The Senior Women's National Team is coming off a great start to the summer having won the Gold Medal at the Pan Am Games in Toronto. The next step for them is to qualify for the 2016 Olympics Games in Rio de Janeiro by winning the FIBA Americas Tournament taking place in Edmonton. Leading up to the Americas Tournament we spoke to our SWNT members and they gave us their thoughts on a few things and here's what they had to say. To buy tickets for the 2015 FIBA Americas Championship for Women, click here.

Miranda Ayim  - on the Gold Standard

Earning the gold medal at the Pan Am Games was a great accomplishment, and an historical one at that. It’s been such a fantastic experience playing on Canadian soil and it's an opportunity we rarely get. We are fortunate enough to have another chance to play in front of Canadian fans in our home gym in Edmonton. All of our work over the past three years has been focused in this direction.

Leading up to this tournament, there are certain expectations for our team, both self-imposed and those that come from outside. However, we’ve practiced and prepared for this. The majority of our team has played at major international tournaments, whether it be the Olympics, World Championships, or other FIBA tournaments. As a team, we have the experience, we have the character, and we have the passion.

One of the greatest parts of playing on this team is the culture of unselfishness. We have amazingly talented, athletic and intelligent players on this team, but everyone is down to earth. There are no egos to deal with. You can see this spirit of togetherness when we’re on the court: helping and rotating on defense and sharing the ball on offense.

They say the whole is better than the sum of its parts. Well, we have some fantastic parts, but our whole is what makes us great. It’s what places us in a position to compete for a bid to the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Following the 2012 Olympics, 2014 World Championships and now the gold medal finish at the 2015 Pan American Games, women’s basketball has become more visible in Canada. We realize this places us in a position to be seen as role models for younger girls and boys. It’s a great honour to be able to show what can be achieved in the world of Canadian sport. It’s important, especially for young girls and women, to be able to see strong, driven women performing at a high level.

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