Canadian women’s National Team Roster Released!
MISSISSAUGA, Ont– Canada Basketball is proud to announce the 12 athletes that will represent Canada at 2011 FIBA Americas Championship for Women. The Senior Women’s National Team is one of 10 teams that will participate in the FIBA Americas Championship in Neiva, Colombia, from September 24 – October. 1.
Canada is in Group B and will play Mexico on September 24, followed by Brazil, then Paraguay, and will wrap up preliminary play on September 28 against Jamaica. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals, while the rest of the teams will be eliminated.
The FIBA Americas Championship is the FIBA Americas zone qualifying tournament for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. The winner will earn an automatic berth into the Olympics; while those nations that finish between second and fourth place will compete at the Olympic Qualifying Tournament which is set for June 25 – July 1, 2012. Twelve nations from all over the world will qualify for this tournament, but only five will earn a berth to the 2012 Olympics.
All players on the Canadian roster have international experience representing Canada, led by National Team veterans Teresa Gabriele (Mission, BC) Chelsea Aubry (Kitchener, ON) and Kim Smith (Mission, BC), who all participated in the FIBA World Championship for Women last summer in the Czech Republic.
Other players who were a member of last summer’s team include Krista Phillips (Saskatoon, SK), Courtnay Pilypaitis (Ottawa, ON), Alisha Tatham (Brampton, ON), Tamara Tatham (Brampton, ON), and Lizanne Murphy (Beaconsfield, ON).
Making returns to the National Team Program include Shona Thorburn (Hamilton, ON) who was last a member of the Senior Women’s National Team in 2003 and Kalisha Keane (Ajax, ON) who last played in 2009 at the World University Games.
Rounding out the roster are Miranda Ayim (London, ON) and Kadie Riverin (Ottawa, ON), who participated in exhibition games with the team last summer.
The team will now travel to Puerto Rico, where they will compete in two final tune-up contests against the Puerto Rican national team, an opponent that will also be competing at the 2011 FIBA Americas Championship for Women. The two matches will be held on September 19 and 20.
Attached is the Senior Women’s National Team roster and staff, as well as Canada’s preliminary round schedule for the 2011 FIBA Americas Championship for Women.
2011 SENIOR WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER
Name | Position | Height | Hometown | School/Club
Chelsea Aubry | Forward | 6’2 | Kitchener, ON | Bendigo Spirit (Australia)
Miranda Ayim | Forward | 6’3 | Chatham, ON | Tulsa Shock (WNBA)
Teresa Gabriele | Guard | 5’5 | Mission, BC | Training in Canada
Kalisha Keane | Forward | 6’1 | Ajax, ON | Michigan State University (NCAA)
Lizanne Murphy | Forward | 6’1 | Beaconsfield, QC | Energa Torun (Poland)
Krista Phillips | Forward | 6’6 | Saskatoon, SK | Burgos (Spain)
Courtnay Pilypaitis | Guard | 6’1 | Ottawa, ON | VICI Kaunas (Lithuania)
Kadie Riverin | Guard | 5’8 | Ottawa, ON | Training in Canada
Kim Smith | Forward | 6’1 | Mission, BC | EBE Ibiza (Spain)
Tamara Tatham | Forward | 6’1 | Brampton, ON | Point Chaud (Belgium)
Alisha Tatham | Guard | 5’11 | Brampton, ON | Halles Lions (Germany)
Shona Thorburn | Guard | 5’10 | Hamilton, ON | EBE Ibiza (Spain)
2011 SENIOR WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM STAFF
Name | Position
Allison McNeill | Head Coach
Mike McNeill | Assistant Coach
Lisa Thomaidis | Assistant Coach
Joan Mlynarczyk | Physiotherapist
Marcel Charland | Massage Therapist
Anne Marie Thuss | Team Manager
Sarah Kim | Team Doctor
Roger Friesen | Psychologist
Denise Dignard | Head of Delegation
2011 FIBA AMERICAS CHAMPIONSHIP FOR WOMEN – PRELIMINARY ROUND SCHEDULE
Date | Time | Event
Saturday, September 24 | 19:00 local time (8:00 pm ET) Canada vs. Mexico
Sunday, September 25 | 16:45 local time (5:45 pm ET )Canada vs. Brazil
Monday, September 26 | 14:30 local time (3:30 pm ET) Canada vs. Paraguay
Wednesday, September 28 | 19:00 local time (8:00 pm ET) Canada vs. Jamaica
