Ups and Downs for Team Canada on Gameday 3 at Papendal

It was a day of positives and things to work on for Team Canada at the Papendal Tournament in Arnhem, Netherlands, as the men continued their perfect record in round robin play, while the women stumbled against the tournament’s host.

In the words of the Sr. Women’s National Team assistant coach Marni Abbott-Peter:

“The good news is that the Canadian men beat Germany today 80-74. Pat Anderson and Richard Peter were the top scorers for the team. The men will play the Germans again tomorrow afternoon to determine the Papendal tournament champions.

In other not-so-awesome news, the Canadian women lost to the Netherlands 75-54. The Dutch ladies came out on fire in front of their home crowd, and carried it through the entire first half, shooting over 60% from the field, and ending the half with a 38-24 lead over Canada. The Canadians regrouped in the third quarter and outscored the Netherlands 15-12 for the quarter, but were unable to cut into the lead the Dutch had established in the first half. The Netherlands carried on their outstanding scoring percentage throughout the fourth quarter, adding another 25 points to their total. We had no answer for this today, but have a revised game plan for tomorrow when we meet again in the final game of the tournament.

Heat continues to be a factor in our on court performance, our recovery, and our general well being. Ice baths, cold showers, and ice cream are being utilized to keep us cool! We have done a great job of maintaining our composure and positive energy, and this tournament is proving to be a fantastic opportunity to practice both of these crucial aspects of our game.

Janet McLachlan: 26 points, 12 rebounds
Cindy Ouellet: 8 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists

Looking forward to tomorrow, we have another chance to improve and move one step closer to our goal in London!”

Both teams will play in Championship games tomorrow, with the women (3-1), ranked #2 after round robin play, set to take on the Dutch, while the men (3-0), ranked #1 after round robin play, will square off against the Germans.