TORONTO –
Shy Day-Wilson will be absent for a few days from her Duke Blue Devils training camp this week.
But the 19-year-old from Toronto will not pass up the chance to play for Canada, and in front of a hometown crowd for the first time in years.
Day-Wilson had 18 points and seven assists to lift Canada’s under-23 women’s basketball team to an 85-60 win over the United States on Saturday and a gold medal on Sunday of the Globl Jam tournament. opening.
“Gosh, it’s a good feeling (playing at home),” she said. “It feels really great to be back home in front of my fans and supporters… I haven’t done that since four years ago. I loved every moment of it.”
Merissah Russell and Sarah Te-Biasu each scored 13 points, while Aaliyah Edwards finished with 10 points and 9 rebounds, and Yvonne Ejim took the top 13 for the Canadian, who led by 30 points.
Canada will face France in the final on Sunday, after France overcame Belgium 74-73 in the first semi-final of the day.
Day-Wilson, who lost a year of high school basketball because of the COVID-19 pandemic, is having a spectacular rookie season with Duke, leading the Blues in points, assists, real goals. performance, free throws and effort, and minutes played last season, earned her the ACC Freshman of the Year.
She said while missing out on Duke camp, she is getting the same development playing with Canada’s U-23 team.
“I’m a gym freak. I go to the gym every day. So I mean, I’m lacking a lot, but I’m not really lacking much, because I’m still hitting the gym to do my own thing in, ” she said.
Day-Wilson’s hot rookie season also drew the attention of Drake, who was dubbed the 5-foot-six keeper “Yellow Tape Shy”. The Toronto recording artist invited Day-Wilson to play one-on-one at his indoor patio. The video went viral.
“He’s a nice guy,” Day-Wilson said.
Day-Wilson impressed on her national team debut against Canada’s under-19s at last summer’s World Cup in Hungary, averaging 18.1 points a game. She dreams of playing for Canada’s senior team, and with senior coach Victor Lapena sitting on the field on Saturday, her performance has certainly not affected her chances.
“Everybody saw it and so did I, I’m ready for the next level,” she said. “So I’ll just keep taking it one step at a time. And when that time comes, I’ll be ready.”
The United States took a 22-19 lead after a quarter, but the Canadians rallied eight with a 14-6 score midway through the second half. Canada entered halftime 46-37 in front of a Mattamy Sports Center crowd that included swimming star Penny Oleksiak, Canada’s most beautiful athlete.
The Canadian, who beat the US 78-69 in the preliminary round earlier in the week, continued to withdraw in the third inning, and when Edwards drove to the ring for a break at the end of the quarter, it took the Canadians away. surpass. 19. Day-Wilson hit three pointers with 51 seconds remaining in the frame, sending Canada into the fourth quarter with a score of 69-46.
The Global Jam was created to bridge the gap between under-19s and senior programs, and saw four countries on each side of men and women compete.
Basketball Canada envisions the event becoming the basketball version of the immensely popular kids hockey championship in the world.
“Wouldn’t that be great?” Mike Bartlett, CEO of Canada Basketball said. “Long-range, it would be great if it started to mirror what the world juniors have become, but it took 20, 25 years for that to be where it is today.
“I hope it doesn’t take long for us but the response again we get from all the people we’re talking to is: ‘you have something here.”
The Canadian 3×3 Championship, which drew huge crowds at nearby Yonge-Dundas Square on Saturday, is being held as part of the Globl Jam festival.
The Canadian men, who had taken a 2-1 lead in the first round – their one loss to Italy – were scheduled to meet the Americans in the semi-finals the following Saturday. The winner will be Brazil, who beat Italy 79-56 earlier in the day, in Sunday’s gold medal final.
This Canadian Press report was first published on July 9, 2022.
