SEGOVIA, Spain (July 23, 2024) - The Canadian Senior Women’s National Team defeated Australia 77-74 in a pre-Olympic exhibition in Spain on Tuesday.

Led by Kayla Alexander’s 21-points as well as 15 points from Natalie Achonwa and 10 points from Bridget Carleton, Canada outlasted the third-ranked Australians who they will see in group play during the Paris Olympics.

Jade Melbourne led Australia with a game-high 23 points in the loss, with Alanna Smith adding 12 points and Ezi Magbegor nine points.

In a game that was close from start to finish and went down until the final seconds, Alexander was there whenever the team needed a score.

“Honestly, it’s my teammates,” Alexander said. “My teammates are feeding me the ball, getting me my sweet spots. I was trying to be a presence down low and my teammates found me and got me the ball in great positions that allowed me to be successful. It’s a team game and when I post up, I don't score unless my teammates see me. We were seeing each other. Everybody was able to get in positions to be successful. We moved the ball incredibly well and we were finding the open player. Just a total team effort.”

Canada remained calm under pressure, performing on both ends of the floor in crunch time as Carleton calmly sank a pair of free throws with 1.8 seconds remaining to give Canada a three-point advantage and the victory.

“The team was poised down the stretch,” Alexander said. “That poise allowed us to take a close game and get the dub. I thought offensively, we were able to use a lot of our weapons. We were finding people in their right spots and creating great opportunities for one another.”

Canada won despite shooting 38 percent from the floor, compared to 47 percent shooting for Australia, in part because of their aggressiveness on the offensive end where they connected on 21-of-26 free throws. In comparison, Australia attempted just 14 free throws, making 10. The Canadians also outrebounded Australia 44-32, including 15-3 on the offensive glass.

Australia led by a point, 19-18 after the first 10 minutes after Carlton and Kristy Wallace traded three-pointers to end the quarter. Alexander scored the first four points of the second quarter, moving Canada back in front by three. After a jumper from Tess Magdon gave Australia a six-point lead with 2:51 remaining in the half, a three-point play from Alexander brought Canada back within three. Free throws from Australia’s Marianna Tolo gave Australia a five-point lead with 22 seconds remaining in the half, but Nurse made one of two free throws to trim the deficit to four, 39-34, at the halftime break.

A bucket for Australia to start the third extended the lead to six points, but Alexander was starting to heat up for Canada. The co-captain scored nine of her 21 points in the third. When a basket from Magbegor extended Australia’s advantage to seven points with 7:14 remaining in the third, Alexander scored inside while being fouled. She made her free throw to complete the three-point play and bring Canada back within four, 44-40.

Back-to-back threes from Melbourne and Sami Whitcomb gave Australia its largest lead of the game, 50-42, with 5:52 remaining in the third. Shay Colley responded with a three of her own for the Canadians and then Alexander drained a jumper to bring Canada back within three.

After Syla Swords and Melbourne traded three-pointers, Australia held a 56-50 advantage with 3:16 remaining in the third. A three-point play from Cassandre Prosper kicked off a 7-0 run by the Canadians to close the quarter and take a 57-56 lead into the fourth.

A jumper from Carleton tied the game at 62 points with 6:42 remaining. A huge three from Kia Nurse gave Canada a 66-62 lead with 6:11 remaining. After a three-point play for Magbegor, Swords and Melbourne traded free throws and Canada’s lead was down to one. Achonwa responded by making one of two free throws and then drilling a jumper to give Canada the 71-67 advantage as Australia called timeout with 2:32 remaining.

After Magbegor scored inside for Australia, Colley drove the lane and found Alexander for a jumper to make it 75-72 Canada with 1:25 remaining. A baseline drive and score for Melbourne brought Australia within a point with 1:03 on the clock. The two teams traded misses from deep before Melbourne drove to the basket, but strong defence from Canada prevented the layup with seven seconds remaining as Australia had no choice but to foul Carleton with 1.8 seconds on the clock.

“Defence at the end of the day won us that game, especially because it was so close,” Alexander said. “It was literally a possession game. We were able to get stops down the stretch. If we didn't get the stops we wanted, we were able to convert and get buckets on the other end. I’m just pleased with the way we played as a unit, together. I think we’re building in the right direction.”

With WNBAers Carleton, Nurse and Aaliyah Edwards now with the team, Canada has its full roster together in advance of next week’s first game in Paris.

“It felt really great to have the whole squad together,” Alexander said. “Especially the past few days, being able to train together, continue to work and build on what we’ve been building for the last three years. We were able to make great progress, continue to see the minor things that we need to work on and adjust, but all in all, just so happy to have the whole squad is finally together and that we have these last few moments and opportunities to train and play and continue to build.

Up next for the Canadians will be their final pre-Olympics exhibition match against Spain on Wednesday, July 24 at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT.