| QUALIFIERS for worlds: Belgium China Mali Czechia France Germany South Korea Nigeria United States Italy Spain Puerto Rico Australia Hungary Turkiye Japan | CANADIANS Kayla Alexander – Milton, Ont. Niyah Becker – Winnipeg, Man. Bridget Carleton – Chatham, Ont. Shay Colley – Brampton, Ont. Faith Dut – Surrey, B.C. Aaliyah Edwards – Kingston, Ont. Yvonne Ejim – Calgary, Alta. Sami Hill – Toronto, Ont. Shaina Pellington – Pickering, Ont. Kia Nurse – Hamilton, Ont. Merissah Russell – Ottawa, Ont. Tara Wallack – Surrey, B.C. Nell Fortner – coach Christie Sides – assistant Carly Clarke – assistant Marlo Davis – assistant |
| POOL A | BEL | CHN | MAL | CZE | BRZ | SSD | Record | ||||
| Belgium | —– | 80-65 | 81-50 | 93-50 | 99-70 | 102-64 | (5-0) | ||||
| China | 65-80 | —– | 81-68 | 84-74 | 83-71 | 86-76 | (4-1) | ||||
| Mali | 50-81 | 68-81 | —– | 77-64 | 73-76 | 97-74 | (2-3) | ||||
| Czechia | 50-93 | 74-84 | 64-77 | —– | 84-65 | 89-52 | (2-3) | ||||
| Brazil | 70-99 | 71-83 | 76-73 | 65-84 | —– | 84-79 | (2-3) | ||||
| South Sudan | 64-102 | 76-86 | 74-97 | 52-89 | 79-84 | —– | (0-5) | ||||
Top four finishers qualify for the World Championships in Berlin, Germany from Sept. 4-13/2026.
The all-tournament team featured Julie Allemand (Belgium); Emma Meesseman (Belgium); Shuyu Yang (China); Maimouna Haidara (Mali); and Emma Cechova (Czechia).
| POOL B | FRA | GER | KOR | NIG | PHI | COL | Record | ||||
| France | —– | 85-63 | 89-62 | 93-86 | 115-66 | 88-48 | (5-0) | ||||
| Germany | 63-85 | —– | 78-49 | 81-73 | 113-80 | 78-57 | (4-1) | ||||
| South Korea | 62-89 | 49-78 | —– | 77-60 | 105-74 | 82-52 | (3-2) | ||||
| Nigeria | 86-93 | 73-81 | 60-77 | —– | 101-84 | 70-37 | (2-3) | ||||
| Philippines | 66-115 | 80-113 | 74-105 | 84-101 | —– | 74-59 | (1-4) | ||||
| Colombia | 48-88 | 57-78 | 52-82 | 37-70 | 59-74 | —– | (0-5) | ||||
Top four finishers qualify for the World Championships in Berlin, Germany from Sept. 4-13/2026.
The all-tournament team featured MVP Janelle Salaun (France); Marine Johannes (France); Victoria Macaulay (Nigeria); Frieda Buhner (Germany); and Leeseul Kang (South Korea).
| POOL C | USA | ITA | SPN | PUR | SEN | NZL | Record | ||||
| United States | —– | 93-59 | 84-70 | 91-48 | 110-46 | 101-46 | (5-0) | ||||
| Italy | 59-93 | —– | 68-56 | 78-41 | 85-35 | 74-51 | (4-1) | ||||
| Spain | 70-84 | 56-68 | —– | 91-52 | 84-51 | 99-50 | (3-2) | ||||
| Puerto Rico | 48-91 | 41-78 | 52-91 | —– | 56-47 | 77-61 | (2-3) | ||||
| Senegal | 46-110 | 35-85 | 51-84 | 47-56 | —– | 61-45 | (1-4) | ||||
| New Zealand | 46-101 | 51-74 | 50-99 | 61-77 | 45-61 | —– | (0-5) |
Top four finishers qualify for the World Championships in Berlin, Germany from Sept. 4-13/2026.
