Team Canada calls Winnipeg women

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This article was published 12/06/2023 (887 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Emily Potter had gotten used to being the lone Manitoban.

The 6-5 centre from Winnipeg had been invited to numerous Canadian senior women’s basketball camps over the years and got to represent the country at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru.

In all those experiences, Potter, 27, was always the only hooper from the middle province to get the call.

That changes now.

Potter and 22-year-old Niyah Becker, also from Winnipeg, were named to a 15-player roster at the beginning of month to play a three-game exhibition series against No. 9-ranked Japan in Victoria, B.C. last week. Potter and Becker earned their way onto the squad with a strong showing at a weeklong national training camp in Edmonton at the end of May.

The two will be heading to Toronto later this week for another camp before taking off to Mexico to prepare for the FIBA AmeriCup (July 1-9) — a tournament that’s part of the qualifying process for the World Cup and Olympics. Canada will dress 12 players at the event, Potter and Becker are crossing their fingers that they’ll make the cut.

“I’ve never been to a worlds, Olympics, or any type of qualifying tournament like the AmeriCup. It’s been my goal for as long as I can remember,” Potter said. “So, I feel like I’m knocking on the door and I’m super close. I just want to stay the course and keep working my hardest. And I would love if Niyah could be there so we could share that experience and represent Winnipeg.”

Despite having the same hometown, Potter and Becker had never played together until recently. Before carving out an impressive pro career, Potter, a Glenlawn Collegiate product, starred at the University of Utah between 2013-18.

Coincidentally, Becker, a 6-2 forward who went to Vincent Massey Collegiate before finishing high school at Lincoln Prep in Hamilton, Ont., also went to Utah, but arrived on campus the year after Potter graduated.

Becker played three seasons for the Utes before transferring to Wake Forest for her final two years. She graduated last month and will be headed to Slovenia this fall to play professionally.

“I remember when I was really young, too young to be on the teams, I’d go watch the older provincial teams’ tryouts with my dad. I remember seeing (Potter) in the tryouts, I think it was for 17-under, so it’s cool to have that memory of seeing her play and being able to play with her now,” said Becker.

“… And now getting to watch her play overseas the last couple years and do really well is really cool to see because that’s also what my aspirations are. I can learn from her experiences on playing overseas and what are the dos and don’ts. It’s been really great.”

Potter played last season in Athens, Greece for Panathinaikos where she helped the club hoist the Greek Cup in March. When that season ended, Potter got an offer to join Beirut Club for their playoff run in the Lebanese Basketball League. She led the club to victory in the championship game with 22 points and 18 rebounds.

It was a positive end to a season that wasn’t easy. She struggled to get into a rhythm in her first year with Panathinaikos, thanks to a bout with COVID and three respiratory infections that required antibiotics.

“The year before that, I felt like I had it all figured out, but things happen that make you feel like you’re back at square one again sometimes,” said Potter.

“I’m a professional and just finished my fifth year playing, but there’s still times where I’m like, ‘Dang, am I cut out to do this?’ But this is just more lessons that I’ll take with me in the coming seasons.”

With the Canadian women being fifth in the FIBA World rankings, it’d be an impressive feat for both local products to make the game-day roster in Mexico. Canada was drawn into Group B and will play Mexico (July 2), Puerto Rico (July 3), Colombia (July 4), and Dominican Republic (July 5) in round-robin action.

“Anything Team Canada related, it’s always the best people from their schools and their (provinces) so it’s always going to be a fight to take a final roster spot,” said Becker.

“It really depends on who comes to play and who can provide the most to the team depending on what they need. So, we’ll see how I compete with the mindset of making the team and we’ll see where it lands me.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31