Interest in women's basketball peaks ahead of first WNBA game in Canada

The first Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) game in Canada is coming to Toronto, and fans, experts and basketball hopefuls say it signals an optimistic start to a possible expansion into the country.

Chicago Sky faces the Minnesota Lynx at Scotiabank Arena Saturday evening for a pre-season game. Presale tickets sold out within a few hours according to the league, which confirmed the market's desire for the sport in Canada.

"I know there were folks in the market that were surprised, but we certainly were not. We expected the sellout," said Leah McNab, managing director of NBA Canada, noting merchandise sales and social media engagement have been trending upwards.

"We really thought this was a great opportunity for us to showcase these amazing players and teams, and have our fans really get to know the WNBA in a way that they may not have before."

To celebrate the occasion, WNBA Canada set up various activities for fans, including a 12-foot WNBA logo sculpture that fans can sign, a customization studio where people can make Nike and WNBA-branded apparel, meet and greets with the players, and more. The full itinerary can be found on the WNBA Canada website. 

While a WNBA team in Canada is not yet on the books, McNab says Canadian cities could potentially support teams in the future. For now, she says it's about setting the stage for that to happen.

"I think it's a great chance for kids to see women play on a court, for boys and girls to be inspired and seeing that, you know, women can do the same things that men can do on the exact same stage that we see the Toronto Raptors play."

At a media conference on Friday, American Chicago Sky guard player Rebekah Gardner says it's exciting to be a part of expanding the