Gabriele has been the mainstay of Canada’s women’s team for more than a decade, and is the only remaining player from the 2000 Sydney Games, the last time a Canadian basketball team has stepped onto sport’s biggest stage.

“I’m thinking of retiring after this, so it’s a storybook ending for me,” Gabriele said. “I started my career very early with an Olympics and then to be able to end it with an Olympics, it’s awesome.”

The Canadians qualified for the Games at the 11th hour, beating Japan in a must-win game in a last-chance qualifier on Canada Day to earn the final berth.