SWNT topped Spain 60-47 on Sunday afternoon in Dubai

(Dubai, UAE) – Team Canada defeated Spain 60-47 on Sunday afternoon at the IWBF World Championships and will play for fifth place on Monday in Dubai.

The Senior Women’s National Team will face Australia on Monday at 11:15 a.m. ET at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

Arinn Young paced Canada on Sunday with 23 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists in the victory. Kady Dandeneau added 17 points, five rebounds and four assists, while Cindy Ouellet chipped in eight points and six assists.

Canada lost 70-65 to Spain during group play on June 12.

“I think we were out for blood in this game to redeem ourselves from the prior loss to Spain,” Young said. “I think we played really aggressively, which got us our leads in this game.”

Team Canada led 17-10 after the first quarter, then opened the second quarter, scoring 10 unanswered, and outscored Spain 14-6 to carry a 31-16 lead into the break. Spain made an 8-2 run in the third and pulled to within nine in the fourth, but that’s as close as they would get.

Canada shot 45 per cent from the field, and Dandeneau and Young combined to go 7 for 7 at the line in the win.

“It was great to have some payback. It’s great to know we can beat a team like that,” said head coach Marni Abbott-Peter. “They gave us a bit of a run there in the third and tightened the lead a bit, but we kept our composure, kept our defence and communication strong, and were able to come out with the win.”

Team Canada now has a chance to wrap up the 2022 IWBF World Championships with a fifth-place finish. The Senior Women’s National Team finished fifth at the Tokyo Paralympic Games and were fifth at the 2018 Worlds in Hamburg, Germany.

“We’re excited about battling for fifth tomorrow and proud to be in that position,” Abbott-Peter added. “We know some of those teams that are playing in the semifinals; we had some really good games against them, so we know we’re in that mix, for sure.”

Complete stats from Sunday’s win over Spain can be found here.