The Best Wheelchair Basketball Game of the 2018
August 19th 2018, the third day of play at the 2018 World Wheelchair Basketball Championship in Hamburg, Germany, and Canada were to play Australia in Pool A of the women's competition. This would be one of the most unpredictable and highest-quality games of the tournament.
Australia started off well in Hamburg with a sixteen-point win over Brazil, but then faltered against the Netherlands, who nearly doubled their score the following day. Canada, meanwhile, had lost 64-56 to Great Britain but responded with a twenty-nine point win over Spain ahead of their encounter with Australia.
It was clear this was a tough group to qualify from and with a lot of uncertainty ahead, a win here would be vital and could set the victors' course for how far they might go in the tournament.
Tamara Steeves, twice in the first five minutes, put Canada up by four and restored that advantage when Georgia Munro Cook closed the gap for Australia. Arinn Young made it a five-point game by quarter's end and Australia's Annabelle Lindsay hit from the field to make it 17-14 at the buzzer.
In the second quarter, an unanswered eight-point run from Canada gave them the double-digit lead. Australia responded with an 8-0 run of their own, which brought them to within five. Kathleen Dandeneau broke the Australians' streak in the last minute, and Canada went to the locker rooms with a five-point advantage.
Cobi Crispin and Lanne Del Toso combined for a hot start to the second half for Australia, who kept getting to within one, only for Cindy Ouelett and Rosalie Lalonde to respond and keep the lead with Canada. Oulette and Arinn Young combined for an unbroken streak of seven points which put the Canadian team up by five ahead of the final period of play.
With the Australian defence preventing open looks from Canada in the fourth, Crispin was able to make it a one point game with two minutes left, in which she and Sarah Vinci put Australia up by three. Young responded with a three of her own for Canada, then Crispin and Melanie Hawtin made a free throw for their respective teams, which saw the scores tied at forty minutes.
The scores tied, the game entered overtime. Amber Merritt was first to score in the extra period and she went on to make Australia's next three baskets. Ouelett and Lalonde hit for Canada in between to keep themselves in front and Young hit six from the line in the final minute, where Australia failed to reply, and the result was final. Canada had won their heated match-up with Australia by 82 points to 74.
Australia had consolation in Cobi Crispin's 19-point, 11-rebound game while Annabelle Lindsay had 18 points off the bench. They were overshadowed by Cindy Ouelett with 21 for Canada and Arrin Young's outstanding performance of 31 points and 15 rebounds.
With a further victory over Brazil, Canada finished third in the pool with a 3-2 record while Australia, unable to find another win, went no further. They eventually finished ninth in the classification round. Canada, meanwhile, faced China in the second round but lost a close one, 63-56 and went on to finish fifth with classification wins over France and the USA.
