Winnipeg's Bill Johnson Helps Lead Canadian Women to World Wheelchair Basketball Gold

(Toronto, Ont.) Team Canada upset reigning Paralympic champion Germany 54-50 to seize the world crown at the 2014 Women’s World Wheelchair Basketball Championship on Saturday at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto, Ont. With the win, Canada captured its fifth gold medal in team history and seventh consecutive podium finish at the world championship.


The Canadian women are also back atop the podium after a most recent sixth place finish at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

“Coming from sixth place in London back to the podium, that’s what we talked about and I don’t think a lot of people had faith that we could move that high up in the rankings, but the team believed that we could and we bought into a common goal,” said Team Canada veteran and Toronto native Tracey Ferguson.

Canada entered the final with a 6-1 record, with the lone loss coming at the hands of the undefeated Germans. The championship game featured multiple lead changes as momentum swung back and forth like a pendulum with both teams keeping pace on the scoreboard.

The Germans managed a one-point lead, 12-11, after the opening 20 minutes of the tightly contested game. Canada countered in the second frame, outscoring Germany 14-10 to take a 25-22 lead at halftime. After a close third quarter, Canada maintained the three-point edge for a 39-36 advantage. With the hometown crowd on their side, Canada found an extra gear to extend its lead to eight points with 2:44 remaining in the game. Germany came back to within two, but sent Canadian Cindy Ouellet to the free throw line twice in the dying seconds of the match and she converted in the clutch to put the game out of reach.

"It’s amazing to win at home with our friends and family here"
“It was an awesome team win,” said Ouellet, a native of Quebec City, Que. “We followed the game plan and came out winners in the end. It’s amazing to win at home with our friends and family here.”

Ouellet tied for the team scoring lead with 15 points in the game for the Canadian side, to go with 11 assists. Janet McLachlan, of Vancouver, B.C., also posted 15 points and 19 rebounds. Both delivered with big game performances, picking up double-doubles. Teammates Katie Harnock, of Elmira, Ont., and Ferguson wrapped up a solid tournament with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Marina Mohnen had 20 points for Germany to go along with six rebounds and four assists.

McLachlan, Harnock and Ouellet all finished amongst the top ten point producers in the tournament.

Canada will strive to build off of the momentum created by a successful run at the world championship when it competes on home soil once again next summer at the Toronto 2015 Parapan American Games, which acts as the qualification tournament for the next Paralympic Summer Games in Rio in 2016.

The Netherlands defeated the United States 74-58 to bring home the bronze medal.

With the conclusion of the 2014 Women’s World Championship, Canada is the first nation to host all four of the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) world championships, including the men’s event in 1994, the inaugural junior men’s tournament in 1997, and the first-ever junior women’s event in 2011.

The tournament was the largest women’s world championship in history, featuring teams from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Peru and the United States.

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Team Canada

Bill Johnson

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  Hometown: Winnipeg, MB Residence: Winnipeg, MB Born: November 16, 1973 Height: 6' 2" Coaching since: 1997 On the National Team since: 2003

  
  

  
  Bill Johnson inherited the role of chief bench boss in 2009, after serving as an assistant coach with the team for three seasons. Prior to that, he served as an assistant coach with the Men's National Team, as well as the Junior National Team in 2001.

  At the domestic level, Johnson has earned numerous accolades as Head Coach of the Manitoba Men's (2001-Present) and Women's Teams (1997-1999) from the Manitoba Wheelchair Sports Association (MWSA), including three Merit Awards, two Coaching Recognition Awards for "Exceptional Coaching Contribution", and two "Volunteer of the Year" awards.

  In 2006-2007, the Canadian Wheelchair Basketball Association named Johnson "Coach of the Year," acknowledging his strong technical background and proven knack for planning and preparing for success. He was also a finalist for the Stephan Dubuc Memorial Award in 2004 as the "Developmental Coach of the Year."
  
  Most recently, Johnson was named the winner of the Peter Williamson Memorial Award at the 2012 Coaching Manitoba Excellence Awards, an award that honours coaches who work with high performance athletes that compete at the national or international level.

