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.

Nirra Fields

Coming up through the National Program is much like growing through school - you start in elementary, then to high school and then the university. With each new level accomplished an improved person and player is formed. It’s not often that a player gets to all three levels and Lachine, Quebec’s Nirra Fields can count herself as one of the few.

“It’s gone by so quickly,” reflects Fields. “I can still remember first coming to the Cadettes. I didn’t understand how big is was until I started progressing through the age groups.”

Progressing is the key word that can used to describe how she has run through the National Program. Starting in 2009, Fields played on two Cadette National Teams, playing in a FIBA Americas and World Championship. She then played on a Junior National Team in 2011 that played in the FIBA U19 World Championship and Fields starred for the squad Fields says the basketball came easy but it was the travel that was the hardest obstacle to overcome.

“At the time I wasn’t used to travelling. Going to different countries, adapting to change was hard for me to adjust to. Basketball was always great,” Fields said. “Travel was pretty hard for me at first but now it’s much easier. I’ve been to so many places now that if I’m in one place too long I can’t take it.”

Playing in the National Program has helped Fields mature as person and on the court she continues to do the same. As a heavy-minute player on her UCLA Bruins team, she has had to adjust to a new role on the Women’s National Team with the mix of veteran and budding young talent.

“I think I’ve become more of a teammate,” she says thoughtfully. “To be a great team you have to sacrifice. I’ve become more in tune to what the team needs me to do to make the team more successful for us to have a chance to win at a high level.”

Coming off the bench at the Pan Am Games for a well-balanced team, Fields averaged an efficient 8.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, an assist and a steal in just over 15 minutes while providing her trademark defense. People who know her game at UCLA may scratch their heads at these numbers but Nirra is doing exactly what she said – helping the team win. And with the FIBA Americas Championship approaching getting the win will be all that matters.

When we ask Fields to think back about her ride though the Program she isn’t lost on the fact that she has matured so much. In fact, that maturation and growth are what she expects to continue to happen particularly as she and the team head into the weekend.

“At the Pan Am Games we were looking to improve every game. I feel like going into the Americas Tournament we’ll do the same. Every game is an opportunity to get better and an opportunity to grow.”

Getting better, improving, growing and maturing. That’s the levels of development talking.

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