Canadian women's wheelchair basketball team books ticket to Paralympics after routing Algeria
Dandeneau leads way for Canada with 24 points in 88-30 victory in final eliminator
Canada's women's wheelchair basketball team is Paris bound.
The group punched its ticket to the 2024 Paralympics by routing Algeria 88-30 on Friday at a qualifying tournament in Osaka, Japan.
Kady Dandeneau, of Pender Island, B.C., led the way for Canada, scoring 24 points while collecting nine rebounds and eight assists in the lopsided victory.
St. Albert, Alta., native Arinn Young contributed 15 points off the bench, while starting point guard Cindy Oulette, of Quebec City, chipped in with 14 points and six assists of her own.
WATCH | Canada's women's wheelchair basketball squad advances to Paralympics:
"We got the job done today in qualifying for Paris," Canadian coach Michèle Sung said in a release. "This group has been through a lot in the last year, and it speaks to who they are that they let me come in on short notice and lead them. They have worked hard to reach this point, and now the next phase begins."
The victory followed consecutive blowout wins over Japan (81-44) and Spain (77-49).
"We came to Osaka with the task of winning all our games, and we accomplished that," Ouellet said. "This repechage tournament was a full team effort. We're ready to get back to work on some aspects of our game this summer to arrive ready for Paris 2024."
Algeria competed at the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021, but lost all five games it played to finish in last place with a point differential of minus-253.
The qualification tournament followed the same format as the recently completed men's qualifier, in which teams play three games to determine seeding and matchups for a do-or-die qualification game. Canada's men went 0-3 before stunning previously unbeaten Italy to book their ticket to Paris.
The Paris Paralympics get underway on Wednesday, August 28 and run until Sunday, September 8.
WATCH | Full replay of Canada vs. Algeria:
