Canadian women defeat Mexico to win Olympic pre-qualifying tournament, move one step closer to LA28

The Canadian women’s basketball team defeated host Mexico 83-53 on Sunday to win the FIBA Women’s Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament on Sunday in Guadalajara. 

The victory moves Canada one step closing to qualifying for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. 

Canada also secured the only berth in the FIBA Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2028 — the final stage of qualification for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

Kayla Alexander powered Canada with 14 points, while adding four rebounds and three assists. Agot Makeer scored 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting and added three rebounds and three assists without committing a turnover.

The Canadian women swept the tournament, going 5-0 after wins against Senegal, the Philippines, Mexico and New Zealand before beating the host nation for a second time in the final.

“The goal all summer long was to win this tournament, and we did that,” head coach Nell Fortner said. “We did it in fine fashion today.

“I’m super proud of my team. We had young players and veterans who had to come together and play together for the first time. I thought we really gelled well, and it all came to fruition today.”

Syla Swords finished with 12 points, while Yvonne Ejim recorded a 10-point, 17-rebound double-double. Ejim added two assists and a block, finishing with a game-high efficiency rating of 22 and a plus-32 rating.

“We played them differently defensively, and it really shut down their offence,” Fortner said. “We switched on screens and focused on stopping them from hitting threes. Our goal was to hold them to no more than six, and they went 5-for-26.

“That was the difference. Our defence creates our offence, and it did that in a big way today.”