Canadians will play key roles in women's March Madness

This is an excerpt from The Buzzer, which is CBC Sports' daily email newsletter. Stay up to speed on what's happening in sports by subscribing here.

March has officially gone mad. The NCAA basketball tournaments tipped off last night (sort of) with the first play-in games for the men, whose 64-team bracket begins Thursday. The women's play-ins get going tonight, with the tournament proper starting Friday.

We covered the Canadians to watch in the men's tourney in yesterday's newsletter. Now let's look at the top Canadian women vying for a spot in their Final Four in Dallas:

Laeticia Amihere, forward, South Carolina (No. 1 seed in the Greenville 1 regional): After averaging 7.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocks off the bench for the most dominant team in college basketball, the versatile 6-foot-4 senior from Mississauga, Ont., could get picked in this year's WNBA draft. But first, Amihere will try to help the 32-0 Gamecocks complete a perfect season by winning their second straight national championship.

Aaliyah Edwards, forward, UConn (No. 2 seed in Seattle 3 regional): With superstar guard Paige Bueckers lost for the entire season to a knee injury, Edwards stepped up and helped keep perennial-powerhouse Connecticut in title contention by averaging a team-high 16.6 points along with 9.2 rebounds and winning MVP of the Big East tournament. The strong-and-skilled 6-foot-3 junior from Kingston, Ont., now looks to lead the Huskies to their 15th consecutive Final Four — and maybe avenge their loss to Amihere's Gamecocks in last year's title game.

Shayeann Day-Wilson, guard, Duke (No. 3 seed in Seattle 4 regional): The exciting 5-foot-6 sophomore is averaging 8.4 points and a team-high 2.5 assists as the starting point