Bronze medal at U19 World Cup shows bright future for Canadian women's basketball

The Canadian women's basketball program has a bright future, as evidenced by its latest showing at the under-19 level.

Canada won its second-ever medal at the FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup with an 80-73 overtime victory over France in the bronze-medal game Sunday. Canada's only other medal at the tournament came in 2017, also under head coach Carly Clarke.

"This is our second medal at the U19 worlds in the past six years. I think there's a goal for Canada to be on the podium at every major event," Clarke said. "That's a big goal but that's what I think our talent level allows us to push towards and think about and plan for.

Clarke's 12-player squad — which dropped one of its seven games in a tight semifinal to eventual silver medallist Spain — consisted of players that have committed to an NCAA Division I school, or are entering their sophomore year at one.

"That's the level of player that's developing now in Canada," Clarke said. "The top programs in the NCAA, the WNBA — pro leagues are interested in our Canadian players because they have athleticism, the skill set, the passion and competitiveness and desire to get better.

"A lot of people came to our team with some great experiences this summer and the depth of our team was certainly one of our greatest strengths. One through 12, we were a very, very, very strong team."

bringing home bronze