U.S. Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Team Wins World Championship

The U.S. women’s wheelchair basketball team secured their place as world champions, claiming their first title since 2010 at the quadrennial world championships. They overcame host nation Canada with a narrow 77-76 victory in the final held in Ottawa last Saturday.

With the scores level, Courtney Ryan’s crucial free throw with 20.8 seconds on the clock gave the U.S. a slender lead. Canada failed to convert their subsequent shot, and despite Ixhelt Gonzalez missing two free throws with 5.1 seconds remaining, Canada could not manage a shot in their final possession.

Lindsey Zurbrugg was the standout performer, amassing 26 points, while Rose Hollermann and Courtney Ryan contributed 17 points each. Ryan narrowly missed a triple-double, tallying nine assists and eight rebounds.

After their gold medal win at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games, the U.S. team took bronze in Tokyo and silver in Paris. The world championship team boasted 11 experienced Paralympic players, including Hollermann and Becca Murray, veterans from the 2016 champion team. A fresh face in the squad was 18-year-old Arelle Middleton, who has a background in Paralympic track and field and won a silver medal in the F64 shot put at the 2024 Games.

The U.S. team’s victory ends the Netherlands’ recent dominance, as they won the last two world and Paralympic titles. The Dutch team was defeated by Canada in the semifinals.

In the men’s wheelchair basketball tournament, Australia is set to face Italy in the final on Saturday at 4:45 p.m. ET, streamed live on Peacock. The U.S. men’s team, previous winners of the last three Paralympic titles, faced an unexpected defeat against Germany in the quarterfinals. Nevertheless, the U.S. men’s team has earned medals in each of the past 13 World Championships since 1975.

The U.S. wheelchair rugby team will also enter the Los Angeles Paralympics as reigning world champions, aiming for their first Paralympic title in this sport since 2008.