When Canada isn’t pumping out gallons of maple syrup, it’s raising top-tier athletes across the country. This includes basketball stars like Aaliyah Edwards and Laeticia Amihere.
If Edwards’ name doesn’t ring a bell, her hair might! Edwards stands out with her purple and yellow braids, which pay homage to the LA Lakers and the late Kobe Bryant.
Edwards was born and raised in Kingston, Ontario, and is just 20 years old. She grew up playing just about every sport under the sun, whether ballet or soccer.
But of all the sports Edwards played, basketball was the one that stuck. By 2017, she helped Team Ontario bring home the gold medal during the U15 National Championship and was named the tournament MVP.
At that age, my biggest accomplishment was not choking during the Cinnamon Challenge.
Edwards also played on the world stage for Team Canada during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and was the team’s youngest member. But Edwards’ most recent accomplishments are with the University of Connecticut’s (UConn) Huskies women’s basketball team.
During her first year at UConn in 2021, Edwards helped the Huskies earn the No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, also known as March Madness.
Edwards and the Huskies tore through the 2022 March Madness tournament competition the following year. Focused on the tournament title, the team made it to the championship game.
However, the UConn Huskies were stopped in their tracks by the South Carolina Gamecocks. Against the Gamecocks’ forward Laeticia Amihere, Edwards’ skills were tested.
Edwards had finally met her match. The Gamecocks won with a final score of 64-49. While Edwards may have been defeated, her spirit was far from broken.
Since then, she has honed her skills further and seeks revenge against Amihere. Edwards did not hesitate to respond when asked if she wanted to get back at Amihere.
“Yes, definitely. Because whenever we connect with the national team, she always needs to bring it up…for her to stop rubbing it in my face,” Edwards told Sportsnet.
This might be Edwards’ best chance with the 2023 March Madness tournament underway. But Amihere won’t go down easy.
Born in Mississauga, Ontario, on July 10, 2021, and raised in Milton, Ontario, Amihere’s roots are deeply Canadian.
Like Edwards, Amihere has a long list of accomplishments, including Team Canada’s first gold at the U16 FIBA America Championship.
Amihere now plays forward for the University of South Carolina’s Gamecocks. In her first year, she was part of the first team in Gamecocks’ history to end the season ranked number one in the nation.
Amihere also played for Team Canada alongside Edwards during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. But the pair have since gone from teammates to rivals.
No matter who you are rooting for, the 2023 March Madness tournament is shaping up to be a big one for Canadians. In 2021, 25 men and 27 women from Canada competed in the tournament.
In 2022, this number was mostly the same, with 50 Canadians competing. Matt Slan, the founder and CEO of Slan Sports Management, doesn’t think this trend is going anywhere.
“There’s a lot of Canadians doing a lot of good things on the basketball court and off the basketball court to support the movement as a whole,” Slan told CBC News.
This year, March Madness will be showcasing 53 homegrown Canadians. With athletes like Aaliyah Edwards, Laeticia Amihere, and Zack Edey on the roster, all eyes will be on Canada.
