| FINAL STANDINGS 1. United States 2. Czech Republic 3. Spain 4. Belarus 5. Australia 6. France 7. Russia 8. Korea 9. Brazil 10. Japan 11. Greece 12. CANADA 13. China 14. Argentina 15. Mali 16. Senegal | CANADIANS Natalie Achonwa (Toronto, Ont.) Jordan Adams (Spokane, Wash.) Chelsea Aubry (Oshawa, Ont.) Janelle Bekkering (Taber, Alta.) Kaela Chapdelaine (Montreal, Que.) Teresa Gabriele (Mission, B.C.) Lizanne Murphy (Montreal, Que.) Courtnay Pilypaitis (Victoria, B.C.) Krista Phillips (Saskatoon, Sask.) Kimberly Smith (Surrey, B.C.) Alisha Tatham (East York, Ont.) Tamara Tatham (East York, Ont.) Allison McNeill – coach Mike McNeill – assistant |
| POOL A | AUS | BEL | CAN | CHN | Record | ||||
| Australia | —– | 83-59 | 72-47 | 91-68 | (3-0) | ||||
| Belarus | 59-83 | —– | 61-49 | 68-57 | (2-1) | ||||
| Canada | 47-72 | 49-61 | —– | 65-61 | (1-2) | ||||
| China | 68-91 | 57-68 | 61-65 | —– | (0-3) | ||||
| POOL B | USA | FRA | GRE | SEN | Record | ||||
| United States | —– | 81-60 | 99-73 | 108-52 | (3-0) | ||||
| France | 60-81 | —– | 69-55 | 83-45 | (2-1) | ||||
| Greece | 73-99 | 55-69 | —– | 83-68 | (1-2) | ||||
| Senegal | 51-108 | 45-83 | 68-83 | —– | (0-3) | ||||
| POOL C | SPN | KOR | BRZ | MLI | Record | ||||
| Spain | —– | 84-69 | 69-57 | 80-36 | (3-0) | ||||
| South Korea | 69-84 | —– | 61-60 | 68-66 | (2-1) | ||||
| Brazil | 57-69 | 60-61 | —– | 80-73 | (1-2) | ||||
| Mali | 36-80 | 66-68 | 73-80 | —– | (0-3) | ||||
| POOL D | RUS | CZE | JPN | ARG | Record | ||||
| Russia | —– | 55-52 | 86-63 | 77-59 | (3-0) | ||||
| Czech Republic | 52-55 | —– | 66-60 | 67-53 | (2-1) | ||||
| Japan | 63-86 | 60-66 | —– | 59-58 | (1-2) | ||||
| Argentina | 59-77 | 53-67 | 58-59 | —– | (0-3) | ||||
| POOL E | AUS | USA | FRA | BEL | GRE | CAN | Record | ||
| Australia | —– | 74-83 | 62-52 | 83-59 | 93-54 | 72-47 | (4-1) | ||
| United States | 83-75 | —– | 81-60 | 107-61 | 99-73 | 87-46 | (5-0) | ||
| France | 52-62 | 60-81 | —– | 58-48 | 69-55 | 49-47 | (3-2) | ||
| Belarus | 59-83 | 61-107 | 48-58 | —– | 74-70 | 61-49 | (2-3) | ||
| Greece | 54-93 | 73-99 | 55-69 | 70-74 | —– | 57-52 | (1-4) | ||
| Canada | 47-72 | 46-87 | 47-49 | 49-61 | 52-57 | —– | (0-5) | ||
| POOL F | RUS | SPN | CZE | KOR | BRZ | JPN | Record | ||
| Russia | —– | 76-67 | 55-52 | 81-48 | 76-53 | 86-63 | (5-0) | ||
| Spain | 67-76 | —– | 77-57 | 84-69 | 69-57 | 86-59 | (4-1) | ||
| Czech Republic | 52-55 | 57-77 | —– | 96-65 | 84-70 | 66-60 | (3-2) | ||
| South Korea | 48-81 | 69-84 | 65-96 | —– | 61-60 | 65-64 | (2-3). | ||
| Brazil | 53-76 | 57-69 | 70-84 | 60-61 | —– | 93-91 | (1-4) | ||
| Japan | 63-86 | 59-86 | 60-66 | 64-65 | 91-93 | —– | (0-5) | ||
| QFs | United States 106 Korea 44 | |
| QFs | Spain 74 France 71 | |
| QFs | Czech Republic 79 Australia 68 | |
| QFs | Belarus 70 Russia 53 | |
| 13-16th | China 71 Senegal 69 | |
| 13-16th | Argentina 74 Mali 69 | |
| 9-12th | Brazil 64 Canada 58 | |
| 9-12th | Japan 63 Greece 59 | |
| 5-8th | Australia 78 Russia 73 | |
| 5-8th | France 61 Korea 46 | |
| Semi | Czech Republic 81 Belarus 77 | |
| Semi | United States 106 Spain 70 | |
| 15th | Mali 69 Senegal 67 | |
| 13th | China 86 Argentina 60 | |
| 11th | Greece 71 Canada 55 | |
| 9th | Brazil 84 Japan 59 | |
| 7th | Russia 87 Korea 76 | |
| 5th | Australia 74 France 62 | |
| Bronze | Spain 77 Belarus 68 | |
| Final | United States 89 Czech Republic 69 | |
In their
opener, Canada was clocked 72-47 by Australia. The Opals got off to a quick
start going on a 10-1 spurt in the first three minutes. Kim Smith and Tamara
Tatham both drew fouls on drives to the basket and both connected at the
free-throw line to make it 15-3 for the Aussies at the midway point in the
first quarter. Natalie
Achonwa came off the bench to give Team Canada a spark, scoring six points in
the opening period to tie with WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson as top scorers in the
first. A buzzer beater trey by captain Teresa Gabriele closed out the quarter
with Canada down only eight (20-12). Canada continued to play their game in the
second as Gabriele hit another three-pointer and the score was 23-17 with just
over eight minutes remaining. The Opals wouldn’t let up as they went on a 5-0
