FIBA Basketball

    CAN - Canada's Women's team announce tryout invitation list

    TORONTO (FIBA World Championship for Women) - Canada’s Senior Women’s National Team named the 24 players who will be invited to attend the team’s “tryout by invitation” July 10-12 at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario

    TORONTO (FIBA World Championship for Women) - Canada’s Senior Women’s National Team named the 24 players who will be invited to attend the team’s “tryout by invitation” July 10-12 at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario. An announcement on the team’s open invitation tryout on July 9, also in Waterloo will be forthcoming.  
     
    Of the 24 players, 14 were members of Canada’s 2005 Senior Women’s team which earned a berth in this year’s
    FIBA World Championship, including WNBA All-Star Tammy Sutton-Brown of Ontario and 2006 first-round pick Kim Smith of B.C. Another WNBA player, Ontario’s Stacey Dales, was also named after announcing the end of her retirement earlier this year. Sutton-Brown, Smith and Dales, will play for the Charlotte Sting, Sacramento Monarchs and Chicago Sky respectively.
     
    Players on the list playing professionally overseas include Claudia Brassard (Townsville Fire, Australia), Sheila Townsend (Valosun, Czech Republic), Nikki Johnson (BG Dorsten, Germany) and Isabelle Grenier (SV Halle, Germany).
     
    Two players named today also helped Canada’s development team to a 4-3 record at the FISU (World University) games in Izmir, Turkey this past summer, including Canadian University Sport (CIS) player of the year Sarah Crooks.
     
    In addition, five players made the jump from Canada’s national junior team which finished ninth at last year’s FIBA Women’s Under 19 World Championship in Tunisia, while two players made the leap from the cadet national team.
     
    “This is a very strong group of players from which we will select the teams for this year’s competition schedule”, said Senior Women’s Team Head Coach Allison McNeill. “With the
    FIBA World Championship this year in September, there will be high demands on our players to perform and I am confident the athletes from this group can meet that challenge. I am also looking forward to seeing the progression of some of the younger athletes at the tryout.”
     
    The first competition of Canada’s Senior Women’s National Team will be an exhibition series in Southern Ontario versus Brazil July 17-22 followed by an exhibition tour in Europe. The season will culminate at the
    2006 Women’s World Championship, September 12-23 in Brazil. A complete national team competition schedule will be forthcoming. 
     
    2006 Senior Women’s National invitational tryout roster

    Player

    Position

    Height

    Adrian, Kelsey
    Aubry, Chelsea
    Bekkering, Janelle
    Brassard, Claudia
    Brown, Amanda
    Chapdelaine, Kaela
    Crooks, Sarah
    Dales, Stacey
    Ganes, Carolyn
    Grenier, Isabelle
    Johnson, Nikki
    Kleindienst, Teresa
    Nurse, Tamika
    Parent, Andrée-Anne
    Plouffe, Andrea
    Riverin, Kadie
    Ross, Kendel
    Skrba, Stephany
    Smith, Kim
    Sutton-Brown, Tammy
    Townsend, Sheila
    Watson, Breanne
    Watson, Carrie
    Watts, Tara
    Forward
    Forward
    Guard
    Forward
    Forward
    Guard
    Forward
    Guard
    Forward/ Centre
    Guard/ Forward
    Forward
    Guard
    Guard
    Forward
    Forward
    Guard
    Forward
    Forward
    Forward
    Centre
    Guard
    Forward
    Guard
    Guard
    6’1”
    6’2”
    5’11”
    6’2”
    6’4”
    5’10”
    6’1”
    6’1”
    6’3”
    5’9”
    5’11”
    5’5”
    5’9”
    5’9”
    6’2”
    5’10”
    6’1”
    6’2”
    6’0”
    6’3”
    5’8”
    6’1”
    5’10”
    5’9”

    McNeill, Allison Head Coach
    Thomaidis, Lisa Assistant Coach
    McNeill, Mike Assistant Coach