ANTIBES, France (September 15, 2018) - Canada's Senior Women's National Team fell 84-68 to USA in the first of a three-game exhibition series in France ahead of the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2018.
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Shay Colley, a redshirt junior at Michigan State, had a game-high 21 points (8-16) and eight rebounds for Canada in the loss.
After a back and forth opening 10 minutes of action, Canada trailed by just four points heading into the second quarter. However, a 9-0 run by USA to open the frame stretched the deficit to 13 points. Outscored 17-7 in the second, Canada entered halftime down 41-27.
Chipping away at the deficit throughout the third, a Natalie Achonwa jumper with 4:37 to play in the quarter reduced the American lead to single digits. Despite outscoring USA 27-26 in the third quarter, Canada was unable to close the gap and found themselves trailing by 13 points heading into the final frame.
Colley continued her dominant play in the fourth for Canada, scoring eight of the team's 14 points in the quarter. A 7-0 run midway through the fourth shrunk the American lead to just nine points but it wasn't enough to complete the Canadian comeback.
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QUOTES
"Coming in we knew it was going to be very physical. That's how America plays. It's going to be very fast and up tempo. Coming in our game plan was to worry about us, focus on us, execute our plays and just stick together no matter if they go on runs or not." - Shay Colley
"The game got emotional early. It was a battle from start to finish. I was super proud of our team and our players and how they responded. I thought they played with a ton of toughness. Shay Colley had an outstanding night but all 11 of them played with alot of heart. I think when you play against the US, it's an emotional game. There's a lot of history there between a lot of the players. I thought we played a tough game and that is really going to help us moving forward for the World Cup." - Head Coach Lisa Thomaidis
UP NEXT
Canada will now face rival France on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET in a preview of their September 25th Group A showdown at the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2018.
To stay updated on the Senior Women's National Team, follow Canada Basketball on Twitter.