Bridget Carleton leads Canada into quarterfinals of FIBA World Cup

It was early in the FIBA World Cup when Bridget Carleton was on the post-game podium talking about one of Canada’s wins and her role in it.

She did as she usually does, passing off credit to the collective team effort and, when it came time to dissect her own performance, she almost sheepishly mentioned that it felt good to finally see some of her shots fall.

It was an understatement then and it’s about time now for her to start bragging a little bit more forcefully.

The Chatham, Ont., forward has been a big shooting threat as the national women’s team tries to win a rare medal in a global basketball event. Carleton, of the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx, made six three-pointers and scored 27 points Tuesday morning as Canada routed Mali 88-65 in Sydney, Australia, to finish the opening round of the 12-country tournament at 5-1 and move a giant step closer to the medal podium.

Because of a second-place finish in their opening-round pool, Canada plays Puerto Rico in the quarterfinals Thursday (12:30 a.m. ET, Sportsnet), chasing the country’s first World Cup medal since 1986.

The women have won the only two medals Canada has earned at a World Cup dating back to their inception in 1950 for the men and 1953 for the women — third place finishes in the then-Soviet Union in 1986 and South Korea in 1979. A win over Puerto Rico will move this team into a semifinal with either the United States or Serbia and give them two shots at the podium. Australia, France, China and Belgium are on the other side of the semifinal draw.

Getting past the quarterfinal stage has been an impenetrable roadblock for the Canadian women since they began their ascension through the global rankings a decade ago. They lost in the round of eight to the United States at the 2012 London Olympics, were beaten by Spain in the quarterfinals of the 2014 World Cup and lost to France at the same juncture of the 2016 Rio Games.

This tournament, and the matchup with Puerto Rico at this stage, represents perhaps the best chance to have at least two games to play for one medal.

“Every time we get the chance to represent Canada, we want to do it to the best of our ability and our goals are always high,” Carleton said before the tournament began.” Our goal is always to be on the podium, that’s the standard we set at Canada Basketball.

“The expectations? We expect a lot out of ourselves. Maybe the outside noise isn’t as loud this time but, internally, we expect a lot and want to do the best we can. That includes making it to the semifinals and winning a semifinal.”

The 25-year-old Carleton will be a key to whatever success has against a Puerto Rico team that’s in the World Cup playoffs for the first time.

Kayla Alexander has been dominant at times in the front court and the guard play of Shay Colley and Nirra Fields has been exemplary. But Carleton’s shooting unlocks a whole other dimension of Canada’s offence.

“I love to see the confidence that everyone else now gets to see (in) Bridget Carleton,” Canada’s Natalie Achonwa said after the victory over Mali. “She’s always been explosive. She’s always been a shooter and a scorer, but she’s really embraced this moment and our need for her to fill that role.”

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