run over the next three minutes. Kim Smith put a stop to the run midway through
the period with a three-pointer to make the score 28-20. After a timeout,
Australia came out strong to finish the first half up 11 points at 34-23. In
the third, Canada continued to be chip away at the lead, going on a 7-3 run to
make it 39-32 at the six-minute mark. Smith drove to the basket getting the
and-one and making it a three-point play. Samantha Richards and Kristi Harrower
picked up the slack to give the Opals a 52-38 lead at the end of the third.
Australia was first on the board in the fourth, going on an 8-0 run while
Canada struggled to score. With just over five minutes left in the game, Janelle
Bekkering drove in for a basket and was fouled. Hitting her free throw Canada
added three to make it 61-41, making 10 out of 12 players who got on the
scoreboard. But the lead was just too great as the Aussies ran away with the
game. “We knew Canada would never give up,” Australia point guard Kristi
Harrower said. “I give credit to Canada. We knew that Canada was a team that
always fights hard and never gives up,” said Opals Head Coach Carrie Graf. “We’ve
got a lot of depth and a lot of height for the first time in a long time.” The
Australians scored 34 points in the paint, led by WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson,
while Canada only grabbed 18. “It was a great opening game to get our feet wet.
Also, you come all this way, you want to play the best players and the best
team. I definitely think they’re the team to beat,” said Canadian coach Allison
McNeill. “I thought we played well defensively and we were tough, but we
struggled on offence. … I thought we played very well defensively and just
struggled at the offensive end. I think it’s just our ball skills and our
ability to shoot the ball from distance accurately and consistently. … I don’t
think we were star struck,” McNeill said. “I think we went out to play the best
we could. We talked about trying to be excellent and I think we did what we
wanted to do. They’re an experienced team, they’ve got good size and we’re
going to have to counteract that. I think we’re going to have to get a little
bit better performance from top to bottom at the offensive end.” Kim Smith said
“I thought we showed some grit, but Australia is a really good team. We got off
to a really slow start but it was our first game and we were playing the
defending champions.” Natalie Achonwa said “like coach always says — to measure
where you are you have to play the best. I love a challenge. I prefer to play
the best and lose rather than dominate over a weaker team. We did what we could
in the moment. I feel like we can do so much better. But it was just like a
little warmup. Once we get going on offence, I think we’ll be great.” Kristi
Harrower paced Australia with 13 on 4-4 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2-2
from the line, 3 assists and 5 steals. Lauren Jackson added 13 on 5-11 from the
floor, 0-3 from the arc, 3-3 from the line, 7 boards and 2 assists. Elizabeth
Cambage added 9 on 3-5 from the floor, 2-4 from the line and 4 boards. Samantha
Richards scored 9 on 1-3 from the floor and 7-8 from the line. Jenna O’Hea
notched 8 on 1-4 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 2 boards
and 2 assists. Erin Phillips scored 7 on 3-5 from the floor, 1-3 from the line
and 6 boards. Marianna Tolo scored 6, Hollie Grima 5 and Abby Bishop 3, while
Tully Bevilaqua, Penny Taylor and Belinda Snell were scoreless. Australia hit
21-40 (.525) from the floor, 3-16 (.188) from the arc and 21-28 (.750) from the
line, while garnering 36 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 10
assists, 26 fouls, 23 turnovers, 14 steals and 1 block. Kim Smith paced Canada
with 11 on 2-6 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 4-5 from the line, 2 boards
and 2 steals. Teresa Gabriele added 8 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc,
1-2 from the line and 3 steals. Natalie Achonwa scored 6 on 6-6 from the line
and 3 boards. Tamara Tatham scored 6 on 1-2 from the floor and 4-6 from the
line. Janelle Bekkering notched 5 on 1-2 from the floor and 3-3 from the line.
