, 5 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Katherine Plouffe added 2 on 1-2 from the floor and 2 boards, while Shona Thorburn, Miranda Ayim and Lizanne Murphy were scoreless and Michelle Plouffe did not play. Ayim nabbed 3 boards and dished 2 assists. Canada hit 24-66 (.364) overall, 23-55 (.418) from the floor, 1-11 (.091) from the arc and 11-18 (.611) from the line, while garnering 43 boards, including 19 on the offensive glass, 9 assists, 26 fouls, 17 turnovers, 7 steals and 1 block.
In the quarterfinals, France dispatched Canada 68-63. Veteran Canadian Kim Gaucher told Canadian Press that she felt “gutted” after the loss. “Just like you’ve been punched in the stomach.” Canada held a 25-16 lead after one quarter and stretched its lead to 13 early in the second before France went on a 12-0 run midway through the quarter to cut the deficit to 29-28. Canada got back on track late in the half to take a 37-32 lead into the break, but France scored the first six points of the third and the teams went back and forth from there to sit tied 50-50 heading to the fourth. Then Canada’s offence stalled after France went into a zone, which appeared to confuse the Canadians, while denying them backdoor cuts. Overall, Canada’s defence was solid, repeatedly forcing France into shot clock violations. But “we got into foul trouble in the second quarter and that brought them back into the game,” Gaucher said. Down the stretch, Canada had no answers and was repeatedly hurt by turnovers and errant passes by Miah-Marie Langlois and Natalie Achonwa. Any hope at a comeback faltered when Miranda Ayim picked up her fifth foul. With Canada trailing by five with and the clock ticking down, Nirra Fields provided a ray of hope with a key bucket to cut France’s lead to 64-61 with 25 seconds left. But on the ensuing inbound, Fields was called for an unsportsmanlike foul when she pushed a French player, giving France two uncontested free throws plus possession and essentially ending the game. Canadian coach Lisa Thomaidis said “with every piece of me, I believed we were going to be winning tonight and every single player that was on that floor wearing a red jersey believed we were going to win tonight. We were prepared and I think the first quarter we showed that we were ready to play and we came out swinging.” Guard Shona Thorburn said “I thought we had kind of momentum going into the second half but they closed the gap very fast and it came down to who made baskets at the end and they made a couple more than us.” Thomaidis said “I think that we encountered some dry spells, we had some poor shot selection, shots that people normally make weren’t falling at particular times tonight.” Thorburn told Postmedia that “I think talent-wise, we had the talent to beat France. So, you know: It’s basketball. It was a game that kinda came down to who made baskets at the end. And they made a couple more than us.” Nirra Fields said “it happens. It’s vital that we all learn from this.” Thorburn said the women’s program had made significant improvements in recent years. “We should be proud of that.” Sandrine Gruda paced France with 14 on 6-8 from the floor, 2-6 from the line, 10 boards and 3 assists. Valeriane Ayayi added 12on 3-8 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 5 boards and 2 assists. Olivia Epoupa added 10 on 1-5 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 8-12 from the line, 5 boards, 6 assists and 4 steals. Gaelle Skrela added 8 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 3 boards and 2 assists. Marine Johannes added 8 on 3-4 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 4 boards. Sarah Michel scored 6 on 0-2 from the floor and 2-4 from the arc. Endy Miyem added 4 on 2-5 from the floor, 5 boards and 2 assists. Marielle Amant added 4 on 1-1 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 2 boards. Isabelle Yacoubou scored 2 on 1-2 from the floor and 3 boards, while Helena Ciak, Amel Bouderra and Laetitia Kamba were scoreless. France (coached by Valerie Garnier, assisted by Gregory Halin and Olivier Lafargue) hit 24-58 (.414) overall, 19-39 (.487) from the floor, 5-19 (.263) from the arc and 15-24 (.625) from the line, while garnering 42 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 18 assists, 21 fouls, 21 turnovers, 7 steals and 1 block. Kim Gaucher paced Canada with 15 on 4-6 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 1-4 from the line and 5 boards. Kia Nurse added 11 on 3-16 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 5-5 from the line, 3 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Tamara Tatham added 10 on 2-3 from the floor, 6-7 from the line, 5 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe added 10 on 2-3 from the floor, 6-8 from the line and 5 boards. Miah-Marie Langlois added 10 on 1-3 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 assists and 3 steals. Nirra Fields added 3 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 2 assists. Natalie Achonwa scored 2 on 1-3 from the floor and 3 assists. Katherine Plouffe added 2 on 1-4 from the floor, 3 boards and 3 assists, while Shona Thorburn and Miranda Ayim were scoreless and Lizanne Murphy and Michelle Plouffe did not play. Thorburn nabbed 2 boards. Canada hit 19-53 (.358) overall, 15-41 (.366) from the floor, 4-12 from the arc and 21-28 (.750) from the line, while garnering 32 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 18 assists, 21 fouls, 19 turnovers, 9 steals and 2 blocks.
June 9, 2017
The International Olympic Committee announces that it will include 32 men and 32 women’s team in competition in 3×3 basketball commencing with the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. “This is a historic day for FIBA and 3×3”, FIBA Secretary General and IOC Member Patrick Baumann said. “It is the recognition of 10 years of hard work to codify the rules of 3×3 and to innovate with a unique 3×3 digital platform and player ranking system that bring together athletes with private and institutional organizers in a worldwide network of FIBA organized or sanctioned 3×3 events.”
3×3 has the Olympics in its DNA. In 2007, FIBA decided to propose to the IOC to add 3×3 to the 2010 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Singapore, which ended up being the first official 3×3 event, with resounding success there and at the 2014 edition in Nanjing, China.
FIBA President Horacio Muratore said: “The intensity and skill level of the 3×3 Game is such that there are no traditional 3×3 powerhouses and new countries have emerged since the first YOG experience in 2010. This was our main objective back in 2007. The decision provides FIBA with a renewed, strong incentive to continue in this direction and grow the game of basketball by developing new young skilled basketball talents in both genders across the globe from small islands to large countries in every continent.”