Canada's women's basketball team takes first step toward 2028 Olympics at FIBA AmeriCup

As Delaney Gibb watched the Paris Olympics from her dorm room in Utah, she couldn't help but feel motivated.

The Raymond, Alta., native cheered from afar as friend, peer and fellow teenager Syla Swords competed for Canada's basketball team.

While Swords and her squad in Paris left winless and disappointed, Gibb's eyes were opened.

"It got me excited and ready for the future, just to try and continue getting better for maybe one day being an Olympic athlete. … It's fun to be able to watch those games when you have relationships and connections with the girls," Gibb said.

Less than one year later, the 19-year-old Gibb has authored a freshman-of-the-year season at BYU and now could be set for her first game action with Canada's senior women's team at the FIBA AmeriCup.

Action begins Saturday and runs through medal games July 6 in Santiago, Chile. The winner earns a berth to the 2026 World Cup, while others will be relegated to qualifying tournaments. The World Cup, set to take place in Germany, serves as an Olympic qualifier.

And so the journey to Los Angeles 2028 has already begun.

"I really want to have a successful career and being an Olympic athlete is the No. 1 [goal]," Gibb said.

Gibb was one of a few newcomers to the team at training camp, which will also play its first games under head coach Nell Fortner, hired in May, and general manager Steve Baur.

Fortner, 66, is the winningest women's coach in the history of USA Basketball, having led the Americans to gold at the 2000 Olympics.

Now with Canada after stops in the NCAA and WNBA, her long-term goal is to return to the top of the podium.

At the AmeriCup, the aim is to establish a winning foundation.

"You help them see what that process is every day in practice, when we come together, that culture build of what this is about every time you step into the doors of Canada Basketball, that you know you're at Canada Basketball," Fortner said.

On the court, Fortner has an idea of what she'd like Team Canada to look like.

"We're trying to play faster and really push pace. And we're trying to really defend at a high level," she said.

But the AmeriCup, and the training camp in Toronto that preceded it, are also serving as an evaluation period for Fortner.

Since the tournament occurs during the WNBA season, she'll be without key players such as Kia Nurse, Bridget Carleton and Aaliyah Edwards.

"I'm trying to learn them more, get a feel for who they are as individual players first and then what they're capable of doing right now and then what style can we play? So we're still trying to figure that out right now. And then we don't have all the players here, so it's a process," Fortner said.

For Gibb, Fortner's mindset is an opportunity to take a step toward her Olympic dream.

The five-foot-10 guard placed third among NCAA freshmen with 17.5 points per game and sixth with 4.2 assists per game last season at BYU.

While she said the increased physicality was the biggest difference she noticed at the senior women's team level, it appears she's ready to make an immediate impact.

"Just really being ready for anything and trying to be supportive, bring energy. And then also having a new coach, I think it's really cool that I'm going to be able to from her and create a relationship with her because moving forward that's what I want," Gibb said.

On the other side of the roster spectrum, two-time Olympian Kayla Alexander is back with the program after a season in Spain.

Alexander, 34, has become one of Canada's most reliable bigs over the past two Olympic cycles.

Now, she may need to step into a leadership role as well in the wake of Natalie Achonwa's retirement and without the WNBA players.

"I've always come in with the mindset of 'I'm gonna work my butt off' and then I'm gonna lead by example, use my voice when I need to and just show, especially the young ones coming in, like you're here for a reason, play your game [and] what you bring to the table because we need you," Alexander said.

Alexander said she's bought in on Fortner's revamped play style.

"We're starting with our defence. In the past, Canada was known for their defence. I think we got a little bit away from that," she said.

Months before Fortner was hired, a group of players gathered in Toronto for what was ostensibly a training camp, but instead turned into a culture reset.

The players committed to sacrifice for each other with the shared goal of winning a medal at the Olympics.

The AmeriCup, then, presents a first test, with rookies and veterans alike coming together without the WNBAers to take an initial step toward Los Angeles.

"I think for, especially most of us who went through Paris, the disappointment, just realizing if you want different results you gotta do something different. So I think that we're trying to implement and create a culture and new standards that will help us get the results that we want moving forward," Alexander said.

Canada, ranked seventh worldwide, is grouped with No. 10 Brazil, No. 31 Argentina, No. 34 Dominican Republic and No. 56 El Salvador.

The top four teams in each of two groups advance to the knockout rounds.

Canada has won the regional tournament three times in 1995, 2015 and 2017. It reached the gold-medal game four straight times from 2013 to 2019 before it placed fourth in 2021 and third in 2023.