When three UConn women’s basketball alumni travel to Paris with Team USA this summer chasing an eighth consecutive gold medal at the Olympic Games, they will go head-to-head with former Huskies stars Aaliyah Edwards and Kia Nurse, who were named to Team Canada’s roster Tuesday.
Edwards and Nurse are both Olympic veterans: Both played for Canada at the 2021 Tokyo Games, and Nurse made her debut in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. They also both became Olympians while still at UConn — Nurse the summer before her junior year and Edwards entering her sophomore season. Edwards was a minimal contributor at the Olympics in 2021 as the youngest member of the squad, but Nurse led Canada in points averaging 13 per game plus four rebounds and two steals. Canada went 1-2 in Tokyo to finish ninth in the tournament, and the team has never won an Olympic medal. Its best performance was a fourth-place finish at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
Edwards and Nurse are among four active WNBA players on Canada’s roster, joined by Atlanta Dream forward Laeticia Amihere and Minnesota Lynx guard Bridget Carleton. Edwards, the No. 6 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, has made an immediate impact in her rookie season with the Washington Mystics averaging 8.8 points and 6.3 rebounds on 49.1% shooting across 16 game appearances. Nurse, a five-year veteran of the league, has started all 18 games for the Los Angeles Spark in 2024 averaging 9.1 points and 1.6 assists.
“For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. “ -Jeremiah 29:11 #madlove @TeamCanada @CanBball
— Aaliyah Edwards (@AaliyahEdwards_) July 2, 2024
Canada’s roster will also feature several rising stars in the college ranks. Cassandre Prosper, the No. 16 prospect in the Class of 2023, will be a first-time Olympian after missing most of her season at Notre Dame with a lower-leg injury, as will incoming Michigan freshman Syla Swords, the No. 4 recruit in 2024.
For Team USA, Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier and Diana Taurasi will represent UConn after all three played on the gold-medal squad in 2021. Stewart, the MVP of the Tokyo Games, is appearing in her third Olympics, while. Huskies legend Diana Taurasi will make history as the first six-time Olympian in the history of men’s or women’s basketball. Collier was just a second-year pro when she was selected to the Olympic team in 2021 but figures to play a much bigger role in Paris after finishing fourth in WNBA MVP voting last season.
