Phoenix Mercury guard Kia Nurse and Minnesota Lynx forward Natalie Achonwa are among the 20 players invited to the senior women's training camp ahead of the FIBA AmeriCup, Canada Basketball announced on Thursday.
The camp is set for May 20 to June 3 in Tampa ahead of the tournament set to begin on June 11 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The tournament is an important tune-up for the Tokyo Olympics.
The camp had originally been set for Edmonton, but COVID regulations forced a relocation to Florida.
“Having stayed connected virtually over the course of the past 14 months, the team is really looking forward to sharing the court together once again and building on the positive momentum we had coming out of the FIBA Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament last February," Canada head coach Lisa Thomaidis said in a statement.
The tournament format features two round-robin groups with the top two teams in each emerging to play the semi-final round. The final is scheduled for June 19.
Canada, ranked fourth in the world, has won gold at two of the last three AmeriCups. The top three teams at the 2021 AmeriCup will qualify for the 2022 FIBA World Cup in Sydney.
CANADA BASKETBALL CAMP ROSTER
| NAME | POSITION | HOMETOWN | TEAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natalie Achonwa | Forward | Guelph, Ont. | Minnesota Lynx |
| Kayla Alexander | Forward | Milton, Ont. | Mithra Castors Braine (Belgium) |
| Laeticia Amihere | Forward | Mississauga, Ont. | South Carolina (NCAA) |
| Miranda Ayim | Forward | London, Ont. | Basket Landes (France) |
| Bridget Carleton | Guard | Chatham, Ont. | Minnesota Lynx |
| Shay Colley | Guard | Brampton, Ont. | Charnay (France) |
| Quinn Dornstauder | Centre | Regina, Sask. | Cadi La Seu (France) |
| Aaliyah Edwards | Guard | Kingston, Ont. | Connecticut (NCAA) |
| Nirra Fields | Guard | Montreal | Antalya 07 (Turkey) |
| Kim Gaucher | Guard | Mission, BC | USO Mondeville (France) |
| Ruth Hamblin | Centre | Houston, BC | Politechnika Gdanska (Poland) |
| Sami Hill | Guard | Toronto | Nantes Reze Basket (France) |
| Aislinn Konig | Guard | Langley, BC | Fribourg (Switzerland) |
| Miah-Marie Langlois | Guard | Windsor, Ont. | Unattached |
| Kia Nurse | Guard | Hamilton, Ont. | Phoenix Mercury |
| Shaina Pellington | Guard | Pickering, Ont. | Arizona (NCAA) |
| Daneesha Provo | Guard | Dartmouth, NS | Eisvogel Freiburg (Germany) |
| Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe | Forward | Toronto | Lyon ASVEL (France) |
| Merissah Russell | Guard | Ottawa | Louisville (NCAA) |
| Jamie Scott | Guard | Pasco, Wash. | Tarbes (France) |
