Latest news with #SylaSwords
Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Syla Swords powers Canada past South Korea into U19 FIBA World Cup quarters
BRNO – Syla Swords scored 15 points to lead Canada past South Korea 70-58 Wednesday in the Round of 16 at the Under-19 FIBA Women's World Cup. Canada, which went 3-0 in group play, used a 15-0 run in the first quarter to erase an early deficit and never looked back. The Canadians led 38-28 at halftime and outscored Korea 20-16 in the fourth to seal it. Agot Makeer added 14 points and Cearah Parchment had 10 points and nine rebounds. Swords, from Sudbury, Ont., leads Canada in scoring at 16.5 points per game. Canada will face a yet-to-be-determined opponent in Friday's quarterfinals. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 16, 2025.
Winnipeg Free Press
2 days ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Howell, Swords power Canada past China at U19 basketball World Cup
BRNO – Avery Howell scored a game-high 26 points, Syla Swords added 20 points and nine rebounds, and Canada thumped China 115-52 in its final group-stage game at the FIBA Under-19 World Cup on Tuesday. Cearah Parchment also chipped in 17 points as Canada had six players reach double figures. Kejia Ran led China with 14 points. The win capped a dominant run through Group B of the competition, with Canada beating Portugal 88-49 on Saturday and Nigeria 113-42 on Sunday. The Canadians play Wednesday in the round of 16 against South Korea, which went 0-3 in Group A. Swords ranks seventh in tournament scoring at 17.0 points per game and leads Canada with 5.7 rebounds. Howell sits ninth with 15.3 points. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 15, 2025.
CTV News
07-07-2025
- Sport
- CTV News
Rising basketball star from Sudbury scores in OT, leads Canada to bronze medal
Syla Swords celebrates after scoring the winning basket Sunday, giving Canada a 76-75 win and a bronze medal at the FIBA Women's AmeriCup 2025. Syla Swords, a rising basketball star who hails from Sudbury, led Canada to a 76-75 double-overtime victory over Argentina last weekend. Swords, 18, not only led the team with 23 points, she scored the winning basket with 2.8 seconds left in Sunday's game, giving Canada the bronze medal in the FIBA Women's AmeriCup 2025. Team Canada Team Canada poses for a photo after its bronze-medal win Sunday. (Canada Basketball photo) Swords scored on a play drawn up during a timeout with Argentina up 75-74. Canada's Delaney Gibb executed an inbound pass, finding Swords under the rim for the winning basket. 'I'm so excited to bring this medal home. It's been 30 days of hard work. It's amazing to have this,' Swords said in an interview with FIBA after the game. 'The best thing about this team is that we played together.' Swords also had six rebounds and three assists. 'The 18-year-old led all players with a +17 plus-minus and knocked down a career-best five three-pointers, tied for the second-most ever by a Canadian in an AmeriCup game,' Canada Basketball said on its website. 'She finished the tournament with a team-leading 13 made threes and now has 124 points in 23 appearances for the program.' Canada matched its third-place finish from the 2023 AmeriCup, while Argentina improved from a seventh-place result in that edition in Mexico, climbing three spots. Both teams achieved their initial goal of securing a berth in the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 Qualifying Tournaments.
