While we wait for any news regarding the WNBA and WNBPA coming to terms on a new CBA, women’s basketball will be heading to the international stage. This week, four separate FIBA Women’s World Cup Qualifier tournaments will be taking place in France, China, Turkey and Puerto Rico. Canada’s team will head to Turkey to compete for a spot in September’s World Cup in Germany.
After a disappointing group stage exit from the 2024 Paris Olympics, Team Canada underwent a coaching staff change on both the men’s
and women’s sides. For the women’s team, Canada hired Nell Fortner, former NCAA, WNBA and Team USA coach — a proven winner with a ton of experience on every level. In her first tournament with Canada Basketball, Fortner led Canada to a bronze medal finish at the AmeriCup last summer. This week’s tournament will be the first time Fortner, joined by assistants Christie Sides, Carly Clarke and Marlo Davis, will be coaching the team’s WNBA stars.
Canada has high hopes of returning to the podium at the World Cup this fall after placing 4th at the last World Cup in 2022. With high expectations and a stacked roster, this week will be both a test of the new system and an assessment of Canada’s talent pool.
Tournament Format: Who advances to the World Cup?
With four tournaments around the world, 16 teams will advance to the World Cup tournament by next week. Five already have — the host team, Germany, as well as the winners of the four continental tournaments from last year. Team USA won the Americup, Belgium won Eurobasket, Australia won the Asia Cup, and Nigeria won Afrobasket. Those five teams will still compete in qualifier tournaments, but will do so without pressure, since they qualify no matter what.
The four tournaments are as follows:
France:
- France
- Colombia
- Phillippines
- Germany*
- South Korea
- Nigeria*
China:
- China
- Mali
- South Sudan
- Brazil
- Belgium*
- Czechia
Turkey:
- Turkey
- Canada
- Hungary
- Argentina
- Australia*
- Japan
Puerto Rico
- Puerto Rico
- USA*
- Senegal
- New Zealand
- Italy
- Spain
* notes teams that have already qualified for the World Cup
In the end, four teams from each of these groups will end up making it to the World Cup. That includes the one team that has already qualified, and then the three other top teams at the end of the tournament. In the France group, since there are already two teams that have qualified, only two other countries will qualify.
It’s pretty simple: to make it to the World Cup, finish this week’s tournament in the top three of your group (among teams that haven’t qualified).
Canada’s Roster
Canada has selected 12 players to represent in Turkey this week. Due to timing, Canada’s WNBA stars are able to participate, but someone like Syla Swords (who competed at the Olympics) cannot make the trip due to the NCAA postseason. A few NCAA stars like Swords (Michigan), Avery Howell (Washington), Delaney Gibb (BYU) and more have been with the Senior National Team for camps and tournaments over the past few years. While they are not on this roster, expect them to at least be in the mix when it comes to the World Cup roster, should Canada qualify.
Here is the roster in Turkey this week:
- Kayla Alexander
- Niyah Becker
- Bridget Carleton
- Shay Colley
- Faith Dut
- Aaliyah Edwards
- Yvonne Ejim
- Sami Hill
- Shaina Pellington
- Kia Nurse
- Merissah Russell
- Tara Wallack
Kia Nurse, Bridget Carleton, and Aaliyah Edwards all played in the WNBA in 2025. Nurse most recently played in Athlete’s Unlimited, Edwards had a great Unrivaled season, and Carleton has been playing in Hungary. Ejim was drafted to the Indiana Fever in the 2025 draft, participating in training camp before being waived, and played at Gonzaga before that, now playing pro in Spain. Sami Hill, Shay Colley and Kayla Alexander have been mainstays and leaders of the program over the past few years. Most of Canada’s roster plays professional basketball overseas.
In terms of depth, it’s a solid and well-balanced effort. Colley, Hill, and Pellington will likely take on the point guard role, and don’t be shocked if Fortner rotates who starts over the week. Alexander and Edwards, of course, lead the front court, and Ejim and Wallack are strong forwards. Carleton and Nurse are the team’s primary wings, but they are also incredibly important on the defensive end.
Schedule and Match Ups
Canada’s tournament schedule is as follows, with all games on TSN:
- Wednesday March 11 vs Turkey at 12:30 pm EST
- Thursday March 12 vs Hungary at 9:30 am EST
- Saturday March 14 vs Argentina at 9:30 am EST
- Sunday March 15 vs Japan at 9:30 am EST
- Tuesday March 17 vs Australia at 9:30 am EST
In terms of matchups, Australia, Japan, and Hungary pose the biggest threats to Canada, while Turkey and Argentina should be easier games. That being said, Argentina almost beat Canada for the bronze medal in the AmeriCup, but the Argentinians played exceptionally well in that one-point game. Turkey has Kennedy Burke, their sole allowed naturalized player, so that’s someone to keep an eye on as well.
Hungary has Dorka Juhasz — former UConn Husky and currently under contract with the Minnesota Lynx — in the frontcourt, but Canada can breathe easier knowing Bernadette Hatar will not be competing this time around. Hungary has a pair of 6-foot-4 and 6-foot-5 centers in Virag Takacs-Kiss and Kinga Josepovits to keep in mind as well. Keeping Alexander and Edwards out of foul trouble against Hungary will be important.
Japan poses an almost opposite effect — they shoot the lights out from three. Relying on speed, ball movement, and distance shooting, Canada’s perimeter defence will need to be locked in to slow down the Japanese team.
Australia, of course, is a superpower. Coached by Toronto Tempo head coach Sandy Brondello, Australia’s team has the most amount of WNBA talent outside of Team USA. Ezi Magbegor is the crafty and athletic forward from Seattle, and Alanna Smith just won an Unrivaled Championship, and has carved herself a solid spot on the Minnesota Lynx team in recent seasons. Sami Whitcomb is a veteran shooter, and Jade Melbourne is a rising young guard in the WNBA. Canada’s match-up with Australia comes with the caveat that Australia’s performance doesn’t really matter, since they’ve already qualified. Plus, in the last game of the tournament, maybe Brondello goes a little deeper into her bench. Canada will have their hands full, regardless.
Canada’s Strengths and Weaknesses
For Canada to secure one of the three available bids to the World Cup, there are a few keys to their performance.
Canada’s biggest strength with this roster is 100% their front court, and their success will come when they play through Kayla Alexander. Alexander is a bucket under the hoop, and getting the ball to her again and again is so important. Against teams where they have the size advantage, she will be a cheat code. Against teams like Australia and Hungary, her ability to draw fouls could help Canada’s chances a lot.
This is also going to be Aaliyah Edwards’ first FIBA tournament in a while, and she’s developed as a professional in so many ways since 2024. Her ability to rebound and score under the net will be huge, and she’s always had masterful footwork. Using her natural physicality will be key.
One thing this iteration of Canada’s team can struggle with is shooting. They will lean a lot on Bridget Carleton for that, but also Hill, Nurse, and Colley. Back in the summer of 2025, before the AmeriCup, Coach Fortner made each of her players shoot 100 three-point shots at the end of every practice, placing importance on remedying that skill. At the time, she also placed a ton of importance on playing through the team’s defence, something they will need to lock into this week.
Ultimately, Canada has a pretty good shot at making it through this tournament and into the World Cup. The changes they have made over the past year in coaching, culture, and strategy have all been to make moments like this easier. This tournament will be a good gauge of where Canada’s women’s program is at a time when they want to be ramping up for the World Cup and, eventually, the 2028 Olympics.
