Nirra Fields, UCLA

Growing up in Montreal, UCLA guard Nirra Fields couldn't get enough hoops. She's been a junkie since childhood, flipping the channels to study players and games. She idolized Kobe Bryant's toughness, craved Vince Carter's athleticism, and tried to mimic Steve Nash's dazzling passes.

But when it came to finding a Canadian female player she could look up to, Fields didn't have many choices. The few Canadians playing in the WNBA and women's college ball in the United States didn't get much press, and streaming games online wasn't an option then. Fields knew what she wanted to be--a college basketball player, an Olympian--she just didn't know who in her home country could be her model.

More than a decade later, finding a standout Canadian in women's college basketball isn't a problem. Fields is one of a handful of elite collegians who spends her summers with the Canadian women's national team, and will be integral in her college team's postseason success as the women's NCAA tournament begins play Friday. Canada Basketball, the players and their college coaches say, has given them access to a different level of competition and as a result, increased their confidence. Somewhat by accident, Canada has helped increase parity in women's college hoops.

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