CBC
25-06-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Canada's women's basketball team takes first step toward 2028 Olympics at FIBA AmeriCup
Social Sharing As Delaney Gibb watched the Paris Olympics from her dorm room in Utah, she couldn't help but feel motivated. The Raymond, Alta., native cheered from afar as friend, peer and fellow teenager Syla Swords competed for Canada's basketball team. While Swords and her squad in Paris left winless and disappointed, Gibb's eyes were opened. "It got me excited and ready for the future, just to try and continue getting better for maybe one day being an Olympic athlete. … It's fun to be able to watch those games when you have relationships and connections with the girls," Gibb said. Less than one year later, the 19-year-old Gibb has authored a freshman-of-the-year season at BYU and now could be set for her first game action with Canada's senior women's team at the FIBA AmeriCup. Action begins Saturday and runs through medal games July 6 in Santiago, Chile. The winner earns a berth to the 2026 World Cup, while others will be relegated to qualifying tournaments. The World Cup, set to take place in Germany, serves as an Olympic qualifier. And so the journey to Los Angeles 2028 has already begun. "I really want to have a successful career and being an Olympic athlete is the No. 1 [goal]," Gibb said. Gibb was one of a few newcomers to the team at training camp, which will also play its first games under head coach Nell Fortner, hired in May, and general manager Steve Baur. Fortner, 66, is the winningest women's coach in the history of USA Basketball, having led the Americans to gold at the 2000 Olympics. Now with Canada after stops in the NCAA and WNBA, her long-term goal is to return to the top of the podium. At the AmeriCup, the aim is to establish a winning foundation. "You help them see what that process is every day in practice, when we come together, that culture build of what this is about every time you step into the doors of Canada Basketball, that you know you're at Canada Basketball," Fortner said. On the court, Fortner has an idea of what she'd like Team Canada to look like. "We're trying to play faster and really push pace. And we're trying to really defend at a high level," she said. But the AmeriCup, and the training camp in Toronto that preceded it, are also serving as an evaluation period for Fortner. Since the tournament occurs during the WNBA season, she'll be without key players such as Kia Nurse, Bridget Carleton and Aaliyah Edwards. "I'm trying to learn them more, get a feel for who they are as individual players first and then what they're capable of doing right now and then what style can we play? So we're still trying to figure that out right now. And then we don't have all the players here, so it's a process," Fortner said. For Gibb, Fortner's mindset is an opportunity to take a step toward her Olympic dream. The five-foot-10 guard placed third among NCAA freshmen with 17.5 points per game and sixth with 4.2 assists per game last season at BYU. While she said the increased physicality was the biggest difference she noticed at the senior women's team level, it appears she's ready to make an immediate impact. "Just really being ready for anything and trying to be supportive, bring energy. And then also having a new coach, I think it's really cool that I'm going to be able to from her and create a relationship with her because moving forward that's what I want," Gibb said. On the other side of the roster spectrum, two-time Olympian Kayla Alexander is back with the program after a season in Spain. Alexander, 34, has become one of Canada's most reliable bigs over the past two Olympic cycles. Now, she may need to step into a leadership role as well in the wake of Natalie Achonwa's retirement and without the WNBA players. "I've always come in with the mindset of 'I'm gonna work my butt off' and then I'm gonna lead by example, use my voice when I need to and just show, especially the young ones coming in, like you're here for a reason, play your game [and] what you bring to the table because we need you," Alexander said. Alexander said she's bought in on Fortner's revamped play style. "We're starting with our defence. In the past, Canada was known for their defence. I think we got a little bit away from that," she said. Months before Fortner was hired, a group of players gathered in Toronto for what was ostensibly a training camp, but instead turned into a culture reset. The players committed to sacrifice for each other with the shared goal of winning a medal at the Olympics. The AmeriCup, then, presents a first test, with rookies and veterans alike coming together without the WNBAers to take an initial step toward Los Angeles. "I think for, especially most of us who went through Paris, the disappointment, just realizing if you want different results you gotta do something different. So I think that we're trying to implement and create a culture and new standards that will help us get the results that we want moving forward," Alexander said. Canada, ranked seventh worldwide, is grouped with No. 10 Brazil, No. 31 Argentina, No. 34 Dominican Republic and No. 56 El Salvador. The top four teams in each of two groups advance to the knockout rounds. Canada has won the regional tournament three times in 1995, 2015 and 2017. It reached the gold-medal game four straight times from 2013 to 2019 before it placed fourth in 2021 and third in 2023.
CTV News
31-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
Sudbury's Syla Swords makes history at the Paris Olympics
Syla Swords (basketball) and Cloe Lacasse (soccer) were both named to their respective Olympic teams on Tuesday. Syla Swords, the youngest person to ever represent Canada in basketball at the Olympics, has wrapped up her Games in Paris. Basketball Canada posted these photos of Swords, 18, Olympics making her Olympic debut. Syla Swords cheers Syla Swords, the youngest person to ever represent Canada in basketball at the Olympics, has wrapped up her 2024 Games in Paris. Swords is shown here cheering on her teammates at the games. (Basketball Canada/Facebook) 'Syla was not only the youngest athlete but was also the youngest Olympian competing in basketball at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games,' Basketball Canada said. 'Get used to seeing a lot more of the Sudbury, Ont., native.'
