Tamara Tatham facts for kids
Tatham with the Varsity Blues in 2023
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
| Head coach | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | August 19, 1985 Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
||||||||||||||||||||||
| High school | Chinguacousy (Brampton, Ontario) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| College | UMass (2003–2007) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| NBA Draft | 2007 / Undrafted | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pro career | 2007–2018 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coaching career | 2017–present | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| As coach: | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2020 | Toronto Varsity Blues (Assistant) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020–2024 | Toronto Varsity Blues | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Medals
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Tamara Tatham was a talented Canadian basketball player and coach. She was born on August 19, 1985. Tamara played for the Canada women's national basketball team and even competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics and 2016 Summer Olympics. She also served as the head coach for the Toronto Varsity Blues women's basketball team.
Contents
Tamara Tatham's Playing Career
Tamara Tatham started her basketball journey in college. She played for the University of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007. During her time there, she played in 115 games. She was a strong player, scoring about 10.3 points and grabbing 6.6 rebounds per game.
Playing Professionally in Europe
After college, Tamara began her professional career in 2007. She first played for Catz Lappeenranta in Finland for one season. Then, she moved to Germany and played there for five years. She played for teams like SV Halle Lions and TSV Wasserburg.
Tamara was very successful in Germany. She was named the Eurobasket.com All-German DBBL Player of the Year in 2012. She also earned the Eurobasket.com All-German DBBL Defensive Player of the Year award in 2009 and 2012.
After Germany, Tamara played in Slovakia for Piestanske Cajky starting in 2013. In her second season there, she was named the Eurobasket.com All-Slovakian Extraliga Player of the Year.
Playing in Australia and Russia
In 2015, Tamara played for Townsville Fire in the Australian WNBL league. The next year, she played in Russia for Dynamo Novosibirsk during the 2016-17 season. Her last professional season was in 2017-18. She played for USO Mondeville in the French league LFB.
Tamara Tatham's National Team Journey
Tamara Tatham was a key player for the Canada women's national basketball team. She represented her country in many big tournaments. This included the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. She also played in the 2010 and 2014 World Championships.
Pan American Games 2015 Gold Medal
Tamara was part of the Canadian team at the 2015 Pan American Games. These games were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in July 2015. Canada's team started strong, winning their first two games easily. They beat Venezuela 101–38 and Argentina 73–58.
Their final group game was against Cuba. Both teams had won all their games, so this game decided who would win the group. Canada won a close game 71–68. This meant they would play Brazil in the semifinal.
Semifinal Game Against Brazil
In the semifinal, everything went well for Canada. They started the game with an 11–2 lead. Miranda Ayim scored seven points in a row. Miah-Marie Langlois helped with five assists. In the third quarter, Canada played amazingly. They got many rebounds and made 69% of their shots, scoring 33 points.
Lizanne Murphy and Nirra Fields made three-pointers, helping Canada extend their lead to 68–39. Canada continued to play well in the fourth quarter. Kia Nurse and Kim Gaucher also made three-pointers. Canada won the game 91–63, earning a spot in the gold-medal game against the USA.
Gold Medal Game Against USA
The gold-medal game was a big event. It was Canada against the USA in a sold-out arena. The crowd was full of Canadian fans wearing red and white. The Canadian team sang Oh Canada together before the game.
The USA team took an early lead in the second quarter. But the Canadian players, cheered on by their home crowd, fought back. They managed to tie the game by halftime. In the third quarter, Canada really shined. They outscored the USA 26–15 and built a lead of up to 18 points.
The USA tried to catch up, but Canada held on to win the game 81–73. This was Canada's first gold medal in basketball at the Pan Am Games. Kia Nurse was the star of the game for Canada, scoring 33 points. Tamara Tatham also played a great game, adding ten points for her team.
Tamara Tatham's Coaching Career
In April 2021, Tamara Tatham became the head coach of the Varsity Blues women's basketball team. This team is at the University of Toronto. She had been an assistant coach since June 2017. In 2020, she became the interim head coach after Michèle Bélanger retired. After a search, the university decided that the two-time Olympian was the best choice for the head coach position.
In May 2024, the University of Toronto announced that Tamara Tatham would be leaving her role as head coach.
