What’s happening: The Canadian Senior Women’s National Team are in Mexico’s Leon, Guanajuato and they’re ready to tip off their 2023 FIBA Women’s AmeriCup campaign. The Canadians will take on host-team Mexico at 10:10 pm ET/ 7:10 pm PT on Sunday, July 2.

Where the SWNT stands as the event tips off: Canada enters the AmeriCup after placing fourth in the 2022 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Australia last September. They enter the event ranked fourth in the world in the FIBA World Ranking Presented by NIKE. Canada will be in Group B for the AmeriCup alongside Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Mexico and Colombia. Group A features Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela and the USA

The format: The 10 teams competing in the AmeriCup are divided into two groups that will play each of the teams in their respective group. The top four teams from each group will advance to the quarterfinals with the quarterfinals winners advancing to the semifinals. The winners of each semifinals matchup will compete for the gold and silver medals while the semifinals losers will compete for the bronze medal.

After their opening match-up against Mexico, Canada will face Puerto Rico on Monday, July 3 at 10:10 pm ET/7:10 pm PT, Colombia on Tuesday, July 4 at 7:40 pm ET/4:40 pm PT, and Dominican Republic on Wednesday, July 5 at 4:40 pm ET/1:40 pm ET in Group play.

Things to know heading into Sunday’s match-up against Mexico:

Suiting up: Canada will have a mix of veterans and fresh faces suiting up at the AmeriCup. The 12 players representing Canada are Kayla Alexander, Shay Colley, Aaliyah Edwards, Yvonne Ejim, Nirra Fields, Taya Hanson, Sami Hill, Aislinn Konig, Emily Potter, Cassandre Prosper, Merissah Russell and Syla Swords. The AmeriCup will be the senior team debut for Potter, Ejim, Prosper and Swords, but their fellow Canadian teammates will be there to ease the transition.

“I was very young,” Aaliyah Edwards says of making her senior team debut at just 17 years-old. “I’ve got a couple of years under my belt now, so I'm just trying to help guide the younger girls through that. It’s like a full-circle moment for me. I also still have vets like Kayla Alexander, Natalie Achonwa, Bridget Carleton, and Kia Nurse who were my mentors, and still are. It’s just great.”

Russell was also 17 when she made her debut with the senior team. “Me, Aaliyah, Yvonne, we’ve been together [playing for Canada] since we were 15 and now we’re 21,” Merissah Russell said. “We grew up watching Kayla, Natalie and Kia and now we are their teammates. It’s a really nice system. You’re away from home so much of the time, you get to come together for the team and see your sisters. It always feels like home. It’s such a nice time.”

Up for grabs: In addition to competing for the 2023 Women’s AmeriCup gold medal, the best-performing team outside of the USA will earn a spot in the FIBA Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament for the 2024 Paris Olympics. With the United States having already secured a spot in next year’s Olympic Games, that ticket to the Qualifying Tournament will be hotly contested by everyone in competition in Mexico. Beyond the Qualifying Tournament spot up for grabs, the four teams that finish 3-6 at the AmeriCup will earn a spot in the FIBA Americas Women’s Pre-Qualifying Tournament.

Ready to go: The Senior Women’s National Team spent a week training in Edmonton at the end of May, prior to playing an exhibition series of games against Japan in Victoria. The team also spent a week training in Toronto prior to travelling to Mexico.

"After an extensive training camp and an exhibition series against Japan in Victoria earlier this summer, we are ready for the challenges the FIBA Women's AmeriCup 2023 will bring,” head coach Víctor Lapeña said. “This is a great opportunity for our team to test ourselves against the best teams in the Americas while competing for an AmeriCup title while taking another step towards the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.”

The team has spent much of the past month competing against each other, and players are fired up to finally take on some fresh competition. Edwards admitted that it can be tough to compete against teammates every day because her competitive nature doesn’t allow her to take it easy, regardless of the opponent. The time together on and off court has been a crucial building block for the team as they continue their push for Paris 2024.

“I think we’re ready and so prepared,” she said. “I think Coach V and the rest of the coaching staff have done a great job. Nat [Achonwa] was here with us at camp, too [despite being sidelined due to the arrival of her son], helping us finalize and tune in on what we need to so that we can be successful.”

Where to watch: Fans in Canada can catch all of Team Canada’s games streaming live on Sportsnet NOW.

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