Completed Event: Women's Basketball at Eastern Kentucky on March 19, 2026 , Loss , 58, to, 72
Final Score
Women's Basketball
58
at Eastern Kentucky
72
The University of Utah Athletics
Former Ute Kim Smith Key To Canadian National Team Success
11/20/2019 8:00 AM | Women's Basketball
EDMONTON, AB – Former University of Utah women's basketball standout Kim Gaucher (Smith) helped the Canadian Senior Women's National Team to a 3-0 finish in the FIBA Women's Pre-Qualifying Americas Tournament in Edmonton this past weekend, making the senior team for the 17th time in her career.
"Being able to represent your country is the highest honor," Gaucher said. "I relish every chance I get to represent my country in the game I love."
Gaucher played in all three of Canada's games, averaging 4.7 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. In Canada's tournament opening 110-53 win over Cuba, Gaucher was 3-of-5 from the floor and 2-of-2 from the three for eight points, adding three rebounds.
Team Canada went on to defeat Puerto Rico 84-80 on the second day of the tournament with Gaucher contributing four points, three rebounds and two assists. In Canada's final win of the tournament against the Dominican Republic (110-60) Gaucher was dominant on defense, coming away with three steals along with her two points and one assist.
With Canada going undefeated in the tournament, they now qualify for one of the four global FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournaments in 2020. The top three teams from each tournament will qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games with Gaucher already having experience on the Olympic stage.
She played in both the London Olympics in the summer of 2012 and the Rio Olympics in 2016. In London, Gaucher finished ninth overall in the tournament in points per game and minutes played while in Rio she averaged 7.5 points per game and played her 200th career game with Canada.
"Becoming an Olympian was a goal I set for myself early on," Gaucher said. "When we finally achieved that after a 12-year absence, it instantly became my most cherished basketball memory and on ethat I don't think anything can top."
Canada will enter the Olympic Qualifying tournament this year ranked No. 4 in the world, something Gaucher sees as motivation to take Team Canada to new heights.
"The goal is not just to make the Olympics anymore, the expectation is to medal," she said. "It has been wild to look back over my career with the national team and see the growth of the game in our country. My role now with the team is to share what I have learned along my journey."
Prior to her time as an Olympian or as a professional all around the world, Gaucher was a four-time first-team all-conference selection for the Utes, earning four Mountain West Player of the Year awards. She was a third-team AP All-American and a WBCA honorable mention All-American, still holding the school records in single-season scoring (655, 2005-06) and career scoring (2,281, 2002-06).
"I am so thankful I chose the U.," Gaucher said. "I played for an amazing coaching staff that took my game to the next level. I saw the game differently after four years at Utah."
As a professional basketball player, Gaucher spent three seasons in the WNBA with Sacramento and then headed overseas to play for teams in Belgium, Spain, Hungary and France, where she played last season (Mondeville) averaging 11.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. Gaucher has had a long and fulfilling career, but she isn't quite ready to hang up her shoes yet.
"I don't think there is anything better than playing basketball," she said. "I have been playing for a while now and I am frequently asked when I will retire. I have always said as long as somebody wants to pay me to play this game, I will. I have lived in some very cool places and met some amazing people all because of basketball."
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"Being able to represent your country is the highest honor," Gaucher said. "I relish every chance I get to represent my country in the game I love."
Gaucher played in all three of Canada's games, averaging 4.7 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. In Canada's tournament opening 110-53 win over Cuba, Gaucher was 3-of-5 from the floor and 2-of-2 from the three for eight points, adding three rebounds.
Team Canada went on to defeat Puerto Rico 84-80 on the second day of the tournament with Gaucher contributing four points, three rebounds and two assists. In Canada's final win of the tournament against the Dominican Republic (110-60) Gaucher was dominant on defense, coming away with three steals along with her two points and one assist.
With Canada going undefeated in the tournament, they now qualify for one of the four global FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournaments in 2020. The top three teams from each tournament will qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games with Gaucher already having experience on the Olympic stage.
She played in both the London Olympics in the summer of 2012 and the Rio Olympics in 2016. In London, Gaucher finished ninth overall in the tournament in points per game and minutes played while in Rio she averaged 7.5 points per game and played her 200th career game with Canada.
"Becoming an Olympian was a goal I set for myself early on," Gaucher said. "When we finally achieved that after a 12-year absence, it instantly became my most cherished basketball memory and on ethat I don't think anything can top."
Canada will enter the Olympic Qualifying tournament this year ranked No. 4 in the world, something Gaucher sees as motivation to take Team Canada to new heights.
"The goal is not just to make the Olympics anymore, the expectation is to medal," she said. "It has been wild to look back over my career with the national team and see the growth of the game in our country. My role now with the team is to share what I have learned along my journey."
Prior to her time as an Olympian or as a professional all around the world, Gaucher was a four-time first-team all-conference selection for the Utes, earning four Mountain West Player of the Year awards. She was a third-team AP All-American and a WBCA honorable mention All-American, still holding the school records in single-season scoring (655, 2005-06) and career scoring (2,281, 2002-06).
"I am so thankful I chose the U.," Gaucher said. "I played for an amazing coaching staff that took my game to the next level. I saw the game differently after four years at Utah."
As a professional basketball player, Gaucher spent three seasons in the WNBA with Sacramento and then headed overseas to play for teams in Belgium, Spain, Hungary and France, where she played last season (Mondeville) averaging 11.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. Gaucher has had a long and fulfilling career, but she isn't quite ready to hang up her shoes yet.
"I don't think there is anything better than playing basketball," she said. "I have been playing for a while now and I am frequently asked when I will retire. I have always said as long as somebody wants to pay me to play this game, I will. I have lived in some very cool places and met some amazing people all because of basketball."
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