Kaela Chapdelaine added 3, Krista Phillips 2, along with 6 boards, Lizanne
Murphy 2, Chelsea Aubry 2 and Jordan Adams 2, while Courtnay Pilypaitis and
Alisha Tatham were scoreless. Canada hit 9-20 (.300) from the floor, 3-12
(.250) from the arc and 20-26 (.769) from the line, while garnering 29 boards,
including 6 on the offensive glass, 4 assists, 19 fouls, 27 turnovers and 6
steals.
Canada evened its record at (1-1) by nipping China 65-61. Chelsea Aubry was first on the board for the red and white hitting a two-point shot just 16 seconds in. China’s Lijie Maio collected six points to give China a quick 11-4 lead. Kim Smith added a trey to make it 11-7 but China’s Xin Guan responded with a three-pointer of her own. Tamara Tatham made an easy layup in transition to chip away at the lead 14-9. Tatham was fouled and she split her free throws. With just over three minutes left in the first quarter Canada came to within three 14-11. Lizanne Murphy went on a fast break collecting the and-one to make it 17-14 at the two-minute mark. Lijie Maio quickly responded with a deuce. Natalie Achonwa came off the bench and was quickly fouled, making both free throws to make it 19-16 for China. On the final possession, Canada’s Krista Phillips hit a layup with an assist from captain Teresa Gabriele to close out the period 23-18 for China. In the second, Canada struggled to score in the first four minutes as China went on a 7-0 run, until Kim Smith sank a deuce to stop the bleeding. But China’s Maio kept on hitting baskets, bringing China to 33-20. Smith was fearless, grabbing her second and-one to make it 33-23, and then followed up with a deuce in the paint. With three minutes left in the first half China held on to a 35-25 lead. After a timeout, Smith came out and hit a three. Murphy followed with an easy layup from a dish by Krista Phillips to close out the half down 37-30. With Phillips scoring six points in the period to add to her three from the first half and Tatham adding another four, Canada successfully took over the lead midway through the third. The game went back and forth for the next two minutes and with just over two minutes in the period, the score was 48-47 for Canada. Tatham worked both sides of the court, hitting a deuce in the paint and then coming back on defence to grab the board. Canada also did a great job in the third of shutting down Miao, who only managed to get single a free throw — and that in the last 10 seconds. Canada closed out with a buzzer-beater bucket and retained the lead 52-50. Tatham was on fire, collecting eight points, two steals and three boards in the third quarter alone. In the final stanza, China got on the board first to tie the game at 52. Smith hit a two in the paint and Murphy followed up off a missed shot from Gabriele to make it 56-52 with just under 7:30 remaining in the game. Smith added another bucket to give her 21 in the game and Canada a 58-55 lead at the midway point. China continued to battle adding another couple of buckets. Smith added another two baskets to bring her to 25 points and give Canada a 65-59 with 2:30 remaining, forcing a timeout by China. Coming out of the timeout, Canada held on to the lead, eating up the clock on their possessions to take the win. “I’m just so proud of the team,” said Canadian coach Allison McNeill. “I knew we could beat them [China] even though we are undersized in a pool of big teams. This victory is such a joy and a relief. … We tried to play with different players in the paint not just the posts, including players like Kim (Smith), Liz (Murphy), Teresa [Gabriele] and Tamara (Tatham). … It’s a great win. It’s (Canada) a team that is mentally tough … Obviously having to play Australia in the first game, if that doesn’t toughen you up, nothing will. We knew they were big and tough and had to match their toughness.” Lizanne Murphy said “this is amazing for us. It’s my first worlds but we thought we could win this game. We really believed in ourselves and we’re a confident group. … Everyone mentally made note about the seriousness of this event. We dialed it up from top to bottom, realizing that this was it.” Tatham said “we did exceptionally well physically and mentally. That was our mindset. We are smaller than a lot of other teams, so we use our quickness, speed and toughness. … It was very important that we came out in the second half with a good start, a lot of energy and leave our hearts on the floor.” Lijie Miao said “we only played half a game of good basketball. We had offensive problems in the third quarter. For young players, Canada did very well to come back.” Kim Smith paced Canada with 25 on 9-11 