It was a wild finish as the USA made a shambles of its pick-off attempt in the 10th inning, with the errant throw allowing Canada to score two runs for a hair-raising 7-6 victory in the gold-medal game Sunday night in Ajax, Ont. The winning run, by the sliding Pete Orr, came in just under the tag attempt by the USA catcher.
Advertisement
Natalie Achonwa added 13 in her first tournament with Canada since tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee a year ago. With Canada risking collapse, it was Nurse who drove into traffic and connected on a tough layup, plus a foul, to steady her team.
Nurse added six rebounds, three assists, a pair of steals and a block.
A Catholic Central highi school graduate, Langlois won four straight national titles under Vallee at Windsor before moving on to the pro ranks.
On Monday, Team US took on Venezeula in the first game of the tournament.
Moments after making history Monday night, Canada’s finest women’s basketball players stood arm in arm on the medal podium, belting out O Canada with all their might.
Canada had never won a Pan Am basketball gold, on either the men’s or women’s side. Later in the quarter, US pulled away as they led Canada 23-13 going into the second.
And Langlois is part of that rise. Cuba was within three points of Canada here, so there is obviously a chance Canada will not win the event, forcing them to a last-ditch tournament next summer.
“It’s pretty awesome”, Langlois said of the Pan American experience where she’s gotten plenty of support from family and friends.
Jesse Hodges of Victoria didn’t play quite the prominent role he did in leading Canada to the silver medal at the 2012 world junior baseball championship in South Korea, a breakout performance that got him a pro contract with the Chicago Cubs.
Canada’s success at the tournament has been built on defence and that’s a ideal fit for Langlois, who was a two-time CIS defensive player of the year.
“We wanted everyone in Canada to know about us, to get on board and love basketball as much as we do”, she said.
“A couple of times I was down, but I kept thinking ‘I can do this, I just need one more touch, okay, I got that one, I need one more.'”.
The Canadians led by as many as 17 points and took an 11-point lead into the fourth quarter.
Next season, she’s signed on to play Dynamo-Guvd Novosibirsk in the Russian Premier Basketball League.
Following the third quarter, Canada looked to close out the game strongly.
But make no mistake about it, Langlois will be the first to tell you that it has been a jump from university basketball to the pro and worldwide ranks.
“It was definitely something I didn’t imagine”, Nurse said of her star turn.
The Canadian team still has to qualify for the Olympics, with only the victor of next month’s FIBA Americas in Edmonton earning an automatic berth in the tournament next summer in Brazil.
“This is great preparation”, Langlois said.
Advertisement
She first defeated team mate and double Olympic champion Mariel Zagunis and then ended the dream of home favourite Gabriella Page in the semi-finals.
