CANADA’S TWIN TOWERS
Edmonton’s Plouffe sisters offer hoops team size, bench strength
They’ve been together since before they were even born, so it’s not too surprising that Katherine and Michelle Plouffe needed a bit of a break from each other.
“We had to go to different colleges because we were sick of each other a little bit,” Michelle says. “Now we’re best friends.”
The Plouffe sisters are identical twins and members of Canada’s Olympic women’s basketball team.
While they didn’t see much action in Monday’s thrilling 71-67 comeback win over Serbia — Katherine played 12:54 and scored two points, while Michelle didn’t leave the bench — the Plouffes are in a unique situation.
Very few people get the chance to compete in the Olympics, fewer with a sibling and fewer still with an identical twin.
“It’s pretty unusual,” says Katherine, who is playing in her first Olympics, while Michelle was also in London in 2012. “There are some siblings and cousins here, but for us it’s even more special than that. We are definitely grateful for the opportunity.”
Standing 6-foot-3, the 23-yearolds from Edmonton have provided some size and bench strength for Team Canada during the summer months over the last few years while attending U.S. colleges: Katherine went to Marquette, Michelle to Utah.
“It was good to be apart and have our own games develop differently,” Katherine says. “It’s been really cool to watch her grow and become such a versatile player. We’re still close and definitely going to different colleges helped that. When you are together all the time, you don’t have your own identities.
“It’s not that we didn’t like each other, but it was good for our personal growth and it definitely helped our games, too.”
The sisters played together in high school — Katherine was the point guard and Michelle the shooter — and find themselves on the court together occasionally with the national team. Their games are different, and they play different positions, but with the same body type they aren’t always called upon to play at the same time by coach Lisa Thomaidis.
“Obviously I play centre and she plays more of a small forward/wing position,” Katherine says. “It depends on game flow, but we like playing with each other and hopefully we can play together more.”
From a family of five siblings, the Plouffes have an older sister named Andrea Mwumba, who played basketball at Washington. Their parents, Daryl and Laurie, are here to watch them play in the Olympic arena.
“You can’t wipe the smiles off our faces right now,” Laurie told Postmedia before leaving for Rio. “We’re so incredibly proud of them. Anytime anyone asks me about them ... I’m just beaming. I know how hard they’ve worked to achieve this dream together.”
Their parents were in the building as Canada won a big game Monday and they’ll have a chance to see more from a team that is threatening to make some noise here. The Canadians should draw a favourable quarter-final matchup and could have a chance to play for a medal.
If it happens, it will be just one more magical moment for the twins and their family.
“It definitely is amazing to be able to play on this team with my best friend,” Michelle says. “Our biggest support system is each other so it’s been really cool the last few summers. It’s really special and we don’t take it for granted.”