OTTAWA – Canadian Interuniversity Sport, in conjunction with Canada Basketball, announced Friday the 12 student-athletes who will represent Canada in women’s basketball at the 26th Summer Universiade in Shenzhen,China.
The Canadian roster is made up of seven CIS all-stars and five NCAA including Justine Colley of East Preston, N.S., Jill Humbert of Saskatoon, Elyse Jobin of Moncton, Elle Kerfoot of Surrey, B.C., Miah-Marie Langlois of Windsor, Ont., Lindsay Ledingham of Regina, Julie Seabrook of North Vancouver, Katie Miyazaki of Richmond, B.C., Megan Pinske of Coquitlam, B.C., Raelyn Prince of Harrow, Ont., Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe of Vernon, B.C., and Kendel Ross of Sarnia, Ont.
Pinske, Seabrook, Jobin, Ross and Colley all have international experience as part of Canada’s National Team Program.
Pinske, a 5-foot-9 guard from Western Washington, is the only returning player from the red and white squad that finished a disappointing 15th at the 2009 Universiade inBelgrade,Serbia. Colley, also a 5-foot-9 guard from Saint Mary’s, led CIS in scoring last season with a remarkable 25.8 points per game.
Langlois and Prince guided the Windsor Lancers to their first-ever CIS title last march, while Humbert and Miyazaki helped the Saskatchewan Huskies claim CIS silver. Langlois was named national championship MVP following the Lancers’ triumph, while Miyazakiis the two-time reigning CIS defensive player of the year.
In Shenzhen, the Canadians will battle with Poland (Aug. 14), Russia (Aug. 15) and South Africa (Aug. 16) in the preliminary round. The quarter-finals of the 16-team tournament are set for Aug. 18 with the semi-finals following the next day and the final on the 21st.
The defending Universiade champion is the United States.
Canada’s best finish at the world university games is a pair of bronze medals in 1991 in Sheffield, England, and in 1979 in Mexico City.
“Our staff is very excited with the group of student-athletes that we’ve selected to representCanada at the FISU Games,” said Team Canada and University of Saskatchewan head coach Lisa Thomaidis. “We’re very impressed with how much we’ve been able to implement in a very short period of time. It’s a testament to the intelligence and work ethic of this group and we look forward to some excellent competition in China.”
Shawnee Harlee from the Calgary Dinos and Scott Edwards from the Alberta Pandas will assist Thomaidis on the sidelines. Rounding out the support staff are team manager Anne Marie Thuss of McMaster and physiotherapist Patrice Pepin.
(Source: Michel Bélanger, CIS Manager Communications & Media Relations)
UNIVERSIADE POOLS
Pool A: China, Chinese Taipei, France, Lithuania
Pool B: USA, Great Britain, Slovakia, Brazil
Pool C: Russia, Poland, Canada, South Africa
Pool D: Australia, Czech Republic, Japan, Sweden
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