TORONTO, Ont. (le 14 mai 2024) - Alors que la Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) s’apprête à entrer dans sa 28ème saison régulière, quatre joueuses canadiennes vont jouer pour quatre équipes différentes.

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Aaliyah Edwards, Bridget Carleton, Kia Nurse, et Laeticia Amihere font toutes partie d’une équipe pour la saison WNBA 2024, qui commence ce soir avec quatre rencontres au programme.

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La première rencontre de la soirée entre le Liberty de New York Liberty et les Mystics de Washington débute à 19h HE. Les Mystics ont sélectionné Aaliyah Edwards, originaire de Kingston, en tant que sixième choix du repêchage WNBA 2024, faisant d’elle la dernière Canadienne à intégrer la ligue.

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Edwards a passé quatre saisons avec les Huskies de UConn, aidant le programme à atteindre le Final Four pour sa dernière saison avec l’équipe. Elle a affiché presque un doublé en moyenne (17,6 points par match et 9,2 rebonds par match). Edwards joue depuis longtemps pour Canada Basketball, et est notamment devenue olympienne avec l’équipe nationale senior féminine lors des Jeux de Tokyo 2020. Elle a également participé à de nombreux tournois au niveau jeune et senior.

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Bridget Carleton et le Lynx du Minnesota affronteront une nouvelle équipe du Storm de Seattle qui a ajouté Skylar Diggins-Smith et Nneka Ogwumike à son effectif au cours de la saison morte pour clôturer la soirée d’ouverture. Carleton va débuter sa sixième saison avec le Lynx après avoir signé une prolongation de contrat de deux ans.

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Carleton a connu une saison morte chargée mais impressionnante à l’étranger. Elle a fini une nouvelle saison avec Uni Gyor, avec qui elle a affiché des statistiques impressionnantes, dont un match de 41 points, ce qui lui a valu le titre de joueuse de la semaine. Carleton a aussi rejoint l’équipe nationale senior féminine à Sopron en Hongrie où son attaque a aidé le Canada à se qualifier pour les Jeux olympiques de Paris 2024.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet tw-align-center"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Shooters shoot 🎯 <a href="https://t.co/shbdUHNvGy">pic.twitter.com/shbdUHNvGy</a></p>&mdash; Canada Basketball (@CanBball) <a href="https://twitter.com/CanBball/status/1747719973579984949?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 17, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

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Après avoir participé au deuxième WNBA Canada Game, Kia Nurse s’apprête à débuter sa saison régulière avec les LA Sparks cette semaine. Après avoir manqué le tournoi de qualification olympique à cause d’une blessure en février, Nurse avait hâte de trouver le terrain de basket à Edmonton. Nurse va entamer sa septième saison en WNBA et sera un atout indéniable pour l’attaque de Los Angeles.

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À Atlanta, la joueuse de deuxième année Laeticia Amihere aura l’opportunité d’avoir un plus grand rôle avec le Dream. Après une carrière universitaire à succès avec les Gamecocks de South Carolina, qui a remporté un titre national en 2022, Amihere a fini en tant que huitième choix du repêchage WNBA 2023.

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Pendant la saison morte, Amihere s’est rendue en Colombie et en Hongrie pour les tournois de pré-qualification olympique et de qualification olympique avec l’équipe nationale senior féminine du Canada. Elle a également fait ses débuts avec Athletes Unlimited durant l’hiver, avec une forte présence à l’intérieur.

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Amihere a aussi organisé plusieurs événements pour son association caritative, Back to the Motherland, avec notamment des camps de basketball au Ghana et un défilé de mode pour collecter des fonds à Toronto. Amihere va débuter sa deuxième saison en WNBA avec un nouvel état d’esprit et plein de motivation.

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overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C6t3dSMOeXO/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Laeticia Amihere (@_theblackqueen_)</a></p></div></blockquote> <script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>

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Les partisans au nord de la frontière pourront suivre toute la saison en s’inscrivant au pass ligue WNBA, disponible au Canada pour 34,99 USD par an. Certains matchs seront aussi diffusés sur les plate-formes nationales télévisuelles et en streaming de Sportsnet tout au long de la saison. 

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Canadiennes en WNBA pour la saison 2024:

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- Aaliyah Edwards (Kingston, Ont.) - Mystics de Washington,

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- Bridget Carleton (Chatham, Ont.) - Lynx du Minnesota

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- Kia Nurse (Hamilton, Ont. ) - LA Sparks,

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- Laeticia Amihere (Mississauga, Ont.) - Dream d’Atlanta

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