Blake Murphy Sports Writing

It’s always difficult to learn too much from exhibition games. Coaches aren’t using full rotations, players aren’t always going full-throttle, and there’s an ever-present question of how much both teams should hold back, just in case there’s a rematch down the line.

And exhibitions without three or four key rotation players? You need as many grains of salt as it would take to dry out the Don Valley Parkway this week. Still, Canada’s senior women’s team would probably have preferred a few closer games as they gear up for the 2024 Olympics in France later this month.

Canada steamrolled Portugal, 91-65, in Victoria in late June but dropped a pair of friendlies to Spain (61-48) and Belgium (81-51) last week. Belgium looked like a crisper and faster team than Canada across those games, doing particular damage in the transition game. Head coach Victor Lapeña has had the task of continuing to build on the system the team used during the Olympic qualifiers, while knowing at least a few of these players won’t be big factors once the team’s remaining WNBA players rejoin the group.