Elise Froese paced Canada with 25 points in the win

Elise Froese led the way with 25 points as Canada (1-0) opened the 2023 IWBF Women’s U25 World Championship with a 50-24 victory over South Africa (0-1) on Wednesday.

“We were a little bit nervous to start the game and a little bit unfocused, but we rallied back and did a really good job in the second half,” said Women’s U25 Head Coach Marni Abbott-Peter. “Everybody got a few minutes and got to shake the cobwebs off. We’re excited we got a win for our first game here.”

Froese (Victoria, B.C.) added eight rebounds and four steals in the victory. Megan Smith (Vancouver, B.C.) contributed seven points, four rebounds and three assists, while Bethany Johnson (Winnipeg, Man.) chipped in five points, nine rebounds and two assists at the Bangkok Youth Centre in Bangkok, Thailand.

“Elise came out playing great. Megan and Puisand Lai showed some great leadership. I think everybody helped each other,” Abbott-Peter added. “I think Elise, for her, it was great to get that first game under her belt. She played great. She was what we needed for this week to start strong.”

Canada opened the second half scoring four unanswered, out-scored South Africa 11-8 in the period and held a 34-20 lead heading into the fourth. Froese scored 10 straight Team Canada points to open the fourth as Canada pushed its lead to 13.

Team Canada led 23-12 at halftime, paced by Froese’s 10 points and two steals. Desiree Isaac-Pictou (Ugpi’ganjig First Nation) chipped in four points off the bench for Canada, who scored nine points off turnovers and held South Africa to 24 per cent shooting through two quarters.

Canada opened with a 5-0 run and led 17-8 after one quarter. Canada scored eight points off turnovers in the opening period and held South Africa to just 33 per cent shooting from the field.

Full stats from the win over South Africa.

Lead photo courtesy SA Images/IWBF