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 4 boards. Tamara Tatham added 11 on 4-6 from the floor, 3-6 from the line, 5 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals. Krista Phillips added 9 on 4-5 from the floor and 1-2 from the line. Lizanne Murphy added 7 on 3-6 from the floor, 1-1 from the line and 8 boards. Teresa Gabriele added 7 on 1-7 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 7 boards. Kaela Chapdelaine added 2, Natalie Achonwa 2 and Chelsea Aubry 2, while Courtnay Pilypaitis, Janelle Bekkering, Alisha Tatham and Jordan Adams were scoreless. Canada hit 23-40 (.575) from the floor, 3-18 (.167) from the arc and 10-14 (.714) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 15 fouls, 16 turnovers, 9 steals and 2 blocks. Nan Chen paced China with 22 on 9-15 from the floor, 4-4 from the line, 6 boards and 2 steals. Lijie Miao added 20 on 3-9 from the floor, 4-6 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 4 boards and 4 assists. Zengyu Ma added 8 on 3-8 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 7 boards. Xin Guan scored 6, Fan Zhang 4 and Hanlan Zhang 1, while Banban Yang, Xiaojia Chen, Liwei Song, Xiaoli Chen, Hongpin Huang and Dan Liu were scoreless. China hit 17-38 (.447) from the floor, 6-21 (.286) from the arc and 9-12 from the line, while garnering 30 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 6 assists, 13 fouls, 14 turnovers, 9 steals and 3 blocks.
In their third game, Canada was whipped 61-49 by Belarus. Canada closed the gap to 56-47 on two Kimberley Smith free-throws with 3:28 to go but Tatyana Troina went to the other end and hit a three-pointer as Belarus stayed in front. Yelena Leuchanka dominated the Canadians on the boards. “Many thanks for Yelena’s work,” Belarus coach Anatoli Buyalski said. “She got back home just Monday. She had just two practices. I think in the next games will be her best.” Leuchanka admits she isn’t as fresh as she would like. “I don’t feel as well as I want to feel. Other players came with me at the same time, though. We’re all professional athletes. We play at the highest level. I’m just trying to do whatever I can. For us, Belarus, it’s the first time (in the World Championship). We’re writing history books. It’s all good.” Canadian coach Allison McNeill said: “I thought we played pretty hard defensively, pretty well. We didn’t do well on the defensive boards. I think their length really bothered us. Yelena (Leuchanka) was relentless and worked very hard. Offensively, we got some decent shots but they didn’t fall. We didn’t have a large margin for error.” Teresa Gabriel said “I think we came out and played very well defensively but offensively, we didn’t shoot well from the field. Defensively we did what we wanted to do. We pride ourselves on that.” Tatyana Troina paced Belarus with 16 on 2-6 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 2 boards. Anastasiya Verameyenka added 12 on 4-7 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 1-3 from the line and 2 blocks. Nataliya Trafimava added 9 on 3-3 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 6 boards and 4 assists. Yuliya Dureika added 8 on 1-3 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc and 2 assists. Yelena Leuchanka scored 7 on 1-4 from the floor, 5-6 from the line and 16 boards. Natallia Marchanka added 7 on 1-2 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 assists. Natallia Anufryienka added 1, while Sviatlana Valko, Aliaksandra Tarasava, Tatsiana Likhtarovich, Viktoryia Hasper and Marina Kress were scoreless. Belarus hit 13-32 (.406) from the floor, 8-23 (.348) from the arc and 11-14 (.786) from the line, while garnering 42 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 15 assists, 18 fouls, 19 turnovers, 8 steals and 3 blocks. Kim Smith paced Canada with 11 on 4-10 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 3-3 from the line and 3 boards. Teresa Gabriele added 9 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-4 from the line and 4 steals. Lizanne Murphy added 8 on 1-2 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc and 4 boards. Jordan Adams scored 8 on 3-6 from the floor and 2-4 from the line. Chelsea Aubry added 5, Courtnay Pilypaitis 4, Tamara Tatham 2 and Krista Phillips 2, while Kaela Chapdelaine, Janelle Bekkering, Alisha Tatham and Natalie Achonwa were scoreless. Achonwa nabbed 4 boards. Canada hit 11-34 (.324) from the floor, 4-16 (.250) from the arc and 15-19 (.789) from the line, while garnering 26 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 5 assists, 18 fouls, 16 turnovers and 12 steals.
Canada finished
(1-2) in pool play and qualified for the second-round pool.
In the first game of the crossover
round robin with pool B, Canada was stomped 87-46 by the United States. Canada
matched the US blow for blow for much of the first quarter but eventually fell
away and trailed 47-25 at halftime when USA coach Geno Auriemma inserted his
second team. “I like that second group,” he said. “I thought about changing the
starting lineup today as those guys are stuck in the mud. You’ve got some high
energy guys like Lindsay [Whalen], Angel [McCoughtry] and Maya [Moore] as well.
“Tina [Charles] gave us a great burst at the beginning of the second quarter.” The
USA blew the game wide open in the third quarter and led 66-38.
Courtnay Pilypaitis said weren’t in awe. “We knew we’re all basketball players in
the end of the day. You don’t think about who’s who and who you’re guarding.” Canadian
head coach Allison McNeill said “we didn’t have any delusion that we were going
to win this game. But we did want to get better, to try to learn from it. Obviously,
it was a great opportunity to play against some of the best players in the
world. Their speed and length and experience were just way too much for us. … Their
second unit came in and I thought they were better than the first unit. They
just had a spark, they got into the passing lanes and probably had a bit more
intensity defensively, I thought. When we go to our bench, we’re extremely young.
We don’t have a ton of experience there. I’m happy with the way our players
came in and battled but they wear you down. I think their coach said they have
five WNBA all-stars on the floor. Well, we don’t. You’ve got to find ways to
win and we just turned it over to their offence and kind of got worn down in
the second quarters.” Lindsay Whalen paced the US with 16 on 5-6 from the floor
and 6-6 from the line. Angel McCoughtry added 11 on 4-7 from the floor, 0-2
from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 5 steals. Swin Cash scored 10 on 2-3 from
the floor, 2-2 from the arc and 3-4 from the line. Tina Charles notched 9 on
3-5 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 5 boards. Candice Dupree added 9 on
4-5 from the floor, 1-1 from the line, 7 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Sue
Bird added 9 on 3-5 from the floor, 1-3 from the line and 3 assists. Tamika
Catchings added 8, Asjha Jones 6, Diana Taurasi 5, Sylvia Fowles 2 and Maya
Moore 2, while Jayne Appel was scoreless. The US hit 32-55 (.582) from the
floor 2-15 (.133) from the arc and 17-22 (.773) from the line, while garnering
36 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 15 assists, 16 fouls, 20 steals
and 3 blocks. Janelle Bekkering paced Canada with 8 on 1-2 from the floor and
2-3 from the arc. Kim Smith added 8 on 3-4 from the line, 0-4 from the arc, 2-2
from the line, 5 boards and 2 steals. Jordan Adams added 6 on 2-2 from the floor,
2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Krista Phillips added 6 on 2-6 from the floor,
2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Kaela Chapdelaine added 4, Teresa Gabriele 2,
Courtnay Pilypaitis 2, Alisha Tatham 2, Natalie Achonwa 2, Lizanne Murphy 2,
Tamara Tatham 2 and Chelsea Aubry 2. Canada hit 15-34 (.441) from the floor,
2-12 (.167) from the arc and 10-12 (.833) from the line, while garnering 31
boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 23 fouls, 32 turnovers
and 8 steals.
In their next match, Canada was dumped 57-52 by Greece. Greece’s Stylani Kaltsidou hit a three to start the first quarter, and after a couple of defensive stops, Canada’s Krista Phillips scored a basket in the paint to get the red and white on the board. Canada’s starting forward Chelsea Aubry sank a three-pointer with just over six minutes to make it 5-6 Greece. Greece defended Canada closely, which made it hard for them to penetrate in the paint. Greece’s captain, Evanthia Maltsi hit another 3 points to give her six in the first quarter. With three minutes left, Canada was called for its sixth team foul and second on Tamara Tatham, giving Greece a 12-5 lead. Canada called a time out with 2 minutes in the period. Kim Smith grabbed big board on a missed three by Greece, but Canada could not convert on its possession. Smith was fouled at centre court on the final drive of the period with 1.78 seconds left. Teresa Gabriele threw the ball in to Jordan Adams in the post who hit a buzzer beater lay-up to close out the period 12-7 Greece. Canada went on a 4-0 run to start the second quarter, after a three-pointer by Kaela Chapdelaine and free throw by Jordan Adams. Canada took over the lead 13-12 after a basket by Krista Phillips with seven minutes in the half. Greece’s Zoi Dimitrakou hit a three but immediately fouled Lizanne Murphy, who made her two free throws to tie the game at 15. Murphy was fouled again on a drive to the basket, forcing Greece to call a timeout. Coming out of the break, Lizanne Murphy made one of two free throws, giving Canada the lead again 16-15 with just over five minutes