FORT MYERS, Fla. – Before arriving in Fort Myers this summer, incoming FGCU women's basketball freshman Ari Turla was offered the chance to compete for Team Canada at the FIBA U18 AmeriCup.

The Scarborough, Ontario native leapt at the opportunity, and played for the Canadian national team en route to a silver medal at the event. She played with several of her high school and club teammates, like Stanford freshman Jordyn Wheeler and Rice freshman KK Sta. Maria, along with other power conference newcomers such as Savvy Swords (Kentucky), Chante Murray (West Virginia), Isabella Sangha (Notre Dame), Emilia Krstevski (Oregon) and Eunicia Salgado (Boston College).

"My favorite part was definitely being surrounded by people with like-minded goals as myself," Turla said. "Obviously you're with these people for a short amount of time. It's not like your high school team or like your university team. So we were put together really fast, but I'm really grateful and lucky to be a part of something greater than basketball representing our country together."

Team Canada cruised through its group stage games. They dominated Puerto Rico 104-40, outpaced the Dominican Republic 96-46, and reached the century mark again against Venezuela in a 104-60 win. Canada made it past Argentina 64-52 in the semifinals before falling to Team USA 90-72 in the final.

"Playing with them honestly felt natural," Turla said. "They're really humble players and they're players that are looking to make other people better, so even though they're going to Power Four schools, they were really good teammates. You could tell that they really wanted to uplift the team; they're natural leaders on the court." 

After going through summer workouts with FGCU, she noticed the similarities between the level of intensity and strategy the national team practices brought to her first practices in Fort Myers.

"I think (FGCU and Team Canada's) practices are really similar, with the coaches expecting you to know what you're supposed to do in practice," Turla said. "You should be able to be accountable for yourself. You don't have to expect Coach Raina to tell you what to do all the time. It should be on you to already know what's expected of you. 

"And then the little details, like getting to your spots fast, that was really emphasized in Team Canada. Cheering on other people, the culture in Team Canada is remembering it's bigger than basketball, representing your country, and showing that on and off the court."

The joy from winning a silver medal with Team Canada and seeing the similarities in structure has only made her more ready for her first season of college basketball to start.

"I'm so excited because FGCU being the winningest Division I program on the women's side is super incredible and I want to be a part of the legacy that they're building here," Turla said. And also being a part of Eagle Nation, the family that they already have – I feel like they've built something incredible already, so I'm really honored to be a part of that."

Season tickets for FGCU basketball are on sale now. Mini plans, single-game tickets and group options will be released later, and fans interested in those options can express interest by filling out this form.

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