Team Canada has had a rough start in their friendly schedule. Even with WNBA reinforcements, it will be tough to see them on the medal stand.
The Washington Mystics have three Olympians who play for three different national teams. Forward Aaliyah Edwards plays for the Canada women’s national team, which is already in the middle of their friendly schedule. Today, we’ll go over what Team Canada has done so far, the games they have left and take a look at their medal chances.
Friendly schedule
So far, the Canadians have had a rough schedule. As we noted in passing earlier, they lost to Belgium, 81-51 on July 14 in Charleroi. Then the day before, they lost 61-48 to Spain, also in Charleroi.
I get that Edwards, Kia Nurse and Bridget Carleton haven’t suited up yet because of the WNBA schedule. But it’s still not very encouraging for Team Canada’s chances of medaling after a loss to one of my personal medal favorites (since DraftKings Sportsbook is going with the world powers of 10-15 years ago….) and Spain, which is not as powerful as it was 10-15 years ago.
What’s next on the schedule before the Olympics?
The Canadians will play Spain on Wednesday in Spain. Tip off is at 2 p.m. ET.
A former Mystics player is on the coaching staff!
Murriel Page, who is also known as the “Original Mystic,” is an assistant coach for Team Canada. She is also an assistant coach for Mississippi State’s women’s basketball team.
So what are Canada’s medal chances?
I don’t see the Canadians winning a medal, though fans in our recent SB Nation Reacts survey believed that the Canadians had the best chance of winning the Gold Medal after the USA Basketball women’s national team.
While Canada is America’s northern neighbor and has numerous WNBA players, they don’t have the star power of Team USA or the cohesion of the European powers like Belgium and France. That said, I would like to see Edwards play very well for the Canadians and see them move on to at least the quarterfinals before letting the chips fall where they may.