The women are gold at home.
The last time The Record spoke with Kim Gaucher of Mission, the Canadian captain had just claimed the gold with the women’s team at the Pan Am Games in Toronto.
This week, basketball fans were talking about the national team’s win at the FIBA Americas and the punching of their ticket to next year’s Olympics in Rio.
“It is kind of exactly as I had dreamed,” said Gaucher to the CBC following the win against Cuba on Sunday. “The crowd was chanting Rio at the end of the game and I was trying to hold back tears and keep composed because there was still 90 seconds left to play. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and man, we had a lot of fun.”
The Canadians defeated Cuba 82-66 in the gold medal game at Edmonton’s Saville Community Sports Centre.
The women’s national team finished the tournament undefeated, and beat Brazil, 83-66, on Saturday, to advance to the final.
This was Canada’s second FIBA Americas title, they had previously claimed gold at the 1995 tournament held in Hamilton.
Brazil, the U.S., Serbia and Australia have also qualified for the 2016 Olympics.
