Press Releases
Press Release Service
« Back to Latest News
CANADA FALLS TO AUSTRALIA IN QUARTERFINALS
BEIJING, CHINA) – It was a disappointing day on the court for Canada's women's wheelchair basketball team who saw their hopes of Paralympic gold dashed in a quarterfinal loss. The women lost to Australia 49-53 in game that saw the Canadians crack on defence and missed shots to give way to the team from down under.
"We knew what kind of game we wanted to play but today weren't able to execute them as we should have," said Tim Frick, head coach of the women's national wheelchair basketball team. "Today, we lost on defence and didn't get the breaks we needed to take home the win against Australia."
Misty Thomas (Vancouver, BC), the first Canadian athlete in history to participate in both the Olympic and Paralympic Games, added the first two points to the scoreboard with a layup at 8:20. The next three minutes saw Australia score six points to take the lead 8-2. Coming back strong, Canada tied it up only to give Australia the lead once again to finish the quarter ended with Canada trailing 10-14.
The second quarter saw consecutive fouls against the Canadians. Lisa Franks (Saskatoon, SK), stole the ball, passing to Thomas who was called against the Australians. They hit two free throws in a row, and then Tracey Ferguson (Holland Landing, ON) retaliated scoring two of her own. Late in the quarter saw Australia sink basket after basket, with Canada playing catch up. Ferguson added another two-pointer right at the buzzer to end the half down by one (27-28).
Canada scored 10 points in the third quarter, six added by Thomas, including two free throws, and four by Tara Feser (St. Albert, AB). The pressure was on in the last ten minutes to catch up and saw Team Canada take the lead for the first time in the game. Thomas added four points from the paint and Kendra Ohama (Calgary, AB) added two making it 43-42. A foul by Jen Krempien (Richmond, BC) gave the Australians two attempts at the line but it was a quick offensive rebound that moved them ahead and they didn't look back. Team Canada wasn't able to catch up and was knocked out of the medal round. Up next they will meet China for the second time in the tournament to battle it out for fifth place. This will be the first time since 1992 that the women will not make it to the medal round.
Misty Thomas led the way tonight with 21 points, including five free throws and 13 defensive rebounds. Chantal Benoit had 11 points and Tara Feser and Janet McLachlan had four each. The team shot 38% from the field and 53% in free throws.
The women's team was ranked #1 in the world after winning gold in the world championships in 2006. Under Frick's leadership, they took home three straight Paralympic gold medals from Barcelona ('92), Atlanta (’96), and Sydney ('00) and won bronze in Athens in 2004.
When asked about being eliminated from the semifinals, Frick said, "This has never happened before, we never planned for it. Today we just couldn't find the combo that could be consistent in both ends. We played the game with the same intensity as always but it just didn't work. We're always going to be medal contenders but we'll see some changes over the next four years."
Canada now plays China Sunday September 14, 2008, in the first of two semifinal games in the 5-8th place bracket.
Please visit the Canadian Wheelchair Basketball Association online at: www.cwba.ca for all the latest news, results, game recaps and other information.
Members of the Canadian Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Team:
(Jersey Number/Name /Birthplace/Resides)
#4 Jennifer Krempien (St. Albert, AB / Vancouver, BC)
#5 Janet McLachlan (Vancouver, BC / Vancouver, BC)
#6 Kendra Ohama (Brooks, AB / Calgary, AB)
#7 Cindy Ouellet (Riviere-Du-Loop, QC / Quebec, QC)
#8 Tracy Ferguson (Richmond Hill, ON / Holland Landing, ON)
#9 Chantal Benoit (Boleil, QC / Mont-Saint Hilaire, QC)
#10 Katie Harnock (Kitchener, ON / Elmira, ON)
#11 Sabrina Pettinicchi (Montreal, QC / Fredericton, NB)
#12 Lisa Franks (Moose Jaw, SK / Saskatoon, SK)
#13 Lori Radke (Wetaskiwin, AB / Ponoka, AB)
#14 Misty Thomas (Santa Monica, CA / Vancouver, BC)
#15 Tara Feser (Edmonton, AB / St. Albert, AB)
Women’s Head Coach: Tim Frick (Parksville, BC / Pender Island, BC)
Interviews with athletes and/or members of the coaching staff can be arranged by contacting Lindsay Thom, Media Attaché with the Canadian Paralympic Committee by phone at: 13521034482 or through email at: lindsay.thom@gmail.com
-30-
For more information please contact:
Jody Kingsbury, Communications & Media Relations
Canadian Wheelchair Basketball Association
(613) 260-1296 ext. 204
kingsbury@cwba.ca
or visit: www.cwba.ca
World Leaders in Wheelchair Basketball / Chefs de file mondiaux du basketball en fauteuil roulant
Beijing Paralympic Games, September 1-17, 2008
Jeux paralympiques de Beijing, 1-17 septembre 2008
SIRC is pleased to provide the distribution of announcements however is not responsible for their respective content and translation. Please contact the person identified in each message for more information about the announcement.
Contact Us
