Team co-captain Patty Cisneros will look to lead the U.S. Women's Wheelchair Basketball Team to a berth in the 2008 Paralympic Games.

This competition serves as the Americas Zone wheelchair basketball teams’ sole opportunity to qualify for the 2008 Paralympic Games. The United States must finish in the top-four to earn a berth at the Games in Beijing, China. Also vying for spots will be U.S. archrival Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and El Salvador.

“Our team feels good, very confident,” said Stephanie Wheeler (Norlina, N.C./Tuscaloosa, Ala.). “We’re working out some kinks in the first practices, but we came here to qualify for Beijing and win a gold medal, and we feel very sure of ourselves and our abilities to get both of those things accomplished.”

The United States enters the tournament ranked second in the world following a silver-medal finish at the 2006 Wheelchair Basketball World Championships in Amsterdam. The U.S. will face its toughest competition from Canada, which won the gold medal at Worlds. 

In the short time they have been in Rio, the women’s wheelchair basketball athletes have found that the staff, venues and accommodations at the Parapan Ams are a few of the things that won’t be keeping them from performing at their best.

“Brazil has done a great job with this competition,” said team co-captain Patty Cisneros (Lake Station, Ind./Scottsdale, Ariz.). “Every aspect of the Parapan American Games is high-caliber and we’re all very impressed. It’s like being at a mini-Paralympics and everything is on the mark.”

When the team takes to the court for its first game on Monday, Aug. 13, it will be stocked with a strong core of veterans, but also will feature three athletes making their international debut. Lorraine Gonzales (Winnsboro, Texas/Ft. Worth, Texas), Desiree Miller (Monroe, Wash./Tuscaloosa, Ala.) and Becca Murray (Germantown, Wisc.) are all making their first appearance with the U.S. squad and head coach Ron Lykins (Stillwater, Minn.) says their main challenge will be not to get caught up in the excitement that surrounds a competition of this caliber.

“Playing in front of a crowd, distractions in the village and the fun of meeting new athletes from other countries are all things that make competing at this level really enjoyable, but they’re also external factors that can make an athlete or a team lose focus,” Lykins said.

“This whole experience is pretty amazing,” said Murray, the youngest member of the team at 17 years old. “The game is a lot faster and more competitive at this level, so that’s something that I’m getting used to.  But it’s all been fun so far.”

This will be the first official Parapan American Games competition for the U.S. women’s wheelchair basketball team since it captured the silver medal in Mexico City in 1999. At the 2003 Games in Mar del Plata, the women’s wheelchair basketball program was cancelled due to a lack of teams and the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation handed the U.S., Canada and Mexico the three bids to the 2004 Paralympic Games. However, those three countries, along with Brazil, petitioned the Parapan American Games organizers to hold an unofficial, developmental tournament in order to give up-and-coming athletes the opportunity to gain international playing experience and to be seen by international classifiers. The United States took a group of seven athletes to Argentina for that competition and finished second to Canada.