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Syla Swords

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Syla Swords
No. 12 – Michigan Wolverines
PositionGuard
LeagueBig Ten Conference
Personal information
Born (2006-01-28) January 28, 2006 (age 18)
Mulhouse, France
NationalityCanadian
Listed height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Career information
High school
CollegeMichigan (2024–present)
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Women's basketball
Representing  Canada
FIBA Women's AmeriCup
Bronze medal – third place 2023 León Team
FIBA Under-19 World Cup
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Spain Team

Syla Swords (born January 28, 2006) is a Canadian college basketball player for Michigan. She attended Long Island Lutheran and was a five-star recruit and one of the top players in the 2024 class. She is also a member of Canada women's national basketball team.

Early life and high school career

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Swords was born in Mulhouse, France, where her father Shawn Swords played professional basketball. She moved to Sudbury, Ontario at two years old.[1] She began her high school career at Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School in Sudbury. She was named to the 2022 BioSteel All-Canadian Basketball Game, where she was the youngest player named to the roster.[2][3] She moved to Long Island, New York after her father accepted a coaching position with the Long Island Nets in August 2022.[4][5]

In her first season at Long Island Lutheran as a junior, she averaged 14.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game to lead the Crusaders to the 2023 Class AA New York State Federation Tournament of Champions championship. She scored a game-high 27 points in the championship game and led her team all season long from behind the three-point line.[6] She also helped Long Island Lutheran to the Nike Tournament of Champions title in 2022.[7][8] Following the season she was named first-team All-Long Island by Newsday.[9] She was named to the World Team for the inaugural women's Nike Hoop Summit in 2023. She was again named to the World Team in 2024.[10][11]

On November 8, 2023, she signed her National Letter of Intent (NLI) to play college basketball at Michigan.[12] She is the highest-ranked recruit in program history at the time of signing her NLI.[7] She was named to the 2024 McDonald's All-American Girls Game. Swords, along with incoming freshman Olivia Olson, are the program's first high school signees to earn the honor.[13][14] During her senior year she averaged 17.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 3.0 steals through 22 games and was named New York Gatorade Player of the Year.[15]

College career

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Freshman season

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On November 4, 2024, Swords made her collegiate debut for Michigan, and recorded a game-high 27 points and 12 rebounds, for her first double-double, in a 62–68 loss to AP No. 1 South Carolina.[16] She became only the third player since the 2009–10 season to have at least 27 points and 12 rebounds against the Gamecocks. Her 27 points were the most for a Michigan freshman in their debut in the NCAA era.[17] On November 8, in an 86–55 victory over Lehigh, she recorded 20 points, six rebounds, five assists and one steal. She ended the third quarter on a personal 9–0 run, hitting a three-pointer as time expired in the quarter.[18] She was subsequently named the Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Week for the week ending November 11, 2024.[19] During the Fort Myers Tip-Off, she averaged 19.0 points and 7.0 rebounds, to help lead Michigan to the Shell Division Championship, where she was named tournament MVP. She was subsequently named the Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Week for the week ending December 2, 2024.[20][21]

National team career

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Swords represented Canada at the 2022 FIBA Under-17 Women's Basketball World Cup where she averaged 4.7 points, 4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game, as Canada lost to France 82–84 in the bronze medal game.[22][23]

She represented Canada at the 2023 FIBA Under-19 Women's Basketball World Cup where she averaged 15.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game and won a bronze medal. During the bronze-medal game, she played a game-leading 42:23 minutes, and posted 26 points, six rebounds, six assists and two steals.[24] Following the tournament she was named to the FIBA U19 World Cup All-Second Team.[25]

She made her senior national team debut for Canada at the 2023 FIBA Women's AmeriCup where she averaged 3.9 points, 0.9 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game and won a bronze medal. She was the youngest member of the Canadian AmeriCup team.[26]

She represented Canada at the 2024 FIBA Women's Americas Pre-Qualifying Olympic Qualifying Tournament.[27] After going undefeated during the tournament, Canada qualified for the 2024 FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournaments.[28] On July 2, 2024, she was named to team Canada's roster for the 2024 Summer Olympics. At 18 years old, she will become the youngest-ever basketball player to represent Canada at the Olympics.[29][30]

Personal life

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Syla is the daughter of Shawn Swords and Shelley Dewar. Her father, Shawn, is a former professional basketball player and was the head coach at Laurentian University from 2007 to 2022. He currently serves as associate head coach for the Long Island Nets of the NBA G League.[31] Her mother, Shelley, played college basketball for the Laurentian Voyageurs women's basketball team, and was the Ontario conference rookie of the year in 1995.[26] Her sister, Savannah, also plays basketball.[32]

