OTTAWA, ONT. (August 12, 2025) – Team Canada is headed to the semifinals at the IWBF Americas Cup following a convincing 78-20 win over Mexico on Tuesday afternoon in Bogotá, Colombia.
The Senior Women’s National Team (SWNT) will take on the United States on Wednesday at 4:15 p.m. EDT / 1:15 p.m. PDT.
Arinn Young led the way with 31 points, 13 rebounds, and nine assists. Mercy Nyakundi chipped in 15 points, three rebounds, and two assists off the bench, while Élodie Tessier added 14 points and eight assists.
“I think our mindset has been to play our best game, control the pace and make sure we’re pushing our hardest the whole 40 minutes,” said Rosie Long, who had two assists in the win.
Team Canada shot 35 of 62 from the field in the victory and converted 31 points off Mexican turnovers. Defensively, the SWNT limited Mexico to 21 per cent shooting on Tuesday afternoon.
“In our defensive end, we’ve been working on foreseeing the last-minute outside shots,” Long added. “We’ve been working on refining our chair contact and communicating our switches – a lot of little things.
“I think throughout the week they’ve got a lot better and hopefully it’s successful against the States.”
Canada led from start to finish, holding a 58-16 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
A 25-2 run in the second quarter powered the SWNT to a 42-8 halftime advantage. Young led all scorers with 25 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists, while Elise Froese added seven points off the bench. Canada turned Mexican turnovers into 27 points before the break.
On the defensive end, Canada held Mexico to just 22 per cent shooting from the field.
The SWNT jumped out to a 17-6 lead after the opening quarter, fueled by 11 points off turnovers. Young had nine points, three rebounds, and three assists in the first 10 minutes, while
Tessier contributed four points and two assists in the first quarter.
Canada shot 57 per cent from the floor while limiting Mexico to just 3-of-8 shooting in the frame.
The Americas Cup is a qualification tournament for the 2026 IWBF Wheelchair Basketball World Championships, which will take place in Ottawa, Ont., from Sept. 9–19, 2026.
In the women’s division, the top two teams will secure a direct berth to Ottawa 2026, while the third- and fourth-place finishers will advance to the Repechage Tournament. On the men’s side, the top three teams will qualify, with the fourth- and fifth-place teams advancing to the Repechage.
As the host nation, Canada has already qualified for the 2026 World Championships. The SWNT captured gold at the 2022 Americas Cup, in São Paulo, Brazil.
Complete statistics from Tuesday’s quarterfinal against Mexico can be accessed here.
Select images from the 2025 IWBF Americas Cup are available through the IWBF here.
About Wheelchair Basketball Canada
Wheelchair Basketball Canada (WBC) is the national sports governing body responsible for the organization of the sport in Canada. It is a non-profit, charitable organization committed to excellence in developing, supporting, and promoting wheelchair basketball programs and services from grassroots to high performance for all Canadians. Wheelchair basketball is a fast-paced, hard-hitting, competitive sport in which Canada is held in high esteem worldwide for winning six gold, one silver, and one bronze medal over the last nine Paralympic Games. WBC will host the 2026 IWBF Wheelchair Basketball World Championships from September 9-19, 2026.
For more information on WBC, please visit Wheelchairbasketball.ca, or follow along via social media on Facebook, X, and Instagram.
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Media Contact
Dhiren Mahiban
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Wheelchair Basketball Canada
C: 416-574-6682
dmahiban@wheelchairbasketball.ca