Canada Put in Powerful Performance in Poitiers
After impressing in their 3x3 Women's Series debut in Turin, Canada put in another robust appearance in the tour's latest stop in western France.
The team competing in the Poitiers Stop was the same as the one in their last outing, with the exception of Catherine Traer of the Carleton Ravens replacing Michelle Plouffe, who was the top scorer for Canada in Turin.
In Poitiers, Canada found themselves in the tougher of the two pools, alongside France, Belarus and the Netherlands in Pool A. The pressure looked like it was going to be on from the start, but Canada did not show any nerves after emerging victorious in a close opener to the tournament against France.
Laetitia Guapo led the scoring with nine points for France, but Katherine Plouffe was doing it all for Canada, leading with six points and playing lockdown defence, grabbing twelve rebounds. She played a big part in their 15-12 opening victory.
It was a very different story in their second pool game, where they fell behind early on to Belarus. Plouffe's close-range offence and Paige Crozon's accuracy from beyond the arc saw Canada close the gap and eventually force overtime. Belarus struck first in the added time, and continuing their great team play they got the two points they needed to put the win on the board.
A precarious group situation presented itself, where another loss could see any team in Pool A eliminated. Canada did not mess about in their final game, decimating the Netherlands 18 points to 9. With Plouffe leading once again with outstanding offence, there was nothing the Dutch could do to save themselves, as they made only one third of attempts at basket in the final game.
This second win saw Canada top Pool A and advance to the tournament's semi-finals. Little did they know they were about to see more of the Netherlands - finishing third in the pool, the Dutch went on to win their elimination game against Italy by a convincing 20 points to 13, setting up a repeat of the day one fixture.
In the semi-final itself, Katherine Plouffe was rampant once again, totalling seventeen points in the contest. The Netherlands put up more of a fight this time around, but there was no one on the team who could match Plouffe's performance, and they suffered their second straight defeat to Canada, this time by five points.
This win also earned Canada a place in the final, where they would be taking on the Czech Republic, who lost only to Poland as they finished first place in Pool B, then defeated France by a single point in the semi finals. Both finalists seeing similar yet very different results in Poitiers made for an unpredictable final match-up in Poitiers.
Like every game leading up to it, the final was a heated affair, with both Canada and the Czech Republic evenly matched both offensively and protecting the basket. Kristyna Minarovicova proving the player to beat, leading the scoring for the Czech Republic. Plouffe on the inside and Crozon on the outside kept Canada within touching distance of their opponents.
Unfortunately for them, the Czech Republic had the edge with their inside shooting, and ended the game ahead 21-19 to capture the Poitiers Stop title.
Though Canada fell short of the title, they put on an impressive and promising show in Poitiers, Katherine Plouffe finishing as the top rebounder (7.8 boards per game) and her 8.3 points per game shooting average was behind only Rae Marie D'Alie of Italy.
There are two more scheduled stops on the Women's Series tour, but it has yet to be confirmed if Canada will be making an appearance. Check back here for updates on their progress, while more information on the tour and the tournament in Poitiers can be found on the official FIBA 3x3 Website.
Picture: FIBA.com
