Canada revealed their Phase 1 training camp ahead of September’s FIBA Women’s World Cup on Wednesday.
Coached by Lisa Thomaidis, the roster of 22 will convene in Edmonton for assessment camp beginning June 14, then enter a proper training camp June 22. They’ll play a series of three exhibition games July 4-7 against Turkey as part of the Edmonto Grad Invitational, then reconvene – likely with a trimmed roster – some time closer to September’s marquee event.
The Women’s World Cup tips off in Spain on September 22 and will see Canada, the No. 5 ranked country in the world on the women’s side by FIBA, compete with France, Greece, and South Korea in group-stage play. The top team in each pool receives a bye through the first elimination round, while the fourth-placed team is eliminated. The tournament will conclude on September 30, and the bracket is set up such that Canada can avoid the United States until the gold medal game if both teams win their respective pools. Spain, France, Australia, and Czech Republic are the other nations to watch here, although the women’s game has come along quickly enough that the second and third tiers of teams contain a number of threats.
Canada qualified for the World Cup by winning last summer’s FIBA Women’s AmeriCup tournament, the second time in a row they have won that event. Canada placed fifth in the last Women’s World CUp in 2014, their highest placement since 1986.
Here is the list of 22 for the assessment camp, which includes three current WNBA players in Kia Nurse, Natalie Achonwa, and Kayla Alexander who may not be available for the entire camp due to WNBA commitments (the WNBA regular season schedule runs through August 19, with the finals extending as late as September 16).
| Name | Position | Height | Hometown | 2017-2018 Club / School |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Natalie Achonwa* | Power Forward | 6’3″ | Guelph | Indiana Fever (WNBA) |
| Kayla Alexander* | Forward | 6’4″ | Milton, ON | Indiana Fever (WNBA) |
| Miranda Ayim | Forward | 6’3″ | London, ON | Basket Landes (France) |
| Adut Bulgak | Forward | 6’4″ | Edmonton, AB | Elitzur Ramla (Israel)/Chicago Sky (WNBA) |
| Hailey Brown | Forward | 6’1″ | Hamilton, ON | Michigan (NCAA) |
| Bridget Carleton | Guard | 6’1″ | Chatham, ON | Iowa State (NCAA) |
| Shay Colley | Point Guard | 5’9″ | Brampton, ON | Michigan State (NCAA) |
| Maurane Corbin | Forward | 6’3″ | St. Bruno, QC | Utah (NCAA) |
| Nirra Fields | Guard | 5’6″ | Lachine, QC | UNI Gyor (Hungary) |
| Abigail Fogg | Centre | 6’4″ | Sault Ste Marie, ON | BBC Troistorrents (Switzerland) |
| Kim Gaucher | Shooting Guard | 6’1″ | Mission, BC | Mondeville (France) |
| Saicha Grant-Allen | Power Forward | 6’4″ | Hamilton, ON | Bembibre (Spain) |
| Ruth Hamblin | Centre | 6’6″ | Houston, BC | Bourges (France)/Dallas Wings (WNBA) |
| Sami Hill | Guard | 5’10” | Toronto, ON | Donau-Ries (Germany) |
| Alyssa Jerome | Forward | 6’2″ | Toronto, ON | Stanford (NCAA) |
| Alex Kiss-Rusk | Centre | 6’4″ | Beaconsfield, QC | McGill (U SPORTS) |
| Aislinn Konig | Guard | 5’9″ | Langley, BC | North Carolina State (NCAA) |
| Miah-Marie Langlois | Point Guard | 5’8″ | Windsor, ON | Dynamo Novosibirsk (Russia) |
| Kia Nurse* | Guard | 6’0″ | Hamilton, ON | New York Liberty (WNBA) |
| Shaina Pellington | Guard | 5’8″ | Pickering, ON | Oklahoma (NCAA) |
| Katherine Plouffe | Forward | 6’3″ | Edmonton, AB | Bourges (France) |
| Michelle Plouffe | Forward | 6’4″ | Edmonton, AB | Tarbes (France) |
| Emily Potter | Centre | 6’4″ | Winnipeg, MB | Utah (NCAA) |
| Daneesha Provo | Guard | 6’0″ | Dartmouth, NS | Utah (NCAA) |
| Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe | Forward | 6’2″ | Toronto, ON | Nantes-Reze (France) |
| Jamie Scott | Guard | 5’10” | Clarkston, WA | Ferrol (Spain) |
Canada has a nice opportunity to medal here and make a statement to the rest of the basketball world that the tremendous momentum of this program isn’t going to stall out as “tough threat” but rather challenge the world’s powerhouses. They have the personnel and, quickly, the experience to do just that.
