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Canada tops U.S. to win first basketball gold

Team Canada defeated Team US 7-6 in extra innings to win gold at the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto on Sunday. “We were so loud”. “We belted that. Pride”. And yet, it was easy to admire – again, like the team.

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The U.S. now leads the medal tally with 169 including 65 golds, Canada is sitting second with 55 golds out of 148 medals while Brazil is third with 102 medals including 30 golds.

Pitcher Sarah Hudek, of the United States, throws during a women’s baseball game against Venezuela at the Pan Am Games Monday, July 20, 2015, in Ajax, Ontario. “I just tried to play unconsciously and that’s when I’m usually at my best”, she said. “It’s a little deeper 3-point line than we’re used to as collegians, so that hurt us a little bit”.

Now, Langlois is hoping Canada can carry the momentum from this tournament to Edmonton for FIBA Americas Women’s basketball championships and Olympic Qualifier.

For those who have already won Olympic medals, it has been an opportunity to triumph at home. Chudoba will be part of the team after finishing in the top 10 at the 2015 ISSF World Cup in Acapulco, Mexico.

Even if they are successful at stopping Kanye from closing the games, Canadians will still have to deal with the fact that Pitbull is scheduled to perform.

Men’s baseball and women’s softball were cut from the Olympics after the 2008 Games in Beijing.

Canada’s women’s basketball team made history Monday night, and salvaged the country’s gold-medal streak in the process. Soccer inherently is a game more prone to upsets, since there are far fewer goals, and thus more chances for randomness.

“To me, she looks like Canada’s point guard, like the leader she should be”, said Chantal Valee, who coached Langlois for five years at the University of Windsor. The women will play the defending champion United States on Wednesday.

Bowling fan or not, that’s just how she rolls. Both players dove on the floor for a loose ball. She was later knocked out of the game after she had a head on head collision with Nurse.

In addition to the gold medal, Nurse acknowledged she left the court with something else: bragging rights when she returns to UConn next season. “I’m just going to have to earn their respect”. “I chugged a Powerade – that must have helped”. “It was an incredible game”.

“It’s pretty awesome”, Langlois said of the Pan American experience where she’s gotten plenty of support from family and friends. “She’s like that. She wants to be ideal”.

There is knowledge that Canada will have to take a leap if they are going to contend for a medal in Brazil. Nirra Fields, 21, the other member of Canada’s young, dynamic backcourt duo chipped in nine points.

There is reason to believe, though, that Canada will be rising along with it.

Nathalie Achonwa, a 22-year-old forward from Guelph, Ont., who starred for Notre Dame during her stellar NCAA career, and who now plays in the WNBA, unveiled her powerful inside moves in the second half.

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“So, out here, it was a big physical struggle to get touch by touch, most importantly, I kept my cool, I didn’t freak out”. “This is a huge tournament to do that at. (Analyzing) the depth of competition can be quite valuable for us, using it as a benchmark for where we stand heading into Rio”.

Hoopin and hollerin: Canada claims basketball gold against the U.S. Monday night