left. Greece struggled with fouls in the final few minutes, allowing Canada to maintain and 21-20 lead. Canada then allowed Greece to go on a 4-0 run. With one minute left, Greece’s Dimitra Kalenzou landed a three-pointer. Tamara Tatham grabbed defensive board and Gabriele attempted a shot at the buzzer but missed and Greece led 28-20 at the half. In the third period, Gabriele hit a deuce and Murphy added a trey, but Greece responded with five to make it 25-33 at the five-minute mark. Maltsi hit a quick three and Gabriele responded just quickly with a basket. Murphy got on the board again with another basket to give her eight in the game, but Greece would not let up. With 2:55 to play in the quarter, Greece led 40-29. Chapdelaine hit a three to close the gap 34-42 and then took the charge on defense. This set up Canada with the ball and Smith hit a big three to finish the third 37-44. The final quarter saw Canada get aggressive on offense. Canada went on a 7-3 run in the first half of the fourth as Smith started it off with a three-pointer. Murphy, Phillips, Gabriele, and Chapdelaine all contributed on offense that saw Canada come to within 47-44. Greece continued to fight getting to 52 points with just over three minutes left. Smith hit a crucial three-pointer, followed by a steal by Chapdelaine that set up a three by Gabriele to make it 50-52 with a minute and a half left. After two timeouts by Greece and an unfortunate foul on Canada in the final seconds, Greece was able to hold on for the win as Pelagia Papamichail hit a critical bucket. Pelagia Papamichail said “it happened that it was me that was free so I just took the shot. You don’t think at these moments. It was a team job – otherwise I wouldn’t have been alone.” Greece coach Kostas Missas said “Canada fights until the last seconds. It makes them dangerous. But for the first time in the tournament, we played 40 minutes of tough defense. … We had patience on offense. We were patient and found the right player to score at the right moment. I think the big difference between us and Canada was the experience.” Dimitra Kalentzou said “We had to play for 40 minutes with our passion. Today’s game was the first time that we did it. Maybe we don’t have the experience for the big games. We have big talent but don’t have tall players.” Canadian coach Allison McNeill said “obviously we are disappointed with this one. The team executed the game plan to a ‘T’. We played hard defensively but missed some shots offensively. … We just missed some easy, easy shots. You can’t ever be mad at the players. They’re not trying to miss shots. It just felt like there was a little bit of Saran wrap on the basket or something.” Lizanne Murphy said “it was like a 40-minute dogfight. It was a battle. It hurts to lose this one. We got great shots but they just didn’t go in. You can never get mad at players for missing shots. Kim Smith hit a three to bring us back and Teresa Gabriele too. I’m proud of them.” Kaela Chapdelaine said “we are a great team defensively. We are great defensively and we have spurts. It’s just a matter of putting it together for 40 minutes.” Pelagia Papamichail paced Greece with 12 on 5-9 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 7 boards. Dimitra Kaltenzou added 11 on 1-2 from the floor, 3-9 from the arc, 5 boards and 5 assists. Evanthia Maltsi added 11 on 1-7 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 3-3 from the line and 6 boards. Olga Chatzinikolaou added 9 on 3-3 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 6 boards. Styliani Kaltsidou added 7 on 0-8 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 6 boards and 5 assists. Zoi Dimitrakou added 3, Katerina Sotiriou 2 and Eirini Mitropoulou 2, while Artemis Spanou, Lolita Lymoura, Nafsika Stavridou and Nikole Soulis were scoreless. Greece hit 11-33 from the floor, 8-22 (.364) from the arc and 11-13 (.846) from the line, while garnering 34 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass, 13 assists, 19 fouls, 10 turnovers, 7 steals and 2 blocks. Kim Smith paced Canada with 10 on 0-8 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 8 boards. Lizanne Murphy added 8 on 1-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 8 boards. Kaela Chapdelaine added 8 on 0-2 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Krista Phillips added 8 on 3-5 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 7 boards and 2 assists. Teresa Gabriele added 7 on 2-6 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 3 boards and 2 steals. Chelsea Aubry added 3 on 1-1 from the arc and 7 boards. Natalie Achonwa scored 3, Jordan Adams 3 and Tamara Tatham 2, along with 8 boards. Courtnay Pilypaitis, Janelle Bekkering and Alisha Tatham were scoreless. Canada hit 8-36 (.222) from the floor, 8-20 (.400) from the arc and 12-18 from the line, while garnering 44 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 7 assists, 14 fouls, 16 turnovers, 4 steals and 1 block.
