EDMONTON, AB (May 24) -  More than nine months since they punched their ticket to the Rio 2016 Games, and just over 10 weeks before the Olympic cauldron is lit at Maracana Stadium, Canada Basketball's Golden Girls are together again.

Preparations for the Summer Games are underway as Phase 1 of the National Women’s Team training camp has tipped off in Edmonton. Team Canada is practicing through May 30 at the Saville Community Sports Centre, site of its unforgettable FIBA Americas championship victory last August.

"It's so nice to get back out on the floor and get everyone together again," Lisa Thomaidis, NWT head coach, says. "It's been nine months since we were here last and qualified for Rio, so it's great to see all the players.

"To no surprise everyone has raised their level of play again and everyone has come in fit and strong and ready to get after it, so it's an exciting start, for sure."

Twenty-four players were invited to Phase 1, including all 12 members of last year's WNT that captured gold medals at both the 2015 Toronto Pan Am Games and FIBA Americas. Following the 10-day camp, a squad will be nominated for a five-game exhibition tour in Spain and France that will see Canada play Australia, China, Cuba, France and Spain.

"Every time we get together for the first phase it's a matter of getting some of the rust off and getting everyone back on the same page and putting in our fundamentals and any new tweaks that we might have," Thomaidis says.

“We were playing at a very high level last August and now each and every one of them has played with a pro team or a collegiate team for the last year, so for them to get back on the Canadian style of play takes a little bit of time and adjustment. That's really what this phase is about."

This is the WNT’s fourth year training at the Saville Community Sports Centre. Players reported to camp last weekend and hit the hardwood for the first time on Monday.

"The first couple days you're always getting used to playing together, and some new (players) are coming in and getting into the flow," says veteran forward Katherine Plouffe, who played professionally this season in France. “But last year we were prepared and this year I think the coaches and the whole staff are helping us be prepared to peak at the right time."

The Opening Ceremonies for the 2016 Summer Games are Aug. 5 in Rio de Janeiro, with women’s basketball tipping off the following day. Canada has drawn into Group B with Senegal, Serbia, the United States, and two other teams that will be determined by the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournaments in July.

"To be able to go and compete there is a tremendous honour, so it will be a fantastic experience; we're really looking forward to it," says Thomaidis. "We're taking it one day at a time. I think we’ve got 73 days to go right now and we have to take full advantage of every single one of those days leading up to it."

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