EDMONTON, AB (July 4, 2018) - Canada's Senior Women's National Team defeated Turkey 78-45 in the opening game of the Edmonton Grads International Classic (EGIC) on Wednesday night.

Click here for full team roster.

Bridget Carleton and Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe scored 14 points each to lead Canada, while Nirra Fields added 13 points and a game-high four steals.  Captain Kim Gaucher had 11 points and eight rebounds in the victory.

Canada jumped out to an early 12-2 lead to open the game and didn't really look back as the quarter ended with a 17-7 advantage for the home team.  Leading 35-12 at the half, Canada continued to push the pace in the second half as their lead grew to 65-29 at the end of three quarters of play.  From there, Canada cruised to the 33-point win.

Click here for the box score

The Edmonton Grads International Classic will help Canada continue preparations for the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2018 (Sept. 22-30) in Tenerife, Spain.

Canada is currently ranked a program-high 5th in the FIBA World ranking presented by Nike.

The Edmonton Grads International Classic is named in honour of the women's basketball team who rose to fame en route to setting a North American record with the best winning percentage (96.2 percent) of all-time. The team won 502 of 522 official games and also claimed the first women's world basketball title in 1924.

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Canada and Turkey will face off again on Friday evening at 7:00 pm as the Saville Community Sports Centre hosts Game 2 of the Edmonton Grads International Classic.

For the latest updates regarding Canada Basketball and the Edmonton Grads International Classic, follow Canada Basketball on Twitter.

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