(SANTIAGO, CHILE) – The Senior Women’s National Team defeated Brazil 61-44 to open the 2023 Parapan American Games in Santiago, Chile, on Saturday afternoon.
Kady Dandeneau (Pender Island, B.C.) paced all scorers with 25 points and five assists in the win. Cindy Ouellet (Quebec City, Que.) and Arinn Young (Legal, Alta.) added 10 points each, while Élodie Tessier (Saint-Germain de Grantham, Que.) and Puisand Lai (Toronto, Ont.) chipped in six points each in the victory.
Bethany Johnson (Winnipeg, Man.) made her SWNT debut and scored her first points in the win.
Team Canada used an 8-3 fourth quarter run to pull head 51-36 and didn’t look back. Canada shot 30 of 54 from the field in the victory while limiting Brazil to just 27 per cent shooting.
“I think as a team, we did an excellent job of holding our composure, and my teammates helped me keep my composure, even though I was losing it,” Dandeneau explained. “It was a big win. Brazil is super competitive and super aggressive, and I love that. That’s what you want to see. They’ve improved so much, and it was not an easy game.”
Canada out-scored Brazil 15-13 in the third quarter and led 43-34. Dandeneau scored nine of Canada’s 15 in the period.
Team Canada shot 52 per cent from the field while limiting Brazil to just nine of 36 shooting and led 28-21 at halftime. Dandeneau led the way with 12 first half points.
Young had six first half points, while Tessier and Ouellet chipped in with four points each.
“It feels so good to open with a win. We knew Brazil was going to be tough, and we just had to keep a level head for all four quarters,” said Tara Llanes (North Vancouver, B.C.). “I think we were maybe a little up and down, but we settled down at half and started to break their press and started to communicate a little bit better.”
Canada led 14-11 after one quarter. Team Canada jumped to an early 6-2 lead and led 12-6 with 3:31 to play before Brazil closed the gap.
The SWNT previously beat Brazil 61-56 to open the IWBF World Championships in June.
Up next, Canada faces El Salvador on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Full match stats can be found here
Men open with victory over Chile
The Senior Men’s National Team opened the Parapan American Games with a commanding 80-17 victory over the host Chile on Saturday evening.
Bo Hedges (Wonowon, B.C.) paced all Canadian scorers with 14 points and three assists. Patrick Anderson (Fergus, Ont.) added 13 points and seven assists, while Reed De’Aeth (Sherwood Park, Alta.) chipped in 11 points. Nik Goncin (Regina, Sask.) contributed 10 points and nine assists.
“It was a great team effort; everybody got minutes out there, everybody played well, hit some shots,” Hedges said. “Chile pushed hard as well. It was amazing to play in front of the Chilean home crowd, the energy out there and the fans. You can’t beat that, so starting the tournament that way was great.”
Hedges scored 10 third quarter points as Canada pushed its lead to 43 entering the fourth. Garrett Ostepchuk (Regina, Sask.) added eight points in the third period.
Canada held a 34-6 lead at halftime, shooting 15 of 41 from the field while limiting Chile to 14 per cent.
The Canadians scored the game’s first 16 unanswered and led 19-2 after one quarter.
Anderson paced Canada with 13 points and three assists in the period. De’Aeth, Colin Higgins (Rothesay, N.B.) and Chad Jassman (Calgary, Alta.) chipped in two points each.
Canada limited Chile to just 11 per cent shooting in the opening period.
The SMNT faces Venezuela on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET.
Complete game stats 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.