Women's Basketball | 6/15/2017 10:53:00 PM
MONTREAL –
Alex Kiss-Rusk of the national champion McGill University Martlets was one 15 athletes named on Wednesday by Canada Basketball to participate in Phase 2 of the national women's team program assessment camp from June 19-26 in Edmonton, Alta.
It is the second stint with the national team for Kiss-Rusk, a 22-year-old psychology senior from Beaconsfield, Que., who also attended a Phase 1 assessment camp in May.
She is the only Canadian university player invited from U SPORTS, the national governing body previously known as CIS. The roster also includes four current players from the NCAA and four from the WNBA, plus one apiece from pro leagues in France, Germany, Australia, Russia, Greece and Portugal.
The team will travel to China for a six-game exhibition tournament from July 1-8. Canada, currently sixth, in the FIBA world rankings, will tip-off on July 1 against 24th-ranked Lithuania then face-off against No.12 Belarus and No.10 China.
"This second phase of training is focused on developing our athletes as we assess our path forward to the FIBA Women's AmeriCup," said national team head coach Lisa Thomaidis in a press release. "The exhibition tournament in China will help determine what we need to build upon as we progress to the final phase of training."
The full roster and schedule is listed below. Follow Canada Basketball on Twitter for game streaming details and live game coverage. Canada will re-group in Edmonton on July 23 where the final phase of training will begin and the final roster for the FIBA Women's AmeriCup 2017 will be confirmed.
Kiss-Rusk, a 6-foot-4 centre and two-time team MVP, was an RSEQ all-conference selection for the second straight season and earned the league's defensive player of the year award. She was named national championship tournament MVP after meriting player-of-the-game honours in all three games at Nationals. She started in all 33 games, averaging 31.5 minutes 14.6 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. She registered a team-leading 14 "double-doubles", to go along with 79 blocked shots, 76 assists and 24 steals. Kiss-Rusk shot 48.7 from the field (109/409) and 72.8 from the free-throw line (83/114).
2017 SENIOR NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER FOR CHINA TOURNAMENT
|
NAME
|
POSITION
|
HEIGHT
|
HOMETOWN
|
CLUB/SCHOOL (16-17)
|
|
Bridget Carleton
|
Guard
|
6'1"
|
Chatham, ON
|
Iowa State (NCAA)
|
|
Shay Colley
|
Guard
|
5'7"
|
Brampton, ON
|
Michigan State (NCAA)
|
|
Laura Dally
|
Guard
|
5'9"
|
Sarnia, ON
|
BG 89 Avides (Germany)
|
|
Quinn Dornstauder
|
Centre
|
6'4"
|
Regina, SK
|
Arizona State (NCAA) / Los Angeles Sparks (WNBA)
|
|
Nirra Fields
|
Guard
|
5'6"
|
Montreal, QC
|
Edrremit (Turkey) / Atlanta Dream (WNBA)
|
|
Abigail Fogg
|
Centre
|
6'4"
|
Sault Ste. Marie, ON
|
South Dakota (NCAA)
|
|
Alex Kiss-Rusk
|
Centre
|
6'4"
|
Beaconsfield, QC
|
McGill (USport)
|
|
Ruth Hamblin
|
Centre
|
6'6"
|
Houston, BC
|
Perth Lynx (Australia)
|
|
Sami Hill
|
Guard
|
5'10"
|
Toronto, ON
|
Virginia Tech (NCAA)
|
|
Miah-Marie Langlois*
|
Point Guard
|
5'8"
|
Windsor, ON
|
Enisey Krasnoyarski Kraj (Russia)
|
|
Katherine Plouffe*
|
Small Forward
|
6'3"
|
Edmonton, AB
|
Nantes Reze (France) / Phoenix Mercury (WNBA)
|
|
Michelle Plouffe*
|
Small Forward
|
6'3"
|
Edmonton, AB
|
Mondeville (France)
|
|
Jamie Scott
|
Guard
|
5'9"
|
Clarkston, WA
|
Flying Foxes (Austria) / Los Angeles Sparks (WNBA)
|
|
Rashida Timbilla
|
Forward
|
6'1"
|
Ottawa, ON
|
Lombos Quinta (Portugal)
|
|
Dakota Whyte
|
Guard
|
5'9"
|
Ajax, ON
|
Proteas (Greece)
|
*Athlete attending only training camp, not traveling to China
COACHING STAFF
|
NAME
|
POSITION
|
HOMETOWN
|
|
Lisa Thomaidis
|
Head Coach
|
Saskatoon, SK
|
|
Shawnee Harle
|
Assistant Coach
|
Calgary, AB
|
|
Steve Baur
|
Assistant Coach
|
Sackville, NS
|
|
Max Hirst
|
Performance Analysis Coordinator
|
Collingwood, ON
|
|
Rhonda Shishkin
|
Physiotherapist
|
Saskatoon, SK
|
|
Danielle Dobney
|
Athletic Therapist
|
Toronto, ON
|
|
Laura Buschmann
|
Sport Scientist/IST Manager
|
St. Catharines, ON
|
|
Bryce Tully
|
Mental Performance Coach
|
Halifax, NS
|
|
Marni Wesner
|
Lead Physician
|
Edmonton, AB
|
|
Olesia Markevych
|
Physician
|
Edmonton, AB
|
|
Anne Marie Thus
|
Team Manager - Competition
|
Hamilton, ON
|
|
Hailey Roll
|
Team Manager - Training
|
Port Credit, ON
|
|
Denise Dignard
|
Director, Women's High Performance
|
Toronto, ON
|
2017 PHASE 2 ASSESSMENT CAMP SCHEDULE
|
DATES
|
PHASE 2
|
LOCATION
|
|
June 19-26
|
Training Camp
|
Edmonton, AB
|
|
June 29-30
|
Training in China
|
China
|
|
July 1
|
Canada vs. Lithuania @ 7:30am EST
|
Tournament Round 1
Xilinhot, Inner Mongolia, China
|
|
July 2
|
Canada vs. Belarus @ 7:30am EST
|
|
July 3
|
Canada vs. China @ 4:00am EST
|
|
July 6
|
Canada vs. Lithuania @ 9:30am EST
|
Tournament Round 2
Liupanshui, Guizhou, China
|
|
July 7
|
Canada vs. Belarus @ 9:30am EST
|
|
July 8
|
Canada vs. China @ 7:30am EST
|
For more information, contact:
Earl Zukerman, earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca (514) 398-7012
Bailey Williams, bwilliams@basketball.ca