Canada closed
out round-robin play by losing 49-47 to France as Celine Dumerc drove the paint
and laid-in a buzzer beater. Kim Smith’s three-pointer had given Canada a 47-45
lead with 37 seconds remaining before France’s Endéné Miyem tied it with an
outside shot. Tamara Tatham had a chance to put Canada ahead after being fouled
with 19 seconds left, but missed both free throws. Krista Phillips grabbed the
offensive board on the second miss, but Teresa Gabriel’s pass to Kimberley
Smith went out of bounds with four seconds left. France called timeout and when
play resumed, they inbounded the ball to Dumerc who drove into score. Both
teams struggled on offense, especially in the third quarter when France put
just six points on the board and Canada only two. Canada coach Allison McNeill
said of her team: “We had a tough game against Greece. We said, “What kind of
team are we? Are we going to show up?” I’m really proud of my team for
this whole tournament.” Natalie Achonwa said “we battled the entire game. We
stuck with them until the last four seconds of the game and I think we competed
the entire time. We played great defence and we hit some shots when it was
necessary.” Anael Lardy paced France with 9 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-3 from the
arc and 2-2 from the line. Endene Miyem added 9 on 2-8 from the floor, 1-1 from
the arc, 2-2 from the line and 4 boards. Clemence Beikes added 8 on 4-6 from
the floor. Celine Dumerc added 7 on 2-6 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 4
boards and 2 assists. Jennifer Digbeu added 4, Marion Laborde 3, Florence
Lepron 2, Marielle Amant 3, Elodie Godin 2, Emmeline Ndongue 2 and Johanne
Gomis 1, while Pauline Jannault was scoreless. France hit 12-40 (.300) from the
floor, 5-14 (.357) from the arc and 10-14 (.714) from the line, while garnering
31 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 15 fouls, 15
turnovers, 6 steals and 2 blocks. Natalie Achonwa paced Canada with 12 on 5-12
from the floor, 2-3 from the line, 8 boards and 2 steals. Kim Smith added 12 on
2-3 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Tamara Tatham
notched 8 on 8-12 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists. Alisha Tatham added 4,
Teresa Gabriele 4, Chelsea Aubry 3, Courtnay Pilypaitis 2 and Krista Phillips
2, along with 7 boards. Kaela Chapdelaine, Janelle Bekkering, Lizanne Murphy
and Jordan Adams were scoreless. Canada hit 13-24 (.382) from the floor, 3-16
(.188) from the arc and 12-17 (.706) from the line, while garnering 40 boards,
including 16 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 20 fouls, 20 turnovers, 9
steals and 1 block.
Canada finishes (1-5) in round
robin play and fails to make the quarterfinals. The Canadians are relegated to
the 9-12th consolations.
In the relegation round, Canada is dusted 64-58 by Brazil. After being down 18-11 at the end of the first quarter, Canada rallied to lead by seven with 3:30 left in the third quarter. That period ended in a 45-45 tie. Canada started strongly in the fourth and was ahead by three, 51-48, with 6:54 to go following a Kim Smith three-pointer. The game remained close, but Iziane Castro Marques made an inside shot to put Brazil up by three, 61-58, with 44 seconds to go. Brazilian coach Moran Carlos Colinas said “we had ups and downs during the game. We led by 12 points but Canada tied the game in three minutes. After the break we started to play against Canada and ourselves. We had good defence at the end and Canada’s mistakes helped us to win.” Canadian coach Allison McNeill said “we had a very slow start today but I liked the way that our team battled back. We hit some tough shots and missed some easy ones.” Iziane Castro Marques paced Brazil with 16 on 5-8 from the floor, 6-8 from the line and 3 boards. Franciele Nascimento added 13 on 5-7 from the floor, 3-3 from the line and 3 steals. Erika De Souza Machado notched 12 on 5-11 from the floor, 2-5 from the line, 13 boards and 4 blocks. Helen Luz added 9 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Adriana Pinto added 8 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 1-3 from the line, 5 boards and 4 assists. Silvia Gustavo added 3 and Palmira Marcal 3, while Karen Gustavo, Damiris Dantas Do Amaral, Fernanda Beling, Alessandra Oliveira and Kelly Santos were scoreless. Brazil hit 19-41 (.463) from the floor, 4-15 (.267) from the arc and 14-23 (.609) from the line, while garnering 41 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 8 assists, 15 fouls, 16 turnovers, 6 steals and 5 blocks. Kim Smith paced Canada with 17 on 2-8 from the floor, 4-11 from the arc, 1-5 from the line and 8 boards. Courtnay Pilypaitis added 11 on 4-5 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 3 boards and 3 assists. Natalie Achonwa added 9 on 1-3 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 6 boards. Krista Phillips added 7 on 3-6 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 6 boards and 2 assists. Tamara Tatham added 5 on 2-7 from the floor, 1-4 from the line and 5 boards. Teresa Gabriele added 5 on 1-6 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 4 boards and 4 assists. Lizanne Murphy added 2 and Chelsea Aubry 2, while Kaela Chapdelaine, Janelle Bekkering, Alisha Tatham and Jordan Adams were scoreless. Canada hit 15-42 (.357) from the floor, 8-26 (.308) from the arc and 4-13 (.308) from the line, while garnering 45 boards, including 18 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 18 fouls, 16 turnovers and 6 steals.
