Women's basketball Olympic qualifiers begin around the world – Winnipeg Free Press

NEW YORK (AP) – The United States and France have qualified for this summer's Paris Olympics in women's basketball. There are 10 more spots up for grabs this week in four qualifiers spread across the globe.

Belgium, China, Hungary and Brazil will host four teams in a round robin style starting on Thursday. The top three teams from Brazil and Hungary will qualify for this summer's Olympic Games.

Besides France and the USA, the top two teams in Belgium and China also qualify for the Games.

The Americans sent a WNBA-laden roster to the tournament in Belgium, where they will play the host nation on Thursday and then Senegal and Nigeria in the two remaining contests this weekend. Team USA is missing Olympians A'jah Wilson, Brittney Griner and Chelsea Gray, all of whom are strong enough to make the team in Paris.

While the U.S. uses many professionals on its roster, the teams playing in Brazil have several college players. South Carolina star Camilla Cardoso will miss the No. 1 seed for the next two games to compete with Brazil. UCLA forward Lina Sontag will play for Germany and Angela Dugalic will play for Serbia.

Washington State's Charlisse Ledger-Walker was set to play in New Zealand before suffering a torn right ACL late last month.

Here are a few more things to look for in qualifiers:

AFRICAN Applicant

Nigeria will play Senegal on the opening night in Belgium and the winner could be the continent's Olympic representative. African teams have competed at the Olympics since their first participation in 1996, winning once at the 2004 Games. Nigeria defeated South Korea in this competition.

Nigeria had a huge run at the 2018 World Cup, reaching the quarter-finals before falling to the USA. This is the first time any African country has reached the quarter-finals.

SET BACK TIME

There will be at least one more chapter in Lauren Jackson's international basketball career with Australia. The 42-year-old three-time WNBA MVP, who won four Olympic medals with Australia, is part of the Opals team that plays in Brazil.

Jackson made a remarkable comeback at the 2022 World Championships, helping the host nation to a bronze medal. He scored 30 points in that game to help Australia beat Canada 95-65. He retired from the game in 2016 after knee injuries derailed his career and missed the Rio Olympics. He has slowly come back, playing in the domestic Australian league for the last few years.

FIRST APPEARANCE

Germany, led by sisters Sabally Satu and Nyara, is trying to get its first Olympic berth. This would be an additional boost for the country that will host the 2026 World Cup.

Former Canada coach Lisa Tomaidis took charge of the German team, which will play Australia and Serbia in Brazil in April.

TIPS

Canadian guard Kia Nurse said at the selectors that she will not be able to participate in the tournament due to a minor injury. … With France already qualified for the Olympics and China hosting the qualifiers, the winner of the game between Puerto Rico and New Zealand will receive another bid from that region.

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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games