The all-tournament team featured MVP Caitlin Clark (United States); Megan Gustafson (Spain); Cecilia Zandalasini (Italy); Kelsey Plum (United States); and Imani McGee-Stafford (Puerto Rico).
| POOL D | AUS | HUN | TUR | JPN | CAN | ARG | Record | ||||
| Australia | —– | 71-58 | 77-74 | 81-71 | 82-76 | 91-65 | (5-0) | ||||
| Hungary | 58-71 | —– | 89-74 | 77-65 | 53-75 | 92-81 | (3-2) | ||||
| Turkiye | 74-77 | 74-89 | —– | 75-67 | 71-69 | 55-59 | (2-3) | ||||
| Japan | 71-81 | 65-77 | 67-75 | —– | 66-62 | 83-39 | (2-3) | ||||
| Canada | 76-82 | 75-53 | 69-71 | 62-66 | —– | 75-41 | (2-3) | ||||
| Argentina | 65-91 | 81-92 | 59-55 | 39-83 | 41-75 | —– | (1-4) | ||||
Top four finishers qualify for the World Championships in Berlin, Germany from Sept. 4-13/2026.
In their opener, Canada fell 71-69 to host Turkiye after trailing 21-8, 39-24 and 53-47 at the quarters. Canada was thoroughly outclassed in the first half. Outrebounded, outhustled, outshot, they fell behind by as many as 19 points. Bridget Carleton and Yvonne Ejim rallied Canada to a 69-67 lead but Turkiye’s Elif Bayram knotted the score as 69 with 1:53 to play and Olcay Cakir notched the winner with just over a minute to play. Bridget Carleton said “Obviously, a tough game, but I’m proud of our fight and our resilience to get back into it. Shots weren’t falling in the first half and our offence was a little chaotic, but we stayed together, made it a game and gave ourselves a chance to win.” Canadian coach Nell Fortner said “I was really proud of our effort to get back in the game. We got down 19 and it was a really physical battle to climb back into it, but we never lost our fight. That’s a really positive thing.” Kennedy Burke paced Turkiye with 16 on 3-10 from the floor, 2-9 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 11 boards, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Sevgi Uzun added 12 on 6-10 from the floor, 4 boards, 3 assists and 2 blocks. Olcay Cakir notched 12 on 4-7 from the floor, 4-8 from the line, 4 boards and 4 assists. Alperi Onar scored 9 on 3-4 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 4 assists. Elif Bayram added 6 on 3-3 from the floor and 7 boards. Esra Ural Topuz scored 6 on 3-3 from the floor, 2 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Goksen Fitik added 5 on 2-2 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 1-3 from the line and 4 boards. Derin Erdogan scored 5 on 2-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 2 boards, while Sinem Atas, Melek Uzunoglu and Zeynep Gul were scoreless. While Ayse Cora Yamaner did not play. Turkiye (coach Andrea Mazzon, assistant Murat Alkas, assistant Fatih Gezer) hit 28-61 (.459) overall, 26-44 (.591) from the floor, 2-17 (.118) from the arc and 13-21 (.619) from the line, while garnering 47 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 17 assists, 18 fouls, 14 turnovers, 6 steals and 6 blocks. Bridget Carleton paced Canada with 24 on 5-8 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 8-9 from the line, 5 boards ad 2 assists. Yvonne Ejim added 13 on 2-5 from the floor, 3-3 from the arc, 8 boards and 2 blocks. Kia Nurse notched 12 on 1-5 from the floor, 2-8 from the arc and 4-4 from the line. Aaliyah Edwards scored 10 on 4-8 from the floor, 2-6 from the line, 6 boards, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Shaina Pellington added 5 on 2-7 from the floor, 1-4 from the line, 4 boards and 8 assists. Shay Colley scored 3 on 0-4 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 2 assists. Tara Wallack added 2 on 1-1 from the floor, while Kayla Alexander, Merissah Russell and Sami Hill were scoreless. Alexander nabbed 7 boards and dished 3 assists. Niyah Becker and Faith Dut did not play. Canada hit 23-69 (.333) overall, 15-47 (.319) from the floor, 8-22 (.364) from the arc and 15-23 (.652) from the line, while garnering 39 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 19 assists, 19 fouls, 11 turnovers, 6 steals and 4 blocks.
