CANADA FALLS TO NO. 3 RANKED SPAIN, 68-57

The Women's National Team battled hard against one of the world's best, falling to Spain 68-57 in Logrono, Spain.

"This was an awesome game for us to be able to measure ourselves against one of the best teams in the world. I was really proud of how our team performed today," said head coach Lisa Thomaidis. "In comparison to when we played Spain last year, we probably didn't feel like we were in the same league as them. Today, we had some really strong performances and we battled right to the end."

Kim Gaucher was the standout for Team Canada, pouring in a team-high 13 points along with three rebounds and four assists. Miranda Ayim scored 13 as well. Spain's Astou Ndour scored a game-high 17 points to lead the host side to a win. Full box score available here.

The first quarter was tightly contested. Canada came out attacking the 2-3 defence of Spain, moving the ball well to get good looks at the rim. Spain would capitalize on turnovers though, allowing them score easily in transition. The two teams were tied at 16 after 10 minutes of play.

It was a similar trend to begin the second quarter. But three minutes into the period, Spain began a 8-0 run, holding Canada scoreless for four minutes of play. Turnovers hurt Canada as the team struggled to attack the zone defence. Spain led 43-32 at half.

Team Canada could not find their rhythm in the third either. Spain continued to pass the ball well and get open looks, pushing their lead to 56-40 after the third quarter.

Canada made a run in the fourth quarter to put some pressure on the host side, bringing the deficit to 9 with 3:44 remaining. Spain would weather the Canadian run and close out the game to win, 68-57.

"It was a great opportunity to test ourselves against one of the top teams in the world. Our turnovers and their offensive rebounds cost us early in the game. It's a great learning lesson," said Gaucher.

The loss was Canada's first of the European exhibition tour. The Women's National Team went 2-1 during the Spain exhibition stop.

Now, Canada heads to France for their next set of exhibition games against Poland, Italy and France. The first game is against Poland on June 3, with tip off scheduled for 12:00 p.m. EST. Information about live stats will be shared through @CanBball and facebook.com/CanadaBasketball.

For full roster and exhibition schedule: http://www.basketball.ca/en/team_programs/womens-team

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