20 ATHLETES INVITED TO ATTEND
DEVELOPMENT WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM TRYOUTS
WOMEN SET TO COMPETE IN TOKYO AND TAIWAN
TORONTO, ON (JULY 28, 2017) – Canada Basketball’s Women’s High Performance program is pleased to announce the 20 athletes invited to attend the Development Women’s National Team Tryouts and Training Camp at Ryerson University (Kerr Hall) from July 29 to August 8, 2017.
“We look forward to a competitive tryout and training camp as our program looks to field the best team to compete against world class teams in Tokyo and at the FISU Games,” said Denise Dignard, Director, Women’s High Performance. “We continue to build the depth of our athlete pool and provide them with meaningful international mileage.”
The finalized team roster will leave for Tokyo, Japan on August 9 to compete at the U24 Women Basketball League Four Nations 2017 where they will face off against Japan, USA and Australia. Canada tips-off tournament play on August 12 against host Japan at 3:30 AM ET.
Following this tournament, the team will then travel to Taipei City, Taiwan to compete at the Taipei 2017 29th Summer Universiade. Canada tips-off tournament play on August 21 against Portugal at 3 AM ET.
Fabian McKenzie (Cape Breton University) takes the helm in his 6th year as Head Coach. McKenzie is joined by assistant coaches Chantal Vallee (University of Windsor) and Nate McKibbon (Mount Royal University), along with Michele Belanger (University of Toronto) who will join the staff for training camp.
Canada is currently ranked 6th in the FIBA World Rankings. Media are invited to post-practice scrums on the following dates.
Please RSVP to mwalker@basketball.ca
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
Monday, August 7
6:45 p.m. Gym Opens
7:00 p.m. Availability
*All times are EST and subject to change
The full staff list, roster and schedule can be found below. Follow Canada Basketball on Twitter for game streaming details and live game coverage.
PLAYERS INVITED TO 2017 DWNT TRYOUTS BY INVITATION
| NAME | POSITION | HEIGHT | HOMETOWN | 2016/2017 SCHOOL/CLUB |
| Angela Bongomin | Centre | 6’2” | Regina, SK | University of Regina (U SPORTS) |
| Paige Crozon | Forward | 6’1” | Humboldt, SK | University of Utah (NCAA) |
| Quinn Dornstauder | Centre | 6’3” | Regina, SK | Arizona State University (NCAA) |
| Abigail Fogg | Centre | 6’4” | Sault Ste. Marie, ON | University of South Dakota (NCAA) |
| Sami Hill | Guard | 5’10” | Toronto, ON | Virginia Tech University (NCAA) |
| Mael Gilles | Guard | 6’1” | Montreal, QC | Montmorency (CEGEP/CCAA) |
| Taya Hanson* | Guard | 5’8” | Kelowna, BC | TRC Academy (OSBA) |
| Alison Keough | Forward | 6’1” | Marion Bridge, NS | Cape Breton University (U SPORTS) |
| Jaelyne Kirkpatrick | Guard | 5’6” | Oakville, ON | University of Illinois (NCAA) |
| Alex Kiss-Rusk | Centre | 6’4” | Beaconsfield, QC | McGill University (U SPORTS) |
| Megan Lindquist | Forward | 6’0” | Saskatoon, SK | University of Saskatchewan (U SPORTS) |
| Dani Nafekh | Guard | 5’11” | Oakville, ON | UC Davis (NCAA) |
| Ceejay Nofunte | Guard | 5’8” | Toronto, ON | Humber College (OCAA) |
| Mariah Nunes | Guard | 5’10” | Ajax, ON | Oviedo (Spain D2) |
| Ashley Polacek | Guard | 5’5” | Ottawa, ON | University of Central Florida (NCAA) |
| Kellie Ring | Guard | 5’9” | Ottawa, ON | Ryerson University (U SPORTS) |
| Kyla Shand | Center | 6’2” | Saskatoon, SK | Holy Cross High School (HS) |
| Erika Steeves | Forward | 6’2” | Montreal, QC | Brown University (NCAA) |
| Catherine Traer | Forward | 6’1” | Chelsea, QC | Carleton University (U SPORTS) |
| Meg Wilson | Forward | 6’2” | London, ON | Simon Fraser University (NCAA D2) |
* Training camp only
2017 COACHES & STAFF
| NAME | POSITION | HOMETOWN | AFFILIATION |
| Fabian McKenzie | Head Coach | Glace Bay, NS | Cape Breton University |
| Michele Belanger | Assistant Coach/Selection Committee | Mississauga, ON | University of Toronto |
| Chantal Vallee | Assistant Coach | Montreal, QC | University of Windsor |
| Nate McKibbon | Assistant Coach | Hamilton, ON | Mount Royal University |
| Patrice Pepin | Physiotherapist | Quebec, QC | N/A |
| Ryan Nguyen | Performance Analyst | Toronto, ON | N/A |
| Elaine Sun | Team Leader | Thornhill, ON | Canada Basketball |
| Jacquelyn Corkum | Physician (Japan Only) | Halifax, NS | University of Toronto |
2017 SCHEDULE
| DATE | ITEM | LOCATION |
| July 29-August 8 | Tryouts and Training Camp | Ryerson University – Kerr Hall (379 Victoria St, Toronto, ON M5B 0A1) |
| August 9 | Travel to Japan | Katayanagi Arena Tokyo, Japan |
| August 12-15 | U24 Women Basketball League Four Nations 2017 | |
| August 12 | Canada vs. Japan @ 3:30 AM ET | |
| August 13 | Canada vs. USA @ 3:30 AM ET | |
| August 15 | Canada vs. Australia @ 3:30 AM ET | |
| August 20-29 | Taipei 2017 29th Summer Universiade | Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium Taipei City, Taiwan |
| August 21 | Canada vs. Portugal @ 3:00 AM ET | |
| August 22 | Canada vs. Korea @ 8:00 AM ET | |
| August 23 | Canada vs. Japan @ 3:00 AM ET |
Courtesy Canada Basketball