Canada improved to (1-1) after pounding Hungary 75-53 after leading 24-18, 36-30 and 56-40 at the quarters. Hungary notched an 8-0 run at the start the second quarter to knot the score but Canada promptly took command, leading by as many as 29 as their defensive pressure rattled the Hungarians. Guard Shaina Pellington said “today was a lot of fun. It was a good game for us to gain momentum after yesterday, and we’re proud of the effort we put in. We’re looking to continue building on that.” Canadian coach Nell Fortner said “I thought we came out with really good defensive intensity, which makes us a better team. That’s something we didn’t do yesterday to start the game, so we really honed in on it. Shaina got us off to a great start with her ability to make plays off the dribble and gave us confidence offensively, and the rest of the team followed. … Today we focused on our defensive intensity and moving the ball better offensively, and I thought the group answered the bell.” Pellington said the team “had a conversation (after the opening round loss) about moving on and accepting that we needed to be better. Everyone stuck to their routines, we stayed connected, and we really focused on executing the game plan.” Shaina Pellington paced Canada with 16 on 6-8 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 3 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals. Bridget Carleton added 12 on 4-7 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 5 boards. Shay Colley notched 10 on 3-8 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 2 boards and 5 assists. Kayla Alexander scored 9 on 4-10 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 12 boards and 4 steals. Aaliyah Edwards added 8 on 3-7 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 5 boards. Kia Nurse scored 7 on 1-4 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Faith Dut added 6 on 3-3 from the floor, Sami Hill scored 5 on 1-1 from the floor and 1-2 from the arc. Tara Wallack added 2 on 1-1 from the floor and 0-2 from the arc, while Niyah Becker, Yvonne Ejim and Merissah Russell were scoreless. Ejim nabbed 3 boards and dished 2 assists. Russell nabbed 2 boards. Canada hit 30-74 (.405) overall, 26-50 (.520) from the floor, 4-24 (.167) from the arc and 11-11 from the line, while garnering 46 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 15 fouls, 21 fouls, 13 turnovers, 13 steals and 1 block. Dorka Juhasz paced Hungary with 13 on 3-11 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 4-6 from the line and 9 boards. Debora Dubei added 11 on 1-3 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 2 assists and 2 steals. Virag Takacs-Kiss notched 8 on 3-9 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 5 boards. Kinga Josepovits scored 6 on 3-4 from the floor and 0-1 from the arc. Aliz Varga added 5 on 1-1 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 3 boards. Reka Dombai scored 4 on 0-1 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc and 4-4 from the line. Nina Aho added 4 on 2-3 from the floor 0-3 from the arc, 5 boards and 2 assists. Panka Dul scored 2 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 3 steals, while Agnes Torok, Reka Lelik, Yvonne Turner and Petra Toman were scoreless. Lelik dished 5 assists and Turner 3. Hungary (coach Peter Volgyi, assistant Kornel Varadi, assistant Marta Abraham) hit 19-61 (.312) overall, 14-40 (.350) from the floor, 5-21 (>238) from the arc and 10-12 (.833) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 16 assists, 17 fouls, 19 turnovers, 6 steals and 2 blocks.
Canada improved to (2-1) by pounding Argentina 75-41 after leading 29-8, 45-22 and 61-48 at the quarters. Canada took command with a 17-0 run over five minutes of play in the first quarter. They led by as many as 40 in the fourth quarter. Player of the game Aaliyah Edwards said she was “really proud of how we came out today. There was an emphasis on getting on the boards and scoring in the paint. The last time we faced Argentina it went to double overtime, so we wanted to make sure that didn’t happen again and that we played our game from the jump.” Canadian coach Nell Fortner said “I thought we came out with great intensity and were really focused on defence. Aaliyah did a great job establishing us inside with a strong presence. … The rebounding discrepancy is exactly what you want — rebounding wins, and we definitely controlled the boards today.” Shay Colley paced Canada with 13 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 6-6 from the line and 5 assists. Aaliyah Edwards added 11 on 4-5 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 15 boards. Shaina Pellington notched 9 on 4-7 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 2 boards. Sami Hill scored 7 on 0-1 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 2 boards and 3 assists. Faith Dut added 7 on 2-2 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc and 3 boards. Tara Wallack scored 6 on 1-3 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 6 boards and 2 blocks. Yvonne Ejim added 6 on 1-5 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 5 boards and 2 steals. Kayla Alexander scored 6 on 3-4 from the floor and 5 boards. Bridget Carleton added 5 on 1-3 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 4 boards. Kia Nurse scored 3 on 1-5 from the arc, 2 boards and 2 