TORONTO— Melanie Hawtin wiped away tears. Team Canada veteran Tracey Ferguson, owner of three Paralympic gold medals, ripped by and gave a straight-faced wave to some fans who screamed her name from the stands. Fellow veteran Janet McLachlan shrugged off her team-high 27 points like it didn’t matter.
"It’s the total on the board that counts," McLachlan said.
And for the second straight Parapan Am Games, it didn’t go Canada’s way. Team USA defended its women’s wheelchair basketball title, where the total on the scoreboard Friday night in the gold medal game at Ryerson Athletic Centre — home to a raucous and near-capacity crowd — ended 80-72 in favour of the Americans.
"It was a tough game," said McLachlan, Canada’s 37-year-old centre, and the tallest member of the team. "We knew that comin’ in, that the Americans were gonna be a really great team. It was a hard-fought game both ways, and they came out on top today."
The reigning world champions, Canada entered this tournament the world No. 1 seed and playing on the same hard court where they won worlds last year, and in the same facility where Canada’s women won Pan American basketball gold and the men won silver a month earlier. This place has been really good for Canadian basketball.
And the stage was set perfectly: Canada-USA, the tournament’s two undefeated teams, the reigning world champions against the defending Parapan Am champs. These were the undisputed heavyweights. In four games in this tournament, Canada had outscored its opponents 322-136. The Americans posted even more lop-sided scores, with 336 points for and just 67 against.
The women didn’t disappoint: This was a back-and-forth, hard-hitting, tight-turn-filled contest, with both teams battling. When McLachlan drained a late three to pull Canada within four points with just over a minute left, you got the sense these Canadians weren’t going down without a fight, and the crowd here cheered every basket.
"This crowd has been fantastic, all Games long it has been absolutely amazing playing here," said McLachlan, who’s from Vancouver. "I can’t thank the fans enough for the atmosphere they’ve given us."
"The crowd tonight was crazy," added guard Cindy Ouellet, 26, from Riviere-du-Loup, Que. She finished with 18 points, including 10 in the final quarter, despite foul trouble. "It’s really great to see at home that people are embracing basketball."
Added Ouellet, whose dark brown hair was held back by a red sweat band: "It just didn’t end up like we wanted it to."
It didn’t look good for Canada early. The Americans were getting to the basket for easy lay-ups, and in the first quarter, American forward Rose Hollermann had 12 points, while the whole of Team Canada had 14.
But in the second quarter, Canada turned things around. Guard Katie Harnock drained two straight buckets and got this crowd going, especially after she tossed one over her head and in off the backboard. Harnock, who has dyed purple hair she keeps in two tight pigtail buns atop her head, doesn’t smile a lot on the court. She led Canada with 12 points, while McLachlan added 11, to give Canada a three-point lead at the half.
But Team USA came out of the gate on fire in the second half, and worked up an eight-point lead heading into the final quarter. And in that final quarter, Team USA’s leading scorer, Hollermann, scored 16 of her 37 points.
"We know where we’re at, and we’re still in a really good place," McLachlan said. "The top four, five, six, teams are all really tight and on any day any of those teams can win. And I think it puts us in a good place actually going forward, this was a tight game, it shows us areas that we have to improve on, things that we need to be better at."
Canada’s wheelchair basketball women are in the midst of a resurgence. After dominating the sport in the 90s — they won Paralympic gold in 1992, 1996 and 2000 — they were left off the podium at the last two Games. They haven’t won a medal since bronze at the 2004 Paralympics. Now their sights are set on Rio, and revenge over this loss.
"It just shows us that we need to do better, and we need to not give up," said Ouellet. "We’re still right there."
The summer of Canadian basketball continues Saturday, when the Canadian men face Team USA for Parapan Am gold. Tipoff is at 11am ET.