Coach Alison McNeill, Canada earns world’s respect in Olympic women’s basketball; remember that before they face unbeaten U.S.

Get the quote below engraved on a plaque, stat.

Chances are, Canada's Olympic basketball ride will end Tuesday with a quarter-final loss to unbeaten Team USA that could resemble an unhealthy blood-pressure reading. Before that happens, Australian forward Abby Bishop's post-game summation should be burned into memory. It captures why coach Alison McNeill's team was an endearing, if sometimes vexing, underdog at London 2012.

From Ed Willes, following the Opals' 72-63 win that consigned Canada to a matchup vs. the Stars and Stripes and their 38-game Olympic win streak:

Basketball isn't all about winning. At every level — the high school with the larger enrollment, the club team in a more densely populated area, the NBA team in a larger media market — some programs will just have more resources and a deeper talent pool. For the have-fewer, the game's essence is to become tough out — you might lose, but you never give up.

Think the Americans, fresh off dusting China 114-66 in their final round-robin tilt, are looking past Canada?

It shouldn't be overlooked that McNeill's motley crew — ranging from vets such as Kim Smith and Shona Thorburn, overseas-based NCAA alumnae such as Tamara Tatham and Courtnay Pilypaitis, teenaged post player Natalie Achonwa — could have avoided this fate. In fact, if they had hung on to beat Russia on Day 1, they would instead be facing China, whom they beat during a pre-Olympic series in Richmond, B.C., this spring.

Against the Opals, Canada didn't have a ready answer for 6-foot-8 centre Liz Cambage, who scored 15 of her game-high 18 points in the first half. Australia's game-opening 12-0 run came entirely from points in the paint. It was admirable that Canada, led by 17 points from Smith, made it one-possession game three times in the second half. It was evident, based the amount of exertion each team needed to get their baskets, that just staying in contact was an uphill climb. Still, they were in there.

High-water mark or watershed?

Time will tell if there is a post-Games bounce for the program. Team sports aren't the darling of Own The Podium, which has a jones for the multi-medal disciplines. Canadian companies looking to use women's sports as an advertising vehicle will obviously look to align with the soccer team, which is having its own great Olympic run and is set to host the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup.

There is also a question of who returns for a Run To Rio. Achonwa, by then, should be rounding into form as a low-post star. Eighteen-year-old Quebecer Nirra Fields, who was the California high school girls player of the year, could be fresh out of college and there's more young talent in the pipeline. As CTV's analyst, Windsor Lancers coach Chantal Vallée, noted during the Brazil-Canada game, staying in the sport is challenging for the female players who are past college age but cannot get a foothold in the 12-team WNBA. It means having to live in a foreign culture, with all its attendant challenges. Australia, which has a women's pro league, can rely on having a choice of seasoned veterans; it'll be interesting to see how little turnover Canada will have for the Rio cycle.

On the plus side, Canada Basketball is headed in a positive direction. Ideally, the program's improved fortunes will benefit both senior teams.

Consider that something to think about before Canada goes into a game vs. the U.S. which McNeill called a "foregone conclusion." Is a top-8 finish an anomaly or reason to up the ante? As for the game, at least there's probably no chance of the U.S. matching the 115-51 blowout the USSR pinned on this country in 1976. Canada will have enough belly fire for the full 40 minutes.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Contact him at neatesager@yahoo.ca and follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.