TORONTO (April 18, 2024) – Canada Basketball announced Thursday, April 18 that Marlo Davis has been named head coach of Canada’s U18 women’s national team for the upcoming FIBA U18 Women's AmeriCup Championship 2024 in Bucaramanga, Colombia, June 17-23.

“I’m just really excited for the opportunity to coach Canada,” said Davis. “We’re putting together a great group of people and are looking to do something special with a shared love for our country this summer.”

The FIBA U18 Women's AmeriCup Championship 2024 will be Davis’ first time as national team head coach after being an assistant coach with Canada’s U18/U19 age-group teams for several years. 

Davis recently concluded his ninth season as head coach of Crestwood Preparatory College women’s basketball team, leading the team to four Ontario Scholastic Basketball Association (OSBA) in the last five seasons. He also serves as the Program Director and assistant coach for the men’s program. As a player, Davis spent two years at UNC Wilmington and also captured the 2018 3x3 Canada Quest National Final as a member of Team Toronto. Davis is currently working on completing his Train to Compete certification.

Tamara Tatham, an assistant coach for Canada’s U18 Women’s Team that won silver at the FIBA U18 Women's Americas Championship 2022, will return, while Christa Eniojukan and Michelle Abella, who is joining as a performance analyst, will round out the coaching staff.

Tatham’s time with Canada Basketball goes back to her playing career, where she proudly represented Canada as a Senior Women’s National Team member from 2007-16.  During that time, she was a two-time Olympian – playing for Team Canada at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games – and also captured a gold medal on home soil at the 2015 Toronto Pan Am Games.  In her fourth season as the head coach of the University of Toronto women’s basketball program, Tatham has been involved with Canada Basketball as a coach since 2018, including as an assistant coach at the FIBA U16 Women's Americas Championship 2019. That year, she also became the first Canadian woman on the coaching staff of a pro men's league when she joined Raptors 905 as a mentee coach under then-head coach Jama Mahlalela. Tatham is currently in training for her Train to Compete certification.

Joining the U18 women’s national team coaching staff this summer will be Christa Eniojukan, who has been with Canada Basketball since 2010 and, last summer, led Canada’s U23 women’s national team at GLOBL JAM in Toronto. She is also head coach of the York University women’s basketball program, a position she has held since the 2021-22 season. Eniojukan returned to the program as a coach after spending two seasons with the team as a player between 2003-05, where she was named the Most Valuable Player in her final year. Eniojukan’s previous experience ranges from coaching in the OUA to mentoring in the Canadian Coach’s Association’s Black Female Coach Mentorship program, where she was paired with Senior Women’s National Team veteran Kayla Alexander. Eniojukan is Train to Compete Certified, Train to Train Certified, and Learn to Train Certified.

A former Academic All-Canadian basketball player from Sheridan College, Michelle Abella has coached the Ontario Elite Development team since 2013, including a role as an assistant coach with the U14/U15 Ontario Girls Provincial team. She also has captured two U SPORTS women’s basketball championships as an assistant coach with the Carleton Ravens. Her other experiences include coaching with Kia Nurse U16 EYBL, Biosteel All Canadian Games, NCAA Academy Coach with Canada Basketball, and more. Abella is Learn to Train Trained and Train to Train Trained. 

The FIBA U18 Women's AmeriCup 2024 will run June 17-24, 2024 in Bucaramanga, Columbia. This will be Canada’s ninth appearance at the tournament since it began in 2004. Canada has captured six silver and two bronze medals. 

Canada is currently ranked 3rd overall in the FIBA women’s age-group rankings, presented by Nike, up two spots following the conclusion of the FIBA 2023 Youth Events.