Dandeneau scores 49 points, leading unbeaten Canadian wheelchair basketball women to world semis

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, advances to Thursday’s semifinals. It reached the quarterfinals at the last world championships in Dubai in 2023, placing fifth.

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. 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 Olympics.

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.

Canadian wheelchair basketball women win 5th straight, capture Group A

Canadian women