BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (June 15, 2019) – Canada's Senior Women's National Team fell to Belgium 68-64 on Saturday night in game two of their Belgium exhibition tournament.
Click here for the box score.
For the second night in a row, Kayla Alexander was the game’s leading scorer, finishing with a double-double, 16 points and 10 rebounds. Sami Hill and Miranda Ayim had nine points apiece, while Cassandra Brown added eight points for Canada in the loss. Belgium was led by Antonia Delaere who recorded 14 points to lead the Cats.
With Canada leading 9-4 early the first quarter, Belgium used a 7-0 run to take a 11-9 lead. A back-and-forth opening frame ended tied at 13-13.
Tied 17-17 in the second quarter, Canada outscored Belgium 11-2 to help build a 28-19 advantage. Belgium would continue to chip away at the Canadian lead and shrunk the deficit to just three points, 32-29, at the half.
A modest 5-0 run from the Cats to open the second half re-established their lead. However, Canada would respond with a 5-0 run of their own later in the quarter to take a 48-44 lead with under three minutes to play in the third. Canada led by just one point, 50-49, heading into the fourth quarter.
After Miranda Ayim opened the fourth by converting an and-one opportunity to give Canada a four point lead, Belgium answered right back with a 8-0 run to erase the Canadian advantage and give the home team a four point lead of their own. Tied 62-62 with under a minute to play, Belgium retook the lead for good on a clutch three with just 35 seconds to play. Despite Canada’s final efforts, the comeback ultimately fell short.
Click here for the roster.
QUOTES
"It was a great second game all together as a team against a strong Belgium team ready to into competition. I thought we did a great job working together on defence and that was a point coming into this game. There are a few things we need to fix up for our next few games but overall I'm proud of our effort and the fight the girls showed and we're looking to bring it into tomorrow's game." - Miranda Ayim
UP NEXT
Canada will face Spain on Sunday at 8:30 am ET to conclude the three-game Belgium exhibition series.
These exhibition games will help Team Canada prepare for a busy summer that will see the team participate in the FIBA Women's AmeriCup 2019 and Lima 2019 Pan-Am Games, as well as the FIBA Women's Pre-Qualifying Tournaments in Americas this fall.
To stay updated on the Senior Women's National Team, follow Canada Basketball on Twitter.