Achonwa on world stage

SOUTH BEND — It pierced Natalie Achonwa’s heart at Team Canada’s first
exhibition game, against China in British Columbia, when the Canadian
national women’s basketball team lined up for the pre-game ceremony.

“We all lined up, and when we sing the anthem, we all have our hands
behind each other’s backs,” said Achonwa, a junior-to-be on the Notre
Dame women’s basketball team. “The first time the anthem played, I
almost cried. I was standing there tearing. All of us, we belted it
out. We were singing at the top of our lungs. That was the first time
I’ve heard the Canadian anthem in over a year.

“Just to look down, see Canada on my chest, look up and see the flag,
and look to my right and left and see my teammates and all of us just
in the exact same moment … nothing mattered, where we were from, where
we went to school, how we got on the team, nothing mattered. Canada on
our chest, flag above us, and we were all belting the anthem … that
feeling just touched my soul. I had chills, living in that moment,
understanding that I was representing more than just myself, but
representing the entire country.”

Achonwa, a 6-foot-3 post, helped Team Canada capture its first Olympic
berth since the 2000 Games. The Canadians knocked off Argentina and
Japan in elimination games last month in Turkey to lock up the berth
in London. Canada opens play on July 28 against Russia.

“Argentina is a really aggressive team,” Achonwa said. “There was an
extra spark, we felt that day. Our losing to them the previous year
brought extra motivation. There was a fire. It was something we felt
in other games, but in all of the basketball I’ve played, I never felt
something that real. There was a lot of extra motivation against
Argentina.

“The Japan game, there was a feeling that we were never going to lose.
I’ve felt that before, sometimes. Games that are close, you battle
back and forth, it gets down to two points, but you’re thinking the
whole time, we’ve got this. I think the game against Japan was the
spirit of the team thinking we’re going to get this done, and we got
it done.”

Achonwa started off strong, averaging 11 points a game during Olympic
qualifying. After suffering injuries to her head and ankle but fought
on to finish strong with a 4.5-point average.

She averaged 7.6 points and 4.4 rebounds last season in helping Notre
Dame reach the national championship game. She hit 55.7 percent of her
field-goal attempts. Her 18-point, seven-rebound effort in the
regional championship game helped the Irish crush Maryland, 80-49, to
earn a repeat trip to the Final Four.

The 19-year-old Achonwa is the first Notre Dame women’s basketball
player (current or former) to play in the Olympics since Ruth Riley
helped the United States capture a gold medal in 2004 in Athens.

Achonwa has played a variety of roles for Team Canada.

“Sometimes coach (Allison) McNeill puts me in as the high post player
in the Princeton offense; sometimes she puts me on the outside,”
Achonwa said. “Coach mixes it up. She takes advantage of my
versatility. Sometimes I guard a post, sometimes I’m on the outside,
and I use my length. Flexibility is something I’m really bringing to
the team, and that will help me coming into the next season at Notre
Dame.”

In pointing out that the international game is different than the NCAA
competition that she has faced the past two seasons, Achonwa said that
the experience will help her build skills as she takes a leadership
role for the Irish next season.

“The international game is a lot more physical, but there are
similarities between coach McGraw and coach McNeill,” Achonwa said.
“We run Princeton, or a similar offset of Princeton, on offense. On
defense, both coaches are strong and pride themselves on defense. That
makes the transition easier. They’re both really tough and gritty
coaches on defense, and that’s what leads our team.

“I think a big thing this experience helps me with is the mental
toughness aspect. Just playing internationally, there’s so many things
that don’t go right, you could say, and just having the calmness to be
like, ‘You know what, I can only control certain things.’ ‘Control the
controllables,’ is what (coach McNeill) often says. That’s something I
can take and bring back to the team, just to bring a calmness and
assurance that everything’s going to be OK as long as we stick to what
we know and stick to the game plan.”

Achonwa said that she is confident that her Olympic experience will
payoff when she takes off Canada’s Red and White and puts on the Blue
and Gold.

“The opportunity to play year-round is great,” Achonwa said. “There’s
no preparation like game preparation. The chance to get in and compete
against different competition for the entire summer will be great.
That will help a lot when we get back in the fall at Notre Dame.”