After the Canadian women went a perfect 4-0 (with an average margin of victory of 38.8 points) in the preliminary round of the FIBA women’s AmeriCup, the hope was that they would be able to give the United States team a run for its money in the final round. Instead, Canada suffered an upset in the semis at the hands of the host Puerto Ricans, and they lost in double overtime in the bronze-medal game to Brail. That loss was particularly painful because Canada had previously beaten Brazil in the group stages.
There were still plenty of great moments for the Canadian women. Laeticia Amihere finished eighth in the tournament in scoring despite averaging far fewer minutes per game than those ahead of her on the list. The power forward didn’t even start for Canada, yet her numbers were outrageous behind her touch at the basket and ability to draw fouls. Even more impressive, she’s only 19 years old and currently rostered on the University of South Carolina. Her future is incredibly bright.
Many of other Canada’s best players are of a similar stage in their career. Aislinn Konig is 23 years old and this past season received a camp invite for the Washington Mystics. She shot the lights out for Canada while starting at point guard. Shaina Pellington is only 22, but she similarly finished a top-20 scorer in the tournament while shooting over 50 percent from both 2-point and 3-point range. She’s currently a junior at the University of Arizona.
That Canada was missing some of its most decorated players bodes well for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. Kia Nurse, Natalie Achonwa, and Bridget Carleton are currently in the WNBA and so didn’t attend the AmeriCup tournament. But if Canada is able to add such names to the already star-studded roster it brought to Puerto Rico, hope should be high that it’ll be able to improve on its fourth-place finish in FIBA’s AmeriCup. Canada will be in a group with Spain, South Korea, and Serbia.
Canada is currently ranked fourth in the world behind the USA, Australia, and Spain. Canada’s first game in Tokyo will be on July 26 against Serbia.
