Canadian women's basketball team looking to continue growth at FIBA World Championship

The Canadian women's basketball team enters the FIBA World Championship in Turkey ranked No. 9 in the world and they're bringing over a roster with a good mix of veterans and youth. The tournament begins Saturday and it represents a vital intersection for the program.

"The veterans of the 2012 Olympic team are the leaders of this squad. Kim Gaucher, Shona Thorburn, Courtnay Pilypaitis, they're veterans who have been around World Championships and Olympics." Michele O'Keefe, the executive director of Canada Basketball, said in a phone interview earlier this week. "And now we've got a couple of younger players who have replaced the ones who have retired."

Kia Nurse, 18, and Nirra Fields, 20, are two of those younger players that have earned their way onto the team and they will be given every chance to make an impact.

"It's a great opportunity for them to test themselves on an international stage, said O'Keefe. "It's going to be a great experience for them to get under their belts.

Canada's preliminary round group at the tournament consists of Mozambique, France, and Turkey. France, the No. 4 team in the world who recently handed the top-ranked U.S. team their first international loss since 2011, will present the biggest on-court challenge to the Canadians.

"They've got some incredibly strong veteran athletes that have been playing in Europe for 10 years," said O'Keefe. "They're strong, they don't make bad decisions very often. They always know what the right play is."

Of course, the hosts will have the support of the home crowd on their side.

"Turkey is a very big basketball country. When we were there [in 2012] for the Olympic qualification tournament, the Turkish games were always jammed," said O'Keefe.

This makes their opening game against Mozambique extremely important. The goal is to make it to the quarterfinals. To get there, Canada has to finish in the top three in their group to and then win their next game to guarantee a top-8 finish.

"We're looking to play the best we can and we're aiming for the quarterfinals. Once you're there you're just two games away from playing for a medal," said O'Keefe "As soon as you start to get to that quarterfinal game, then people start to pay a little bit more attention.

"Every competition we go to just helps us get better for the next one, the momentum is unbelievable," said O'Keefe. "Our athletes are probably as well known as they've ever been and more young girls are going to play. We're seeing a huge growth in the number of athletes that are playing and we're seeing growth in the number of athletes that want to play in the high-performance stream and ultimately play for their provincial team and for the national team."

With Edmonton hosting the 2015 FIBA Americas next summer and the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro on the horizon, the women's program is in a good place.

Canada's games at the world championship will all be broadcast live on NBA TV Canada.