Cold shooting ends Canada’s run
BASKETBALL: Inability to finish against France proves catastrophic in quarter-final loss
Canada’s Katherine Plouffe gathered the ball at the threepoint line with about seven minutes to go in a close quarter-final match against France.
She hesitated for a moment, then fired. It came up well short of the rim and almost landed in the arms of Kia Nurse below the basket, but she couldn’t corral it and the ball went out of bounds for a turnover.
It was emblematic of a night of missed opportunities for Canada, which came into the game on a twogame losing streak but jumped out to a quick lead that it couldn’t contain. Hot shooting turned cold. Then it turned arctic.
France made just enough shots to get the 68-63 win in a sloppy game that puts them through to the semifinal. Canada couldn’t outrun that hoariest of hoary basketball clichés: you have to make your shots.
The Canadians couldn’t crack 30 per cent shooting in the second half, and even though they played strong defence on the night, it couldn’t make up for their inability to score baskets. It was always going to be a tough game against a strong French team, but Canada couldn’t afford to make it that tough.
“I think talent-wise, we had the talent to beat France,” said Canada’s Shona Thorburn, fighting back tears.
“So, you know,” she said, trying to find the words: “It’s basketball.”
She pulled some tape from her wrist, bowed her head a little.
“It was a game that kinda came down to who made baskets at the end,” she said. “And they made a couple more than us.”
If France came into the game as the clear favourite, fourth in the FIBA world rankings to Canada’s ninth, the Canadians knew there was one possible equalizer: shooting from distance. In the first quarter, Canada almost couldn’t miss. Literally. It took until less than two minutes remained in the opening frame for the Canadians to clank a shot from the field; they ended up shooting 70 per cent from the field in the first quarter and 75 per cent from three-point range.
Those kind of numbers will almost always put you in the lead and Canada was: Miah-Marie Langlois canned a jump shot as the buzzer sounded to give the underdogs a 25-16 lead after one quarter.
But there’s a word for shooting 70 per cent over a quarter: unsustainable. Canada cooled off considerably in the second, hitting just 33 per cent of its field-goal attempts and missing all three three-point tries.
France wasn’t knocking down shots with any regularity either, shooting just 43 per cent for the first half, which allowed Canada to make it to the break with a 37-32 lead.
It was something close to an ideal start for Canada: they were outrebounded slightly, but had more assists, and although they made a pile of turnovers (10), they forced a pile of them (11), too.
Except the shooting demons did not stay exorcised. Canada opened the second half by missing its first six attempts from the field, and when France’s Sarah Michel made a desperation three-pointer from well beyond the line as time expired, the game was tied 37-37.
Meanwhile, the loaded United States team delivered a thorough 110-64 dismantling of Japan.
They will play France in the semis. It was a spot that, for a while there, looked like it would be Canada’s.
“It happens,” said Nirra Fields of the lead that went away. “It’s vital that we all learn from this.”
A few feet away, Thorburn tried to find the positives in a program that has made improvements in recent years. Women’s basketball is better off now, she said.
“We should be proud of that.”