Kia Nurse highlights Canadian Olympic pre-qualifying tournament roster

Kia Nurse looking to pass during a game for Canada at the 2016 Olympic Games. (Carlos Osorio/AP)

Canada Basketball announced its 16-player roster on Friday for the upcoming FIBA Women’s Olympic Pre-Qualifying Americas Tournament, taking place in Edmonton next month.

WNBA all-star and two-time NCAA champion Kia Nurse headlines the group, which features five WNBA players as well as a number of international pros and college players.

The full Canadian roster can be found below:

(Courtesy Canada Basketball)

Canada will face Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic in the round robin pre-qualifying tournament from Nov. 14-17. The top two finishers will advance as part of a group of 16 teams competing in FIBA Olympic qualifying tournaments in February. From there, 12 teams will qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Summer Games.

Canada is fifth in the FIBA world rankings and has participated in the past two Olympic Summer Games (London, 2012; Rio de Janeiro, 2016), losing in the quarterfinals both times.

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