Wolfram helps Canada to bronze medal
Emma Wolfram of Kamloops grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds in Canada’s bronze-medal clinching 84-77 win over Japan at the International Basketball Federation Under-17 World Championship in Amsterdam on Sunday, Aug. 26.
“I am so excited,” said Wolfram, a towering forward. “We won because of teamwork, defensive transition adjustments and overall resiliency.
“This whole experience has allowed me to see so many great players from around the world and has motivated me to go back home and get to work.”
The win marked the first time Canada has medalled at a women’s world championship age-group event.
“Unbelievable effort . . . we got down but did not quit,” Canadian head coach Carly Clarke said.
“This group has been resilient the entire time we’ve been together and today was another great example of that.”
Wolfram, a South Kamloops Titan, added 15 points in the win, second in team scoring to Emily Potter, who netted 17.
Japan trailed by one point, 72-71, with six minutes to play, but the Canadians pulled away in the stretch run.
The Kamloops product sparked her team with a strong performance in the paint.
“As we have all tournament, we got meaningful contributions from all 12 players on the team,” Clarke said.
“This was a great group of people and players to work with and I look forward to watching them continue to develop over the years.”
The 6-foot-5 Wolfram was a star at the B.C. AAA senior girls’ basketball championship final in North Vancouver, where South Kam won gold in March.
COMMENTS
Let's keep comments:
We ask that all participants own their words by logging in with their Facebook account. It's a simple process that will take seconds and helps keep our comments free of trolls, cranks, and “drive-by” commenters.
We reserve the right to remove comments from anyone using screen names, pseudonyms or false identities. Please see our FAQ if you have questions or concerns about using Facebook to comment.