Alyssa Jerome has reason to celebrate International Women's Day.

In the middle of a Canadian basketball revolution with women at the forefront, the 16-year-old is becoming an inspiration, even as she continues to find motivation in her own set of heroes.

Jerome led the U16 Women's National Team to a historic gold medal triumph at the FIBA Americas tournament in Mexico last June, then witnessed the Senior Women's National Team captivate the country by topping the podium at the Toronto Pan Am Games in July and FIBA Americas Championship in August.

"Women have gone under the radar in sports and it’s about time we have the opportunity to really prove ourselves," the six-foot-one forward said. "The Senior Women did such a good job, and as the Cadet girls we not only look up to that but are also really proud of what we’ve done. Hopefully we have set the bar for not only female sports, but guys' sports."

A Canadian women's age-group team had never won a FIBA Americas tournament before Jerome and her teammates defeated Brazil 72-71 in overtime of a thrilling gold medal game in Puebla.

"It's really cool to know we were the first team to do it," said Jerome, who was named tournament MVP after averaging 13.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists. "Hopefully a lot of people look up to that and realize if you work really hard and if everyone’s in it together for the right reason, anything's possible."

A Torontonian, Jerome was in her hometown at the epicentre of the SWNT's earthshaking victory over the United States in the Pan Games final that reverberated from coast to coast. She was glued to the unprecedented national broadcast coverage as her role models qualified for the Rio 2016 Olympics by winning Americas before packed houses in Edmonton.

"As part of the Canada Basketball family, it's so cool to be able to follow them and see how successful they've been," said Jerome.

While she is currently focused on joining the U17 WNT for the upcoming FIBA World Championship, June 22 to July 2 in Spain, Jerome also dreams of the day she suits up with the SWNT. Recently during NBA All-Star Toronto, the six-foot-one forward was one of four Canadian girls who participated in Basketball Without Borders Global Camp, which featured SWNT gold medalists Lizanne Murphy, Tamara Tatham and Natalie Achonwa.

One generation of remarkable female athletes fostering the next.

"I can only imagine their stories of how they became successful," Jerome said. "Doing really well at FIBA Americas, I got my first taste of all the hard work that it takes. It's so incredible that these women were able to (win gold) and they did it so graciously as well. It makes me really proud to be Canadian and to hopefully fill their places when they retire."

‍