In the 11th place match, Greece clubbed Canada 71-55. Greece took a 21-9 lead in the first quarter and Canada was never able to overcome the deficit. “We played the best teams and I think for stretches we were right with them,” said Canadian coach Allison McNeill. “That’s the first thing you have to do, I think. … we had great team chemistry, unbelievable work ethic and superior toughness. I think if we can just add some pieces to our game then I think we can be there. But it’s going to take a lot of work.” Krista Phillips added that “I thought that we fought hard. I think that we put ourselves in a bad spot by getting down in the beginning. It was hard for us to come back.” After the rough opening period, the SWNT’s offence came alive over the next 20 minutes and the Canadians were down by just seven, 45-38, at the end of the third quarter. A pair of free throws by Smith with 2:25 left in the period had brought the Canadians to within three, 41-38, before Kalentzou finished the quarter for Greece with a three-pointer and a free throw. Greece outscored Canada 26-17 in the final period. Dimitra Kalentzou paced Greece with 21 on 1-2 from the floor, 5-8 from the arc, 4-6 from the line, 4 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Styliani Kaltsidou added 19 on 4-8 from the floor, 3-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 8 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Evanthia Maltsi added 9 on 1-4 from the floor, 1-8 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 6 boards. Zoi Dimitrakou added 9 on 3-7 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 4 boards and 4 assists. Pelagia Papamichail added 8 on 4-7 from the floor. Olga Chatzinikolaou added 4, while Artemis Spanou, Lolita Lymoura, Katerina Sotiriou, Nafsika Stavridou, Nikole Soulis and Eirni Mitropoulou were scoreless. Greece hit 15-36 (.417) from the floor, 9-24 (.375) from the arc and 14-18 (.778) from the line, while garnering 34 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 13 fouls, 10 turnovers, 7 steals and 5 blocks. Krista Phillips paced Canada with 19 on 9-14 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 10 boards and 2 assists. Kim Smith added 11 on 1-6 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 6-6 from the line and 7 boards. Teresa Gabriele added 7, Courtnay Pilypaitis 5, Kaela Chapdelaine 5, Natalie Achonwa 3, along with 6 boards, Chelsea Aubry 3 and Janelle Bekkering 2, while Alisha Tatham, Lizanne Murphy, Tamara Tatham and Jordan Adams were scoreless. Canada hit 15-45 (.333) from the floor, 5-16 (.312) from the arc and 10-14 (.714) from the line, while garnering 46 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 22 fouls, 16 turnovers, 8 steals and 1 block.
The Czech Republic’s Hana Horakova is chosen tournament MVP. Joining her on the all-star team were: Diana Taurasci (United States); Eva Viteckova (Czech Republic), Sancho Lyttle (Spain); and Yelena Leuchanka (Belarus).
Also receiving votes were: Amaya Valdemoro (Spain); Candice Dupree (USA), Elizabeth Cambage (Australia); Sue Bird (USA) Celine Dumerc (France); Asami Yoshida (Japan); Anastasiya Verameyenka (Belarus); and Yuko Oga (Japan).
2012
In December, Allison McNeill resigns after 11 years at the helm of the national program.
2013
In March, Canada Basketball appoints Lisa Thomaidis as head coach after 11 years as assistant on the national team. “A lot of that legwork is done, your relationships have been established, my familiarity with the program, with Canada Basketball, with FIBA, hopefully, it’s very seamless,” said Thomaidis. “There’s no doubt about it that we’ve generated some great momentum in the past few years and especially culminating in London and how we need to take that to the next level.” Thomaidis planned to keep her head coaching job at the University of Saskatchewan, where she twice garnered national coach of the year honours and four times was named Canada West coach of the year. Canada Basketball CEO Wayne Parrish said “the work that Allison (McNeill) and her assistant coaches had accomplished to get us to the Olympic quarterfinals was tremendous. We wanted to make sure we continued in that vein and reached out and were able to put in place the kind of leadership that would take us to another level in Rio and in 2020 and certainly the World championships in between here and there. In the end, we came back home.”