UA Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Team player Stephanie Wheeler in action for the U.S. National Team at the Parapan Games in Brazil.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – With the help of four University of Alabama players on the national team, the U.S. Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Team won their first gold medal at the 2007 Parapan American Games.

The U.S. team took the gold by defeating Canada 50-44 at the Parapan Games on Saturday, Aug. 18 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

UA Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Team players on the U.S. team included Stephanie Wheeler of Norlina, N.C., Desiree Miller of Monroe, Wash., Mary Allison Milford of Magnolia, Ark., and Alana Nichols of Farmington, N.M.

In the gold medal competition game, UA’s Wheeler scored 10 points and pulled down six rebounds; she also had four assists, three steals and played all 40 minutes.

“We struggled offensively the whole game, but we were able to maintain the intensity on defense and forced them to make 31 turnovers,” said U.S. head coach Ron Lykins of Stillwater, Minn. “In the past, this is the kind of game we would have lost. But, we’re starting to get mentally tough, and we were able to hang in there. It’s been a long time since we’ve struggled on offense against Canada and still been able to pull off the win,” he added.

The U.S. team’s defense helped provide the team with a spark on offense throughout the tournament. The U.S. team was able to maintain a small lead through the first three quarters and then blew open a 13-point lead with seven minutes remaining in the game. However, in just a two-and-a-half minute span in the middle of the fourth quarter, Canada closed the gap to four points, 43-39. But, a clutch jumper from UA’s Wheeler with 3:25 to go put the U.S. team back in control by six, and with time winding off the clock, Canada was forced to start fouling.

“We’re a young group, but this is a good team that showed me that they play with a lot of mental toughness,” said Lykins. “They know how to play, they play hard, they play smart, and they play together. It takes a lot of character to hang tough when things aren’t going your way and then to eventually will things to go your way, like this team did to win a gold medal.”

The UA Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Team finished the 2006-2007 season with a record of 21-9 and a final national ranking of third. They will resume play for the 2007-2008 collegiate season this semester.

The University of Alabama, a student-centered research university, is in the midst of a planned, steady enrollment growth with a goal of reaching 28,000 students by 2010. This growth, which is positively impacting the campus and the state's economy, is in keeping with UA's vision to be the university of choice for the best and brightest students. UA, the state's flagship university, is an academic community united in its commitment to enhancing the quality of life for all Alabamians.