Bronze breakthrough for Canada

First world under-19 medal for women’s program caps successful summer of hoops

They danced a joyful celebration at centre court when the final buzzer went, and the picture taken a few minutes later — of a dozen smiling young Canadian women with giant flags in front and behind them — will no doubt end up as some kind of lifetime keepsake for them all.

Making history will cause that kind of ruckus, that excitement, that sense of accomplishment.

Canada’s under-19 basketball team won the bronze medal at the world championship in Italy on Sunday, beating Japan 67-60 to become the first Canadian women’s squad in that age group to ever mount a global podium.

“Definitely incredibly proud. It’s history,” coach Carly Clarke of Ryerson University said in a telephone interview. “These girls deserved it.”

And earned it by showing a level of composure that belies their teenage years. Bouncing back from a disheartening loss to Russia in Saturday’s semifinal, Canada answered every Japanese run with one of their own on Sunday and pulled away in the dying minutes to win.

“That was probably the best game we had, executing our game plan at both ends of the floor,” Clarke said.

It shouldn’t come as too big a surprise, though. A bulk of this group has been growing into a global power for years and has substantial international experience behind it.

In 2015, at the FIBA Americas under-16 qualifier, Canada won the gold medal, beating Brazil in overtime in the final. Three key members of this year’s team — Mississauga’s Laeticia Amihere, Hamilton’s Hailey Brown and Toronto’s Alyssa Jerome — were members of that squad and were key in Sunday’s medal-winning performance.

Amihere, who just turned 16 this month, racked up 13 points and 10 rebounds to lead Canada on Sunday. Brown added 12 points, while point guard Hanna Hall of Hamilton had 10 points and just three turnovers in 28 minutes.

“We’ve had a bunch of experience at a lot of world championships and big tournaments,” Clarke said. “This group learns quickly.”

The bronze medal caps an outstanding summer — arguably the best in Canada Basketball history — for the program’s age-group teams. The junior men won the world championship this month, the first time a Canadian team has ever finished atop a FIBA World Cup or Olympic podium, while the boys’ and girls’ under-16 teams each finished second in FIBA Americas qualifying for next summer’s under-17 world championships. The junior programs will go through the same qualification process next summer for the 2019 worlds, with the men’s tournament slated for St. Catharines next June.

The focus of the national program now switches to the senior women, who leave this week for Buenos Aires and the qualification tournament for next year’s world championship.

The highly touted women — fifth in the world in 2015, top eight at each of the last two Olympics and ranked sixth today — return six players from the 2016 Rio Olympics team and a handful of others who’ve graduated from the Canada Basketball agegroup programs.

With Lisa Thomaidis in her fifth season as head coach, Canada has an outstanding back-court anchored by Rio veterans Miah-Marie Langlois, Kia Nurse and Nirra Fields, with veteran forward Miranda Ayim as one of the key front-court leaders.

Canada, which goes into the Aug. 6-13 tournament as the favourite, needs to be in the top three to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Spain.