Cindy Ouellet shines for Canada in 5th place at the World Wheelchair Basketball World Cup
Canada needed all of Cindy Ouellet’s 35 points to finish fifth in the wheelchair basketball world championships.
The 34-year-old point guard’s layup with 34.2 seconds left in regulation put her team ahead for good and she added a foul shot to secure a 64-62 victory over a resilient Australian team on Monday in the Dubai World Trade Center.
Amber Merritt led Australia with 33 points, but missed two crucial shots from close range in the last 23 seconds.
Her teammate, fellow forward Georgia Munro Cook, put the Aussies ahead 62–60 with 56.9 seconds left on two free throws after Canadian guard Elodie Tessier was fouled.
But Ouellet answered and halved the margin by taking one of two shots from the free-throw line.
Canada, who last medaled in the event with gold in 2014, also placed fifth at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2018 World Cup in Hamburg, Germany. They have won seven World Cup medals since the first edition in 1990.
The Canadian men also played in a game for fifth place on Monday, but dropped a 67-56 decision to Italy.
LOOK | Full coverage of the Women’s 5th Place Game: Canada vs. Australia:
Watch the Canadian women take on Australia in the 5-6 matchup at the IWBF Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Dubai.
The Australian women appeared to be in control of a 10-0 run four minutes into the third quarter for a 42-32 lead, but it evaporated in just over four minutes as Canada tied the game 44-44. The teams switched baskets and went into the final 10 minutes tied, 46-46.
Australia held a slim 18–16 lead after the first quarter, with Merritt scoring 10 points, while Ouellet had nine of Canada’s 16 points on 4-of-5 shooting and a free throw.
The teams tied 32-32 at the halfway point, but Australia dominated in the paint with 22 points to 10 for Canada, who scored six points on turnover.
Ouellet stood out in the first 20 minutes with 17 points, converting eight of the field’s ten shots and adding five rebounds and two assists.
Teammate Kady Dandeneau played an unusually quiet game offensively, tallying only 10 points, converting only four of 14 shots (28 percent) from the field and turning the ball three times. But the Toronto native did rack up 10 rebounds, four assists and had six of her team’s eight steals.
The world championships determine the number of places each zone will receive for the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. The four zones in the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) are Africa, Americas, Asia, Oceania and Europe.
Canada’s men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball teams will also compete in the 2023 Parapan American Games (November 17-26), which will serve as the US zone qualifying tournament for the Paris Games.
