Inferno small bannerBlog brings basketball star home
(taken from the July 22, 2006 St. Albert Gazette)
By Jeff Hansen
Staff Writer		    

After two long years Canada is back on top of the world in women’s wheelchair basketball.Jennifer Krempien

The return to glory culminated in last week’s 58-50 triumph against the United States at the Gold Cup world championship in Amsterdam, Holland.

“Going into the final we were very excited but at the same time calm and confident. We had been waiting two years for the rematch (with the United States) and it was well worth the hard work and wait,” said co-captain Jennifer Krempien of St. Albert.

“As always, to hear the anthem and see the Maple Leaf flag a bit higher than the Stars and Stripes makes the years of chin ups, bench presses, shooting practices, scrimmages and games worth every drop of sweat.”

At the 2004 Paralympic games in Athens, the United States shocked the tree-time defending gold medallists with a 17-point margin of victory in the semifinals. The United States went on to win gold and Canada settled for bronze.

“The loss in Athens was devastating but we decided what it would take to regain our number one ranking. We implemented those changes and had success,” said Krempien, a starting guard who excels defensively.

“We wanted to show the other teams what this team is made of.”

Canada had been ranked No.1 in the world following its 1992 Paralympic victory. It was the same year Krempien cracked the national team roster.

“In 15 years of international play, we have only lost one game in the world championships or Paralympics and I’m most proud of that accomplishment,” she said. “It’s easy to win anything once, but to win with different teammates, coaches and circumstances takes a bit more heart and desire.”

During her tenure on the national team, Canada celebrated Gold Cup victories in 1994 in England, 1998 in Australia and 2002 in Japan.

“This was the most rewarding major win for myself and our team,” said the all-star team selection at guard at the 1998 and 2002 Gold Cups.

“This tournament was the best we have ever played as a team. For the first time in my 15 years on the national team we were playing a structured five player offence with a tenacious defence.”

In the round robin Canada posted convincing wins of 78-28 against Mexico, 71-35 against France and 52-37 against Australia, the silver medallists at the 2004 Paralympics.

“We were determined not to give any team a glimmer of hope. Teams always seem to bring their best game when they play us and in the past we may have played at the other team’s level for a quarter or two. We were connected as a team and we were all very determined to achieve our goal together.”

In the playoffs Canada knocked off the Netherlands 64-35, but needed double overtime to beat the tenacious Germans 68-63. “It was the game of the tournament. Not a pretty game but a battle,” Krempien said. “We overcame an eight-point deficit in the first quarter to have a see-saw match for the remainder of the game.”

Krempien logged 49 minutes in the marathon affair. Danielle Peers of Edmonton led all scorers with 27 points in 50 minutes on the floor. Peers played high school basket ball with the Paul Kane Blues in the mid-1990s.

Canada led by one point at halftime, but fell behind by four after three quarters. In the last minute of regulation time Canada needed four points to knot the score. Down by two at 49-47 with 14 seconds left, Canada called a timeout. When play resumed, Canada had the ball at centre and executed a textbook weave inbound play for captain Chantal Benoit to finish with a layup to force overtime.

“The fourth quarter was a battle of wills, but once we made it to the overtime we had complete confidence that we would win the game,” said Krempien, a member of the Edmonton Inferno, the three-time defending Canadian Wheelchair Basketball League champions.

The first overtime quarter was deadlocked at eight points. Canada outscored the Germans 11 to six in the second extra frame.

The final marked the fourth Gold Cup victory by Canada over the United States. It was 19-13 Canada after the first quarter and 30-26 at halftime.

“After the first few minutes of play we had the lead and would not relinquish it,” Krempien said. “The score was a bit closer in the end because of a three-point shot that went in at the buzzer for the USA and we missed quite a few uncontested layups.”

Krempien played the small forward position in the final.

“We changed our style of play to mirror the USA attack and defence and we beat them at their own game,” said the Paul Kane High School alumnus.

Benoit led all players in the final with 21 points. Peers chipped in with 20.

Krempien was scoreless in the playoffs. Her best game offensively was two field goals during a 2-for-6 shooting effort in 25 minutes of action against the Netherlands.

“I was happy with my game offensively throughout the tournament. I’m still working at playing the point position and learning that role. Scoring opportunities were certainly there but I need to continue to improve my shooting percentage and consistency.”

In wheelchair basketball Krempien is classified as a 1.0 player because of her spinal cord injure. Classifications range form 1.0 (high disability) to 4.5 (minimal disability), based on the player’s level of ability. The five players on the court per team cannot exceed 14 points. Peers suffers from muscular dystrophy and her classification is 4.5.

The next major international competition for Canada is the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing, China. It will be Krempien’s fifth Paralympics.
hansen@stalbert.greatwest.ca
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