Former Simon Fraser University star Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe shared a gold medal with Canada’s women’s basketball team at the Pan Am Games on Monday.
The national women’s team upset the United States 81-73 to win Canada’s first-ever basketball gold at the Games. The women’s previous best was a silver medal in Winnipeg in 1999.
Kia Nurse, who earlier in the season won an NCAA Division I title the University of Connecticut, led the Canadian team with 33 points.
Canada was a perfect 5-0 at the Games, including a pool-topping performance during the preliminary round against Venezuela, Argentina and Cuba.
The Canadian women breezed into the Games final with a 91-63 victory over Brazil in the semifinals.
In the final, Canada led by as many as 17 points after opening the first quarter trailing the U.S. 23-13.
Playing in front of a sellout crowd of 3,300 flag-waving fans at Ryerson University’s Mattamy Athletic Centre, Canada took an 11-point lead into the final quarter.
Raincock-Ekunwe scored 11 points and added four rebounds in the opening one-sided 101-38 win over Venezuela.
The former Great Northwest Conference player of the year added eight points in a 15-point win over Argentina and went three-for-four from the free-throw line in a narrow 71-68 victory over Cuba to top Pool B.
In the semifinals, Raincock-Ekunwe chipped in with seven points, including five-of-six from the charity stripe, and three rebounds for Canada.
While with the Clan, Raincock-Ekunwe set a conference record 61 double-doubles in her university career and finished her senior year ranked first in NCAA Div. II with a 66.1 field goal percentage.
Next month, Canada’s women’s team can earn a berth into the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro through a qualifying tournament in Edmonton.
