UBC Okanagan's Claire Meadows has spent the better part of June/July with Team Canada and the U18 women's national team.
KELOWNA, BC -- Claire Meadows just finished up her first season as head coach of the UBC Okanagan women's basketball team which was also her first as a head coach in the CIS is using her first full off-season to increase her coaching acumen.
Meadows is one of just two assistants to the 2016 U18 women's national team, headed by Ryerson university's Carly Clarke, the team will be trying to qualify for the FIBA U19 Championships in 2017. Claire was part of the group that selected the squad and has been with the team in Toronto training camp and will be on the bench at the championships in Chile this July.
Follow Team Canada in action in Chile here: http://www.fiba.com/americas/u18women/2016/
From Basketball Canada: http://basketball.ca/en/news-article/2016-u18-womens-national-team-roster-announced
2016 U18 WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER ANNOUNCED
TORONTO, ON (July 7, 2016), Canada Basketball's women's high performance program is pleased to announce the 2016 U18 women's national team who will represent Canada at the 2016 FIBA Americas U18 Women's Championship in Chile and will be looking to qualify for the 2017 FIBA U19 Women's World Championships
'The selection process was competitive again this year as our team looks to qualify a Canadian team to for a seventh consecutive FIBA U19 Championship. We look forward to seeing these athletes grow in the international context against the top athletes from other nations in our zone.' Denise Dignard, Director, Women's High Performance.
The team will finish training camp on July 8th at York University. The team will play an exhibition game against the USA and the tip-off for the tournament against Mexico on July 13th at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship in Valdivia, Chile from July 13th-July 17th.
Carly Clarke (Ryerson) will be joined by assistants Ryan Thorne (McGill) and Claire Meadows (UBC Okanagan).
In 2015, the U19 women's national team finished 8th at the U19 FIBA World Championships. Canada is currently ranked 4th worldwide in the FIBA youth girls rankings.
A full list of athletes and coaches can be found below. For media requests, please contactbwilliams@basketball.ca.
2016 U18 Women's National Team
| # | Name | Position | Height | School | Hometown |
| 4 | Libby Epoch | Guard | 5'6" | Peacock Collegiate | Moose Jaw, SK |
| 5 | Mikaela Brewer | Guard | 5'9" | Innisdale SS | Barrie, ON |
| 6 | Mikaela Dodig | Guard | 5'5" | Bill Crothers SS | Bolton, ON |
| 7 | Halle Bovell | Guard | 5'10" | St. Mary CSS | Hamilton, ON |
| 8 | Summer Masikewich | Forward | 6'2" | St. Francis HS | Calgary, AB |
| 9 | Kendra Van Leeuwen | Guard | 5'8" | St. John's College | Brantford, ON |
| 10 | Hailey Brown | Forward | 6'1" | St. Thomas More CSS | Hamilton, ON |
| 11 | Alyssa Jerome | Forward | 6'1" | Harbord Collegiate | Toronto, ON |
| 12 | Sarah Donovan | Forward | 5'9" | A.B. Lucas SS | London, ON |
| 13 | Aislinn Konig | Guard | 5'9" | Brookswood SS | Langley, BC |
| 14 | Andrea Torres | Forward | 5'11" | College Montmorency | Terrebonne, QC |
| 15 | Angela Bongomin | Centre | 6'2" | Luther HS | Regina, SK |
2016 U18 COACHING & STAFF
| Staff | Position | School |
| Carly Clarke | Head Coach | Ryerson |
| Ryan Thorne | Assistant Coach | McGill |
| Claire Meadows | Assistant Coach | UBC Okanagan |
| Nick DeAdder | Performance Analyst | Acadia |
| Kristina Alvero | Team Manager | Phillip Pocock CSS |
| Kristin Anstey | Physician | Alberta |
| Mireille Beland | WHP Youth Council Member | Vanier College |
| Elyse Jobin | Physiotherapist | n/a |
2016 U18 SCHEDULE
| DATE | ITEM | PLACE |
| July 13 | Vs. Mexico @ 11am local time | U18 FIBA Americas Valdivia, Chile (July 13-17) |
| July 14 | Vs. Chile @ 7:15pm local time | |
| July 15 | Vs. Puerto Rico @ 5pm local time | |
| July 16 | Semi-Finals | |
| July 17 | Finals |
Bailey Williams, 647-460-7976, bwilliams@basketball.ca