assists. Niyah Becker added 2 on 1-1 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc and 3 boards, while Merissah Russell was scoreless and nabbed 3 boards. Canada hit 26-60 (.433) overall, 19-37 (.513) from the floor, 7-23 (.304) from the arc and 16-21 (.761) from the line, while garnering 58 boards, including 19 on the offensive glass, 17 assists, 18 fouls, 19 turnovers, 5 steals and 5 blocks. Julieta Mungo paced Argentina with 12 on 0-1 from the floor and 4-8 from the arc. Florencia Chagas added 5 on 1-7 from the floor and 1-5 from the arc. Delfina Saravia notched 5 on 2-3 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 3 boards. Laila Raviolo scored 5 on 1-4 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2 boards and 3 steals. Amaiquen Siciliano scored 4 on 2-5 from the floor. Diana Cabrera added 3 on 1-6 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 3 boards. Agostina Burani scored 2 on 0-2 from the arc, 2-4 from the line and 2 boards. Candela Gentinetta added 2 on 1-2 from the floor, 2 boards and 2 assists. Victoria Gauna scored 2 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc and 3 boards. Flor Martinez added 1 on 0-1 from the floor and 1-2 from the line, while Macarena D’urso and Melissa Gretter were scoreless. Gretter nabbed 3 boards and dished 3 assists. Argentina (coach Gregorio Martinez, assistant Gonzalo Perez, assistant Paula Budini, assistant Navier Ielmini) hit 15-61 (.245) overall, 9-38 (.236) from the floor, 6-23 (.260) from the arc and 5-9 (.555) from the line, while garnering 25 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 23 fouls, 14 turnovers, 8 steals and 2 blocks.
Canada fell to (2-2) after previously winless Japan prevailed 66-62 by brutally exposing chronic Canadian weaknesses: a lack of foot speed, length and athleticism, dreadful marksmanship, sluggish decision-making and sloppy, casual ballhandling. Canada led by as many as 9 in the second quarter after notching a 9-0 run to take a 39-35 lead. But Japan rallied to knot the score at 39 at the half and took control in the third quarter on consecutive buckets by Kokoro Tanaka and Ramu Tokashiki. It was a one possession game down the stretch but Noriko Konno scored all five points in Japan’s decisive 5-2 run over the final four minutes of play. Canada mustered only a pair of free throws in that stretch. Post Aaliyah Edwards, perhaps Canada’s only bright spot, said “I think the initial reaction is just disappointing. We had a goal coming into this game to finish the job and seal our ticket. That wasn’t the result, but we had a lot of great possessions and a lot of people step-up. There were definitely some positives, but the initial reaction is disappointment.” Canadian coach Nell Fortner said “I don’t remember the last time I’d been with a team that had 26 offensive rebounds. But we couldn’t get the payoff from that as far as second chance points. But I’m really proud of Aaliyah. She answered the bell with what we asked her to do. … Our effort was good, but our defence has to be better, and when opportunities present themselves offensively we’ve got to take advantage of them.” Mai Yamamoto paced Japan with 16 on 3-7 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 4-6 from the line, 2 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Kokoro Tanaka added 14 on 5-9 from the floor, 1-7 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 4 boards and 5 assists. Aika Hirashita notched 12 on 3-6 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc and 3 boards. Maki Takada scored 8 on 4-8 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc and 3 boards. Ramu Tokashiki added 6 on 3-3 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Norika Konno scored 5 on 1-2 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc and 2 boards. Yuki Miyazawa added 5 on 0-1 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 6 boards and 3 assists, while Minami Yabu, Nanako Todo, Azusa Asahina, Stephanie Mawuli and Rui Machida were scoreless. Japan (coach Corey Gaines, assistant Tomoki Miyata, assistant Kyoko Sugimoto) hit 26-67 (.388) overall, 19-39 (.487) from the floor, 7-28 from the arc and 7-9 (.777) from the line, while garnering 32 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 16 assists, 18 fouls, 8 turnovers, 6 steals and 4 blocks. Aaliyah Edwards paced Canada with 22 on 8-11 from the floor, 6-8 from the line, 15 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Kayla Alexander added 12 on 5-10 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 8 boards. Shay Colley notched 12 on 3-5 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 5 boards and 4 assists. Bridget Carleton scored 9 on 2-9 from the floor, 1-10 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 9 boards, 6 assists and 2 blocks. Shaina Pellington added 4 on 2-7 from the floor and 2 assists. Kia Nurse scored 3 on 0-2 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 2 boards and 2 assists, while Faith Dut, Yvonne Ejim, Merissah Russell, Tara Wallack, Sami Hill and Niyah Becker were scoreless. Ejim nabbed 3 boards. Hill nabbed 2 boards and 2 assists. Canada hit 24-69 (.347) overall, 20-45 (.444) from the floor, 4-24 (.166) from the arc and 10-12 (.833) from the line, while garnering 54 boards, including 26 on the offensive glass, 18 fouls, 13 assists, 16 turnovers, 5 blocks and 5 steals.
