The Edmonton Inferno Seizes the National Crown at 2018 CWBL Women’s National Championship; Saskatchewan Wins Bronze

(RICHMOND, B.C.) The Edmonton Inferno wins gold at the 2018 Canadian Wheelchair Basketball League (CWBL) Women’s National Championship at the Richmond Oval in Richmond, B.C Sunday after defeating Team Quebec, 58-55. The Saskatchewan Hot Wheels reached the podium with a win in the bronze medal game over the BC Breakers.

Edmonton captured the momentum early by making a few nice shots, including a deep three from Arinn Young at the buzzer, with a score of 17-13 at the end of the first quarter. The second quarter saw Quebec dictating the tempo with Élodie Tessier getting a few offensive rebounds and Quebec putting up some solid defense. A steal from Cindy Ouellet resulted in Quebec taking their first lead of the game with three minutes left in the second quarter. Quebec led 25-23 at half time. An intense third quarter saw multiple lead changes, but Edmonton just pulled ahead by two points, with a score of 41-39 at the end of the third. In a decisive fourth quarter, it was back and forth until the very last minute. Cindy Ouellet took a three with 11 seconds left to try to tie the game, but just misses. As a result, Edmonton claims the gold, while Quebec settled for silver with a final score of 58-55. Arinn Young remained a powerhouse throughout the entire tournament and it was no different in the final game as she scored a team high of 21 points for Edmonton.   

“It was a hard fought game against Quebec who has four Paralympic athletes on their team,” says Karla Tritten of Edmonton Inferno. “It came down to managing emotions, being patient, and trusting your teammates.” 

It was bittersweet for Tritten as this was her last game after a 30 year career. She retires with a gold medal around her neck. 

In the bronze medal game, both the Saskatchewan Hot Wheels and the BC Breakers came out strong. It was a seesaw battle between the two clubs in the first two quarters, but Saskatchewan soared ahead in the third, leading by 24 points at the end of the quarter. BC battled to erase the deficit in the fourth quarter but Saskatchewan came out on top and secured the win with a final score of 70-48. Erica Gavel dropped a team high of 29 points for Saskatchewan, while Amanda Yan put up 14 points for BC.

The three-day tournament is co-hosted by Wheelchair Basketball Canada and BC Wheelchair Basketball Society (BCWBS) and features the top female club teams in the country. 

Final Results

1- Edmonton Inferno
2- Team Quebec
3- Saskatchewan
4- BC Breakers

MVP and All-Stars

MVP: Arinn Young (ED)

All star: Amanda Yan (BC)
All star: Katie Miyazaki (SK)
All star: Cindy Ouellet (QC)
All star: Rosalie Lalonde (QC)
All star: Elodie Tessier (QC)

Final results from today can be found here.

About BC Wheelchair Basketball Society
The BC Wheelchair Basketball Society (BCWBS) is the provincial sports’ governing body which provides support to wheelchair basketball programs throughout BC. BCWBS’s mission is to provide experiences that inspire inclusion, participation and excellence through wheelchair basketball.

About Wheelchair Basketball Canada
Wheelchair Basketball Canada is the national sport governing body responsible for the organization of the sport in Canada. It is a non-profit, charitable organization that is committed to excellence in the development, support and promotion of wheelchair basketball programs and services for all Canadians from grassroots to high performance. Wheelchair basketball is a fast-paced, hard-hitting, competitive sport in which Canada is held in high esteem around the world for winning a combined six gold, one silver, and one bronze medal in the last seven Paralympic Games. For more information, please visit www.wheelchairbasketball.ca.

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