TORONTO, ON (May 17, 2017) – Canada Basketball’s Women’s High Performance program is pleased to announce the 19 athletes invited to participate in the U16 National Team invitational tryouts at the University of Toronto Mississauga Campus (Mississauga, ON) from May 24-25, 2017.
“After a very competitive assessment process we have invited 19 athletes who hope to represent Canada this summer in Argentina for the FIBA U16 Women’s Americas Championship,” said Denise Dignard, director, women’s high performance. “These athletes have worked hard throughout the year and we look forward to a competitive tryout and continuing their international basketball development.”
Training camp will follow tryouts from May 26th-June 3rd at the University of Toronto – Mississauga and the finalized team roster will travel to Buenos Aires, Argentina for the FIBA U16 Women’s Americas Championship. The team looks to maintain its 2015 gold medal finish and also qualify for the 2018 FIBA U17 Worlds.
Jodi Gram (Bill Crothers S.S.) takes the helm in her second year as Head Coach along with Co-Head Coach Dani Sinclair (University of Victoria). They will be joined by Assistant Coach Albena Branzova-Dimitrova (UQAM) and Performance Analyst, Michele Sung (University of Manitoba).
Canada is currently ranked 4th worldwide in the FIBA youth girls rankings.
A full list of invited athletes and coaches can be found below. For media requests, please contact bwilliams@basketball.ca.
PLAYERS INVITED TO 2017 U16 CWNT TRYOUTS BY INVITATION:
| NAME | POSITION | HOMETOWN | CLUB/SCHOOL |
| Laeticia Amihere | F | Mississauga, ON | King’s Christian Collegiate |
| Kiandra Browne | F | Pointe-Claire, QC | St-Laurent |
| Kenya Côté–Lysius | G | St. Constant, QC | Lucien-Page HS |
| Micah Dennis | G | Toronto, ON | Northern SS |
| Kennedy Dickie | F | Kelowna, BC | Kelowna SS |
| Aaliyah Edwards | F | Kingston, ON | Frontenac SS |
| Yvonne Ejim | F | Calgary, AB | St. Elizabeth Seaton |
| Makayla Ennis | G/F | Brampton, ON | TRC Academy |
| Kaillie Hall | G | Stoney Creek, ON | Lincoln Prep |
| Cassandra Joli-Coeur | F | Brockville, ON | Ange-Gabriel Catholic |
| Brynn Masikewich | F | Calgary, AB | St. Francis SS |
| Olivia Morgan-Cherchas | C | Kamloops, BC | South Kamloops SS |
| Donna Ntambue | G | Montreal, QC | Lucien-Page HS |
| Merissah Russell | F | Ottawa, ON | Longfields-Davison Heights SS |
| Ella Stanley | F | St. Albert, AB | Paul Kane HS |
| Sarah Te-Biasu | G | Montreal, QC | Lucien-Page HS |
| Deanna Tuchscherer | F | Chilliwack, BC | GW Graham SS |
| Lea-Sophie Verret | G | Quebec City, QC | Seminaire St-Francois |
| Aerial Wilson | G | Dundas, ON | TRC Academy |
COACHING & TEAM STAFF
| NAME | POSITION | HOMETOWN | AFFILIATION |
| Jodi Gram | Head Coach | Markham, ON | Bill Crothers S.S |
| Dani Sinclair | Co-Head Coach | Victoria, BC | University of Victoria |
| Albena Branzova-Dimitrova | Assistant Coach | Montreal, QC | Université du Québec à Montréal |
| Michele Sung | Performance Analyst | Winnipeg, MB | University of Manitoba |
| Michelle Bell | Athletic Therapist | Brampton, ON | Ryerson University |
| Marcus Jansen | Physician | Toronto, ON | |
| Mireille Beland | Head of Delegation | Repentigny, QC | Vanier College |
| Agnes Borg | Women’s Youth Player Development Manager | Toronto, ON | Canada Basketball/Ontario Basketball |
Courtesy Canada Basketball
Drew Ebanks
