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RIO DE JANEIRO -- Kim Gaucher has seen the growth of womens basketball in Canada over her 16 years with the program.She started with the junior national team as a 16-year old and there wasnt much interest in the sport in Canada.Hockey and soccer were the top and only sports it seemed that people would talk about, Gaucher said laughing. When I first started playing, we would have to fly to South America and meet with our teammates there and try and qualify for events. That was our training time.Now 16 years later, womens basketball in Canada is on the rise -- led by Gaucher and a talented young group of players. That growth started when the team qualified for the London Games five years ago on Canada Day.They earned the final spot into the Olympics and put on a great showing before losing to the U.S. in the quarterfinals. It was the countrys first Olympic berth in 12 years and best showing since they finished fourth in 1984. The performance helped inspire some of the teams young players.I was a young kid watching our vets play in London and to be playing with them now is kind of crazy, said guard Kia Nurse, who is a junior at UConn and a big part of the future of Canadas team. To hear the stories of where they were to where we are now is incredible.Those Olympics were a springboard for the success the team has had the last four years. The Canadians finished fifth in the world championship in 2014 and then -- for the first time in 20 years -- hosted the FIBA America qualifiers which they won.That came a few weeks after the team won the Pan-Am Games in Toronto, knocking off the Americans in the gold medal contest. That US team wasnt the Americans national team, but it was lead Breanna Stewart.Its truly incredible, said Nurse, who had 33 points in the gold medal game victory over the U.S. Honestly its so crazy for us. No one really knew about womens basketball in Canada until the Pan-Am games. Now its like everyone talks about us.Canada basketball President and CEO Michele OKeefe said hosting was a key part of the strategy to help build the program.Having the Pan-Am Games and three weeks later the FIBA America championships was huge for us, she said. It bodes well. Not only do we get a home-court advantage, but the young kids get to see the athletes and the coaches get to see the strategy and level of competition. It gives everyone the chance to see what international basketball looks like.OKeefe said a big part of Canadas long term strategy over the past decade has been to invest in and streamline all the countrys different age groups, which has built a solid foundation for now and the future.The investment has been substantial, she said. Create an alignment right down our age group teams to our provincial teams. Make it a true feeder system. Its been a huge difference. Weve been able to call a kid up from a junior team and they know how to play at this level.The dividends have already paid off as a record four Canadians were taken in the WNBA draft this past April, including Olympian Nirra Fields.Now the next step would be winning a medal. If that were to happen the country would be truly abuzz. In the past 80 years, Canada only has two medals in team sports. The mens basketball team won a silver in 1936 and the womens soccer team took the bronze in London.Canada enters Rio fresh off a victory over 2012 silver medalist France in a pre-Olympic tournament last week. Canada also played against Australia and the U.S. in that exhibition series, giving the team a look at three of the top teams in the world.I dont think any of us would be shy to tell you that we set goals as a team and we want to try and come home with some hardware, Nurse said. For us were going to come out and peak at the right time.---Follow Doug on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/dougfeinberg Miami Marlins Pro Shop . The Vikings announced Thursday that Priefer will be one of seven holdovers from the previous staff, along with offensive line coach Jeff Davidson, wide receivers coach George Stewart and others. Norv Turner will mark his 30th year of coaching in the NFL as the offensive co-ordinator, as widely reported for weeks, and George Edwards will be the defensive co-ordinator. Miami Marlins Store . -- Matt Rupert scored once in regulation and again in the shootout as the London Knights extended their win streak to nine games by defeating the Owen Sound Attack 4-3 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. https://www.cheapmarlinsjerseys.us/ . "It was nerve-wracking, but we pulled through," said Collaros, who threw four touchdown passes to lead the Toronto Argonauts (8-4) to a 33-27 win over the Calgary Stampeders (9-3) in front of 28,781 fans at McMahon Stadium. Miami Marlins Gear .C. -- After a listless first half, the Washington Wizards used a big third quarter run to beat the Charlotte Bobcats Bradley Beal scored 21 points and the Wizards used a 17-0 run in the third quarter to take control of what had been a close game and beat the Bobcats 97-83 on Tuesday night. Miami Marlins Shirts . Carey Price didnt, but he still came out on top against one of his rivals for the No. 1 job at the Sochi Games. The Anahim Lake, B.C., native was stellar in making 39 saves in his home province and Lars Eller got credit for a bizarre short-handed winner as the Canadiens defeated the Canucks 4-1. Fremantle skipper David Mundy insists its too early to pull the trigger on Shane Yarran and Michael Johnson, saying the leadership group cant dish out any punishment until the duos court cases are conducted.Yarrans AFL future is hanging by a thread after being charged by police over two separate alleged assaults.The 27-year-old is alleged to have unlawfully wounded a man during a pub brawl in 2015 - just months before he was drafted by the Dockers.And he also faces an aggravated assault charge over an alleged incident that involved a family member in November.Yarran is on indefinite personal leave from the club.Johnson was also charged with assault after allegedly punching a man in an incident at a kebab shop.The cases will be heard in early 2017.Fremantles off-field woes continued last week when star recruit Harley Bennell had his car impounded after police discovered he was driving without a licence.Mundy said the leadership group had been emphasising the values of the club following the indiscretions.But he said it was too early to start handing down any punishments, especially in regards to Yarran and Johnson.Well, they havent been proven guilty of anything yet. So it would be a bit early for us to pull the trigger, Mundy said on Monday.Its not ideal. But were all human, we all make mistakes. Its how we rebound from those mistakes.As a group, we have standards we want to live by. Some guys step away from tthat a little bit at times.ddddddddddddShanes essentially like a long-term injured player for us. Hes in the background, working hard. But our main focus is on the guys here.Mundy wants to captain Fremantle again next season, but he faces a major fight to stave off contender Nat Fyfe.The player group will vote on the captaincy in January, and Mundy is keen to retain the role despite his torrid first year in the job.Fremantle won just four games last season, while the off-field dramas in recent months have brought the Dockers culture into question.Mundy said he was 100 per cent confident the clubs culture and work ethic were strong.In my time year, in 14 years, its had its fluctuations, Mundy said.But the last five or six years, weve been really rock solid, to the point where around the league we were really envied for how we went about it both on and off the field.Our goal is to get back to that stage. Im fully confident we have the resources, people and structures in place to get back to that really quickly.Mundy revealed he had voted for Fyfe to be captain in a previous player vote.But Mundy is keen to retain the role for at least one more year, saying he had learnt valuable lessons from 2016.The 31-year-old is fully fit after undergoing minor ankle surgery during the off-season. ' ' '