Kady Dandeneau and her Canadian women’s wheelchair basketball teammates are one win from playing for world championship gold for the first time since 2014.
The 36-year-old from Pender Island, B.C., dominated Japan from start to finish in Wednesday’s quarterfinal, scoring a game-high 49 points while adding 12 rebounds and eight assists in an 88-68 victory at TD Place in Ottawa.
Dandeneau was more rested than Canada’s other starting players after being ejected in the final minute of the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s victory over Great Britain in double overtime for a second unsportsmanlike foul.
Fellow forward Arinn Young, the other half of Canada’s 1-2 punch at this tournament coming off a 32-point performance against the Brits, had 30 points and 11 assists.
Canada, which captured gold in 2014 in Toronto, will face the Netherlands or Spain in a Thursday semifinal. The Canadians reached the quarterfinals at the last world championships in Dubai in 2023, placing fifth.
In Ottawa, Japan did close to within eight points at 70-62 on Mayo Hagino’s basket with 5:41 left on the clock and there was concern as Dandeneau and Young were both in foul trouble, but the Canadians answered with an 8-1 run in a little over two minutes and breezed to victory.
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Dandeneau, who left the court in the final minutes of the third quarter after committing her third foul, completed her epic performance with two free throws and 15 seconds remaining in the fourth.
The undefeated Canadians (6-0) were outscored by Japan (2-4) in the second and third quarters and a chunk of the fourth before pulling away late.
Japan couldn’t recover after falling behind 26-12 after the opening quarter during which Dandeneau and Young each scored 12 points and Canada shot 64 per cent from the field . On April 17, 2024, they posted 20 points apiece in a 81-46 win over hometown Japan at a repechage tournament in Osaka, the final qualifier for the 2024 Paris Paralympics, where Canada finished fourth.
Chihiro Kitada, the 37-year-old star forward, had 25 points, 10 rebounds and four assists to lead Japan on Wednesday. She entered the contest tied for fourth in tournament scoring with 107 points and trailed only Dandeneau and Young, averaging 21.4 points per game.
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Amane Yanagimoto added 14 points, three rebounds and two assists.
Japan went on a 6-0 run early in the second quarter and trailed 26-20 before Canada scored five straight points to extend the margin to 31-20 just 75 seconds later.
The Canadians led 39-26 at the half, with Dandeneau and Young combining for 37 points. Elodie Tessier had the other two.
The Japanese were seeking to surpass their best world championship finishes of fourth in 1998 and 2002.
Silver medallists at last year’s Asia Oceania Championship, they secured the second and last direct qualification spot for Ottawa.
