Carleton Among World’s Elite

Chatham’s Bridget Carleton is not just playing among the World’s top players at the FIBA U17 World Championships in the Czech Republic, she is one of the best of the best.

Carleton was Canada’s leading scorer in their opening two games, a 76-73 overtime loss to Hungary and a 68-47 win over Korea.

In the opening game against Hungary, Carleton poured in 20-points, and was also the top Canadian for rebounds with 8, and assists with 3.

In game two against Korea, Carleton continued to shine, scored a game high 14-points, and added 5 rebounds.

“I was pleased with our start tonight,” said Canadian head coach Carly Clarke in a Canada Basketball news release. “We executed the game plan which was developed because we knew we would face pressure and zone defense. It is nice to get a win and to gain some confidence as we move forward. Tonight all players contributed to the win. Now we focus on playing the host country, the Czech Republic, in a packed house on Canada Day.”

Carleton, a John McGregor Secondary School student, who played club basketball this year for the JUEL’s London Ramblers, is among the tournament’s top five in most statistical categories, sitting as one of the best players in the world in her age.

Canada’s Cadette team, who is now 1-1, will play the Czech Republic Tuesday to finalize their position heading into Wednesday’s playoff round. All teams advance to the playoff.