Canada was outhustled, outexecuted and ultimately outclassed as they closed out pool play at (2-3) by dropping an 82-76 decision to Australia. With the loss, Canada failed to qualify for the 2026 World Championships in Berlin, Germany. Canada finished tied with Japan and Turkiye for fourth with a (2-3) record in the Pool D standings but lost both their round-robin games against those foes and thus were eliminated. Australia led 20-15, 40-39 and 66-59 at the quarters, while dominating the offensive boards and demonstrating according to the broadcast crew that “they wanted it a whole lot more” than did Canada. The Canadians repeatedly drove into the trees and coughed up the ball on the offensive end of the floor, or often casually heaved the ball to imaginary teammates. Australia took command in the third quarter when Sami Whitcomb notched a jumper to knot the score at 47. Whitcomb and Alanna Smith promptly added treys. Although post Kayla Alexander delivered her best performance of the tournament after a series of dismal outings, Canada never recovered. “I thought Kayla just played her tail off today, and it was just a sight to watch,” said Canadian coach Nell Fortner. “She was just really, really good. But defensively, we had some breakdowns there at the end. They got us on several offensive boards to get second-chance points and then hit threes off of them at times, and that was really kind of backbreaking for us.” Alexander said “Australia is a really great, talented team. They were hitting their shots today, and we just struggled to get out to their threes — that really hurt us. But I believe that we competed. We played hard. It just wasn’t enough to get the job done today. … I feel like we played hard. There’s a couple games that you wish you could get back, a couple possessions that we wish we could get back to get into this position. We had a great opportunity to close the deal for ourselves today, and unfortunately just couldn’t do it. We just have to figure out a way to turn those close games into wins. I think this is a great learning experience for this team. There’s a lot that we can take away from this to hopefully improve, get better and keep growing.” Sami Whitcomb paced Australia with 23 on 3-7 from the floor, 5-5 from the arc, 2-3 from the line and 5 assists. Isobel Borlase added 13 on 4-8 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists. Alana Smith notched 12 on 4-6 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 8 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Alex Wilson scored 8 on 1-1 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc and 3 assists. Chloe Bibby added 8 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 7 boards. Jade Melbourne scored 7 on 1-2 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 2 boards and 3 assists. Cayla George added 6 on 0-1 from the floor, 2-9 from the arc, 5 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Zitina Aokuso scored 3 on 1-4 from the floor, 1-1 from the line and 6 boards. Alexandra Fowler added 2 on 2-2 from the floor and 4 boards, while Stephanie Reid was scoreless. Australia (coach Sandy Brondello, assistant Paul Goriss, assistant Renae Garlepp, assistant Kennedy Kereama) hit 29-65 (.446) overall, 16-34 (.471) from the floor, 13-31 (.419) from the arc and 11-16 (.688) from the line, while garnering 41 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 21 assists, 18 fouls, 15 turnovers, 6 steals and 2 blocks. Kayla Alexander paced Canada with 26 on 11-14 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 13 boards. Bridget Carleton added 17 on 6-10 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 4 boards. Aaliyah Edwards notched 12 on 6-9 from the floor, 4 boards and 2 steals. Shaina Pellington scored 8 on 4-10 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 0-2 from the line, 3 assists and 2 steals. Shay Colley added 6 on 3-10 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 6 bords and 10 assists. Kia Nurse scored 3 on 0-2 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc and 2 boards. Sami Hill added 2 on 0-1 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 2 assists. Yvonne Ejim scored 2 on 2-4 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists, while Tara Wallack was scoreless. Merissah Russell, Faith Dut and Niyah Becker did not play. Canada hit 33-71 (.465) overall, 30-56 (.536) from the floor, 3-15 (.200) from the arc and 7-12 (.582) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 19 assists, 18 fouls, 9 turnovers, 8 steals and 5 blocks.
The all-tournament team featured MVP Sami Whitcomb (Australia); Kennedy Burke (Turkiye); Mia Yamamoto (Japan); Dorka Juhasz (Hungary); and Aaliyah Edwards (Canada).