Canadian women counting on the collective as AmeriCup begins

It is as it often is for Canada’s senior women’s basketball team as it starts a major international event.

It may not be the most individually talented group the Canadians can put together — there are some key components missing — but there is a cohesion, a common sense of purpose and a belief in the collective that the team is banking on at the AmeriCup tournament that begins Saturday in Mexico.

“A nice mix of pro players, some young ones who haven’t even made it to college yet and some who have experience playing at the NCAA level,” veteran centre Kayla Alexander said before the team left for the tournament. “Very talented, very athletic, but what I love about this group is we get along so well. I think we’re building great chemistry and everybody wants to compete and work hard.”

There are no WNBA players on the 12-women roster announced Wednesday. Program stalwart and team captain Natalie Achonwa is away handling the responsibilities of a first-time mom. It has left head coach Victor Lapena with an interesting mix of teenagers, collegians and European pros to begin the qualification process for the 2024 Paris Olympics at the 10-team AmeriCup.

“It’s a very young team, very different,” Lapena said. “Maybe we don’t have the talent of (WNBA) players and Natalie, etc., but I feel something special with this team. I feel like I can help them as a coach, it’s my moment to lead them, be a good leader, trust in them and give them confidence.”

Alexander, Aaliyah Edwards, Nirra Fields, Shay Colley, Aislin Konig and Sami Hill will be the veteran core, augmented by the experience of the likes of Taya Hanson, Merrisah Russell and Emily Potter. The true youth comes from 17-year-old Syla Swords, 18-year-old Cassandre Prosper and 21-year-old collegian Yvonne Ejim.

The 32-year-old Alexander, a six-year vet who has played in the WNBA and top European leagues, has become the team’s leader.

“It’s been fun, it’s been a big responsibility but, honestly, the girls make it so easy,” she said. “I just try to lead by example. It’s the girls, us as a team, doing the hard work, going out there and working hard and competing and trying to prepare ourselves to perform and get the job done in Mexico.”

It’s a much different team than the one that finished fourth at the World Cup last year, much different than the group that played at the Tokyo Olympics, and even a different bunch than the one that lost a tune-up game to Japan in Victoria earlier this month.

But Lapena has gotten used to having new rosters to deal with.

“In the beginning it was hard for me — I don’t have my best players — but then I say, ‘Victor, you have some players who can do a great job,’” the coach said. “We have to find a way to give them the space they need to be better, to find a style that’s easy, simple and (allow them to play with) confidence.”

Canada. which is in a first-round group with Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Mexico and Colombia, begins round-robin play on Sunday with the top four teams advancing to the quarterfinals.

The United States, Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela and Cuba comprise the other first-round group.

The top AmeriCup team, other than the United States, which has qualified for Paris as the defending World Cup champion, will move on to a final Olympic qualifying tournament next February. The next four teams will have to play in another qualifying tournament this fall.

Edwards, just about to turn 21, is returning to the national team after missing the 2022 World Cup. She should emerge as a key to whatever success Canada has.

“Experience is a key and I’ve been here since I was 17, so I’m moving into kind of the older-age stage and it’s exciting,” she said. “I’m just embracing the role and trying to be a leader, just trying to be the vocal person that our team needs.”

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