‘This was incredible’: Carleton family reflect on emotional historic moment

A sold-out crowd at Scotiabank arena soaked in every moment of the first WNBA Game to be held in Canada on Saturday.

To mark the historic occasion and celebrate women in sports the City of Toronto proclaimed May 13th as “Welcome WNBA Day” but it could also have been dubbed “Happy Bridget Carleton Day.”

Out of the Minnesota Lynx and Chicago Sky, Carleton was the only Canadian to play in the game. Her teammate Natalie Achonwa wasn’t available because she welcomed her first child, Maverick, last month.

Carleton, who hails from Chatham, Ont., has represented Canada on the world stage on the Senior Women’s National Basketball team and is entering her fifth season in the WNBA. Saturday marked the first time her grandmother was able to watch her play professional basketball in person and it was an emotional moment for her family to see her play on home soil in such a historic event.

Canadian native, @bridgecarleton of the @minnesotalynx addresses the SOLD OUT crowd in Canada ????️ pic.twitter.com/peZuJhkQoQ

— WNBA (@WNBA) May 13, 2023

“Hearing 20,000 fans excited to see a Canadian play. I might tear up again,” Carleton’s mom Carrie told CityNews. “It’s been pretty amazing. We’ve been to a few WNBA games in the past in Minnesota and Chicago and Indianapolis, but this was incredible.”

It’s been a whirlwind week for the 22-year-old who was playing in Spain until Sunday with Perfumerías Avenida. During Friday’s Lynx practice, she said she was excited to be able to play in front of her family and friends at home but also see her family who she hasn’t seen since Christmas.

“Even with Canada basketball, we don’t get to see her play at home. Tonight was super special,” Carrie Carleton added. “It’s hard to put into words, but I had a hankie on hand tonight for a reason and I teared up a lot. I can’t tell you how excited we are and happy of the support, not only for Bridget, but all the women there tonight trying to put on a great show.”

There were signs throughout the arena reading ‘Welcome Home Bridget’ and ‘We Love Bridget Carleton.’

“To see all those little kids excited to see her, excited to see women play was, that was just it,” said Carrie while talking about the pride of seeing her daughter’s impact on basketball in Canada.

“We were standing in line with some people that were like, ‘Oh, we just finished the Ontario Cup. How can my little girl make it to the WNBA’ and ask me how Bridget made it? It was pretty cool that she is a role model and she can articulate it well, to say how this can happen, and how we need to show women’s sports to youngsters.”

While Carleton is just one of four Canadians who are on a WNBA roster this season, she has represented Canada on the biggest stages. She last donned the Team Canada jersey at the 2022 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup last fall, helping the national team to a fourth-place finish in Australia — the program’s best result since 1986.

“Just seeing every step that Bridget has made in her career and the sacrifices she has made to get where she is today, we are just so excited and happy for her,” said Carrie. “We know all the hard work and dedication she has put into this sport and the love she has for this sport. So to see each step that she takes in her career, and the love she got tonight from fans, it’s surreal. She deserves it and she’s earned it and we’re just so happy for her.”

Carleton and the Minnesota Lynx will open up the regular season against the Chicago Sky this Friday in Minneapolis.