References

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  1. ^ Ibrahim, Abdulhamid (April 26, 2024). "Canada's Syla Swords eyes Olympic chance after closing impressive high school career". Toronto Star. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
  2. ^ Pascal, Randy (April 5, 2022). "Sudbury's Syla Swords named the youngest player to suit up for all-Canadian competition". sudbury.com. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  3. ^ Murphy, Bryan (April 3, 2022). "BioSteel All Canadian Games 2022: Complete rosters, tipoff times, how to watch boys & girls live". The Sporting News. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  4. ^ Pascal, Randy (July 6, 2023). "Syla Swords is carving out her basketball niche on a national level". Sudbury Sports. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  5. ^ Pascal, Randy (October 2, 2023). "That Sudbury Sports Guy: Fresh faces everywhere on LU basketball court". The Sudbury Star. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  6. ^ Williams, Aaron (March 28, 2023). "High school girls basketball rankings: No. 2 Long Island Lutheran wins New York title ahead of potential MaxPreps Top 25 showdown at GEICO Nationals". maxpreps.com. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  7. ^ a b VanMetre, Sarah (November 8, 2023). "Wolverines Sign Five to National Letters of Intent". MGoBlue.om. University of Michigan. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  8. ^ Fessehazion, Haben (January 17, 2024). "Inside Syla Swords' Incredible Rise from Ontario, Canada to Long Island Lutheran". Slam. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  9. ^ "Newsday's All-Long Island girls basketball first team 2023". Newsday. April 21, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  10. ^ "World Rosters for 2023 Nike Hoop Summit Announced". usab.com. March 24, 2023. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  11. ^ "Nike Announces World Team Rosters for the 2024 Nike Hoop Summit". usab.com. March 18, 2024. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  12. ^ Skiver, Kevin (November 8, 2023). "Michigan women's basketball signs five recruits to 2024 class, highest in program history". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  13. ^ VanMetre, Sarah (January 23, 2024). "Olson, Swords Named McDonald's All-Americans". MGoBlue.com. University of Michigan. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  14. ^ Meyer, Craig (January 23, 2024). "Michigan basketball commits Olivia Olson, Syla Swords picked for McDonald's All-American Game". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  15. ^ "Long Island Lutheran High School Student-Athlete Named Gatorade New York Girls Basketball Player of the Year" (PDF). Gatorade. March 14, 2024. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  16. ^ VanMetre, Sarah (November 4, 2024). "U-M Falls Just Short Against No. 1 South Carolina". MGoBlue.com. University of Michigan. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
  17. ^ VanMetre, Sarah (November 11, 2024). "Awards and Honors: Swords Named B1G Freshman of the Week". MGoBlue.com. University of Michigan. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
  18. ^ VanMetre, Sarah (November 8, 2024). "Wolverines Knock Off Lehigh in Home Opener". MGoBlue.com. University of Michigan. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  19. ^ "Rutgers and Michigan Net Big Ten Weekly Women's Basketball Awards". BigTen.org. November 11, 2024. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
  20. ^ VanMetre, Sarah (November 30, 2024). "Wolverines Blitz Virginia Tech, Win Fort Myers Tip-Off". MGoBlue.com. University of Michigan. Retrieved November 30, 2024.
  21. ^ "Ohio State and Michigan Net Big Ten Weekly Women's Basketball Awards". BigTen.org. December 2, 2024. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
  22. ^ Pascal, Randy (August 9, 2022). "That Sudbury Sports Guy: Swords sisters surging this summer — with plenty more to come". The Sudbury Star. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  23. ^ "Canada's under-17 women finish fourth in World Cup after narrow loss to France". Times Colonist. July 17, 2022. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  24. ^ Ibrahim, Abdulhamid (July 28, 2023). "Bronze medal at U19 World Cup shows bright future for Canadian women's basketball". CBC Sports. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  25. ^ "FIBA U19 Women's World Cup 2023; All-Second Team, Best Coach and Defensive Player Awards". fiba.basketball. July 23, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  26. ^ a b Cleary, Martin (August 4, 2023). "Basketball has brought Swords family together for 5 decades". ottawasportspages.ca. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  27. ^ MacKenzie, Holly (November 10, 2023). "Canada defeats Puerto Rico to go undefeated at FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament". Canada Basketball. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  28. ^ "Canadian women wrap up Olympic pre-qualifying basketball tournament with 3-0 record". CBC Sports. November 12, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  29. ^ Leeson, Ben (July 2, 2024). "Sudbury's Syla Swords makes history as youngest-ever Canadian basketball Olympian". The Sudbury Star. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
  30. ^ O'Brien, Owen (July 2, 2024). "Syla Swords of Long Island Lutheran named to Canada's Olympic women's basketball team". Newsday. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
  31. ^ "Long Island Nets Announce Coaching Staff". NBA G League. August 10, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  32. ^ Gentry, Olivia (January 15, 2024). "Swords sisters creating their own legacy". The Springfield Student. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
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