(SANTIAGO, CHILE) – The Senior Men’s National Team improved to 2-0 at the Parapan American Games with an 82-42 victory over Venezuela on Sunday in Chile.
Colin Higgins (Rothesay, N.B.) and Nik Goncin (Regina, Sask.) each had 17 points and six assists to pace Canada. Patrick Anderson (Fergus, Ont.) added 12 points and three assists, while Bo Hedges (Wonowon, B.C.) chipped in 10 points and two assists in the victory.
Blaise Mutware (Toronto, Ont.) contributed eight points.
“This was the plan coming out, start 2-0 and hopefully we can finish up 3-0 on Monday,” Higgins said. “It was awesome to jump on these guys early, get a good push in, get some good reps in. Everyone was involved, and it’s a big team win.”
Team Canada’s bench out-scored Venezuela 50-9 in the win, and the SMNT limited Venezuela to 20 of 42 shooting on Sunday.
Canada went on a 14-0 run to pull ahead 80-35 in the fourth – the game’s largest lead.
Canada out-scored Venezuela 15-10 in the third period, pushing its lead to 53-28 through three periods. Hedges paced Canada with 10 points, while Reed De’Aeth (Sherwood Park, Alta.) added five points.
Team Canada led 38-18 at halftime on 18 of 35 shooting.
Higgins led the way with 12 points and three assists.
Anderson and Mutware added eight points each, while Goncin and Garrett Ostepchuk (Regina, Sask.) chipped in with four each.
“It felt really good to contribute,” said Mutware. “It’s really good for me to get into the game, get some touches, buckets and experience. This is a perfect opportunity to show what I’ve been working on in my game and show that I can play at a level like this.”
Canada limited Venezuela to just nine of 27 shooting from the field through two quarters.
Team Canada opened on a 7-0 run and led 24-6 after one quarter. Higgins led the way with 12 points, while Anderson added six points.
Canada concludes the group stage against Argentina on Monday at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Complete game stats can be found here.
Women undefeated following win over El Salvador
The Senior Women’s National Team remained undefeated at the Parapan American Games following a 69-17 win over El Salvador on Sunday evening.
Arinn Young (Legal, Alta.) paced the offence with a game-high 28 points and three assists. Kady Dandeneau (Pender Island, B.C.) added eight points and three assists, while Desiree Isaac-Pictou (Eel River Bar First Nation, N.B.) chipped in seven points and two assists in the win.
“It was really nice to work on some things,” said Melanie Hawtin (Oakville, Ont.). “We’ve got a new coach, and it’s nice to be able to take the opportunity to work on offensive and defensive areas and clean up some things as we work together as a team.”
Team Canada led 40-7 at halftime, paced by 16 points from Young.
Tamara Steeves (Mississauga, Ont.), Tara Llanes (North Vancouver, B.C.), and Bethany Johnson (Winnipeg, Man.) all had four points each at the break.
Isaac-Pictou, who made her SWNT debut on Sunday, scored her first points with the national team early in the second quarter, giving Canada a 26-2 lead.
“It was really good to see Desiree getting involved,” Dandeneau said. “We want to get them that experience, and in these kinds of games, they can get some good looks and opportunities to create something on the floor. It was awesome.”
Canada opened the game on a 6-0 run and led 20-2 after the first period.
The SWNT concludes group play on Tuesday against Colombia at 6:00 a.m. ET.
Full stats from Sunday’s game can be found here.
Santiago 2023 is a qualifier for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games – one spot is available in each of the men’s and women’s competitions, with the gold medallists on each side qualifying for next summer’s Games. At the 2019 Parapan American Games, the SWNT captured gold, while the SMNT won silver.