FOG BLOG SPORTS LOG: CANADA LOSES OUT ON BRONZE TO AUSTRALIA IN WOMEN'S WORLD BASKETBALL!

Canadian women didn’t need bronze for FIBA World Cup to be considered a success Getting past the quarterfinal stage for the first time since the mid-1980s was big. Clearing that hurdle was the most important aspect of their current run in international events. EDMONTON—The FIBA World Cup did not finish as anyone connected with the team wanted — dropping the bronze-medal game to Australia was a tough end to a good run for the Canadian women — and the disappointment will likely linger for some time.

But then they will realize the magnitude of their accomplishment, having finished in the top four in the world for the first time since 1986, and the significant steps they took and experience they gained and it will ease any sad feelings.

This was a very good team taking a very big step, and the hard lessons learned should help for many years to come.

“(It’s) continuing to just get better and a little bit more finesse, and it comes with experience,” Kia Nurse said after Canada lost 95-65 to the host team. “Australia definitely showed their experience and their poise in that sense, and that’s something we can definitely learn from.”

Getting past the quarterfinal stage for the first time since the mid-1980s was big. Clearing that hurdle after a decade of knocking on the door at World Cups and the Olympics was the most important aspect of their current run at international events.

Bridget Carleton was named to the first all-star team. Nurse was playing less than a year after reconstructive knee ligament surgery and had 17 first-half points in a 19-point effort. Kayla Alexander and Natalie Achonwa anchored a solid frontcourt. The veterans played well. But the emergence of younger players such as Shay Colley, Nirra Fields and 21-year-old Laeticia Amihere and bench production from Sami Hill helps paint a truly rosy picture.

Add in players who were missing because their short-sighted NCAA schools wouldn’t release them — Aaliyah Edwards, Shaina Pellington and Merissah Russell — and it’s clear that the explosion of young Canadian talent is not the sole domain of the men’s program.

Maybe the biggest difference? The best women always want to represent their country.