  Currently, the Winnipeg native is charged with the task of getting Canada's Women's Wheelchair Basketball Team back to the top of the world rankings, following nearly unparalleled international success from 1990 to 2008 in which they won nine straight podium finishes at major international competitions, including gold medals at the 1992, 1996, and 2000 Paralympic Games and at the 1994, 1998, 2002, and 2006 World Championships.

  Johnson has a Kinesiology degree from the University of Winnipeg and is a NCCP Level 3 Certified Coach in both wheelchair and stand-up basketball. His brother Joey Johnson is a star player with the Men's National Team, while his sister Mandy also coaches wheelchair basketball in Manitoba.
  
  Johnson is an innovative coach that combines excellent inter-personal skills with a strong technical background making him as approachable as he is knowledgeable.

  Major International Competition (Head Coach):

  Tournament	Gold Medals	Silver Medals	Bronze Medals	Other
  # of Paralympic Games competed in: 1	-	-	-	6th ('12)
  # of World Championships competed in: 1	-	-	1 ('10)	-

  
  

  Competitive Experience (Head Coach):  

  2012: 2nd place at Osaka Cup in Osaka, Japan (Team Canada)... 3rd place at North American Cup in Birmingham, Alabama (Team Canada)... 2nd place at Papendal Tournament in Arnhem, Netherlands (Team Canada)... 6th place at Paralympic Games in London, Great Britain (Team Canada)...

  2011: 2nd place at Parapan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico (Team Canada)... 3rd place at 2011 Osaka Cup in Osaka, Japan (Team Canada)... 4th place at BT Paralympic Cup in Manchester, UK (Team Canada)...

  2010: 3rd place at World Championships in Manchester, UK (Team Canada)... 1st place at 2010 BT Paralympic Cup in Manchester, UK (Team Canada)... 3rd place at Osaka Cup in Osaka, Japan (Team Canada)...

  2009: 4th place at Invitational Tournament in Ottawa, Canada (Team Canada)... 3rd place at Osaka Cup in Osaka, Japan (Team Canada)...

  2007: 2nd place at National Championships with Team Manitoba in Winnipeg, MB (domestic)… 5th place at Canada Games with Team Manitoba in Whitehorse, YT (domestic)...

  2006: 3rd place at National Championships with Team Manitoba in Kitchener, ON (domestic)…

  2005: 3rd place at National Championships with Team Manitoba in Edmonton, AB (domestic)…

  2004: 2nd place at National Championships with Team Manitoba in Vancouver, BC (domestic)…

  2003: 1st place at CWBL Open Finals with the Winnipeg Thunder in Winnipeg, MB (domestic)… 5th place at Canada Games with Team Manitoba in Bathurst/Campbellton, NB (domestic)... 

  2002: 1st place at CWBL Open Finals with the Winnipeg Thunder in Winnipeg, MB (domestic)… 

  2001: 3rd place at National Championships with Team Manitoba in Toronto, ON (domestic)…

  Competitive Experience (Assistant Coach): 

  2008: 5th place at Paralympic Games in Beijing, China (Team Canada)... 3rd place at North American Cup in Birmingham, Alabama (Team Canada)... 1st place at Good Luck Beijing Invitational Tournament in Beijing, China (Team Canada)...

  2007: 2nd place at Parapan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Team Canada)... 3rd place at 4 Nations Tournament in Sydney, Australia (Team Canada)... 1st place at Osaka Cup in Osaka, Japan (Team Canada)...
  
  2006: 3rd place at Roosevelt Cup Tournament in Warm Springs, Georgia (Team Canada)…
  
  2001: 1st place at World Junior Championships in Blumenau, Brazil (Team Canada - Jr. Men)…

  
  

For complete results and more information please visit www.2014wheelchairbasketball.com / #2014wcbasketball.




Source: http://www.wheelchairbasketball.ca/Canada_Wins_Gold_At_2014WWWBC.aspx