ESP/CAN - Ndour dominates Canada, dreams of gold

PUERTO MONTT (2011 FIBA U19 World Championship for Women) - A good thing happened to Spanish women's basketball when Senegalese born centre Astou Ndour moved to Spain to play as a junior with Gran Canaria.

The 193cm beanpole, with the longest arms at the FIBA U19 World Championship for Women, was a very raw prospect in need of development, but in Spain's Quarter Final against the Canada, Ndour showed she is developing very nicely.

"I was ready for this game. I have been working hard, so right now I feel ready for everything!" Ndour said after she scored 19 points, dragged down 8 rebounds and blocked 4 shots in her country's 69-55 win over the previously undefeated North Americans.

Of course, her journey to basketball stardom started long before she boarded the plane for the Canary Islands. "My father was a basketball player so I have been playing since I was very young," she said. "I would play on the street, at the school, it didn't matter, I would play anywhere!"

"I always liked blocking shots because I have always been tall," she added with a laugh.

Ndour's tournament started slowly, scoring in double figures just once in her first four games, but in Spain's last three outings she has averaged 17 ppg and 10 rpg, and been a dominant force in the paint.

Not surprisingly, Spain's turnaround has followed Ndour's, but she modestly thinks it is the other way around. "The team is working together and I am working very hard myself at practice, and this is why I think I am improving," she said, before adding that her role is a simple one.

"I defend, get the rebound and then run to get on the fast break."

Canada coach Rich Chambers thought that Ndour, a debutante for Spain, was the difference in the game. "She played great and we couldn't box her out the entire game. Spain did a great job today and they just beat us up physically," he said.

Chambers thinks they can go all the way. "They could have finished first in their group. They lost to France by two, led by six points against Australia late and blew it, and only lost to Brazil by a few. I think they could win the whole tournament."

Astou Ndour thinks so too. "I am dreaming about it!" she said with a wide smile.



FIBA