Canada still alive in Olympic women’s basketball

LILLE, France – Bridget Carleton and her teammates cognize their Olympic travel isn’t over.

Canada’s commencement successful nan women’s hoops tourney has been rocky, pinch nan squad dropping games to big France and world No. 3 Australia successful group play.

Still, nan squad has a chance to make it done to nan quarterfinals, and Carleton said that’s what they’re focusing connected up of Sunday’s crippled against Nigeria.

“It’s still successful our control,” nan Chatham, Ont., guardant said aft Canada’s believe Saturday. “One much crippled and you ne'er cognize what tin happen. So we’re conscionable benignant of locked successful connected that.”

The world No. 5 Canadians tin clinch 2nd successful their group if they hit Nigeria by 10 aliases much points connected Sunday and France thumps Australia later that day. A second-place consequence guarantees a spot successful nan knockout round.

A third-place decorativeness besides has nan imaginable to get them there, arsenic agelong arsenic they’re 1 of nan 2 champion third-place teams successful nan 12-team, three-group tournament.

Finishing 3rd still requires a triumph complete 12th-ranked Nigeria — a squad that shocked Australia pinch a 75-62 triumph to unfastened nan tournament. It was nan first clip successful 20 years Nigeria’s women’s squad posted an Olympic victory.

The Canadians knew coming successful conscionable really reliable nan guidance would be, Carleton said.

“We knowledgeable nan qualifier, we cognize really bully each nan countries are,” she said. “In this tournament, they’re present for a reason.”

Led by Ezinne Kalu, Nigeria has a pesky force done nan Olympics, scoring 43 points disconnected turnovers and 29 disconnected accelerated breaks.

The Canadians cognize what to expect travel Sunday, said guardant Aaliyah Edwards.

“They’re very physical, very aggressive, effort to contradict immoderate entry,” she said. “So we conscionable request to combat that pinch playing smart and playing against nan physicality, and utilizing that much to our advantage than trying to hit physicality pinch physicality.”

Edwards, a rookie pinch nan WNBA’s Washington Mystics, leads Canada pinch 4 steals crossed nan first 2 games.

Carleton has put up a team-high 27 points and made 5 three-pointers successful Thursday’s 70-65 nonaccomplishment to Australia, matching a Canadian grounds for three-pointers successful a women’s Olympic game.

“I emotion shooting threes, truthful I’ll proceed to do that,” said nan Minnesota Lynx star. “We’re not a immense three-point shooting squad and that’s thing that I tin bring to nan table. And hopefully I tin do that consistently connected Sunday arsenic well.”

Canada’s caput coach Victor Lapena wants his players to simply return a activity heading into nan matchup pinch Nigeria.

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The squad has struggled to retrieve erstwhile facing adversity passim nan tournament, and he wants them to get backmost to basics successful reliable moments.

“Be patient, because we are conscionable 2 points down, 3 constituent down,” he said aft Thursday’s loss. “And here’s nan infinitesimal to look nan past portion of nan crippled much wise.”

Everyone connected Team Canada has ample acquisition playing successful large games, Edwards said, and they tin usage those lessons travel Sunday.

The 22-year-old from Kingston, Ont., will look backmost connected what she learned from nan 4 convention championships she played pinch nan University of Connecticut.

“I deliberation successful each and each 1 of those games, arsenic a team, we each conscionable came together and played for nan personification beside us,” Edwards said.

“So I deliberation I conscionable look backmost to those moments and look backmost astatine really overmuch …. arsenic a leader, I helped my squad beryllium successful. You know, making judge I’m accountable to myself, but accountable to others. I deliberation that arsenic agelong arsenic we do that for this past crippled and get nan W, we’ll beryllium OK.”

The Olympic travel hasn’t gone nan measurement nan Canadians wanted truthful far, but nan players are still assured successful some themselves and each other, Carleton said.

“We’re going done immoderate struggles correct now, but we each thin connected each different and we spot each other,” she said. “And I deliberation we thin connected that.”

This study by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 3, 2024.