Toronto, ON – The Women’s National Team opened the second set of European exhibition games with a victory, defeating Poland 73-68 in Arras, France.

“Tonight was another tough game. We knew Poland was going to be out to gain some revenge. They played hard from start to finish,” said head coach Lisa Thomaidis. “I thought defensively we made some good adjustments. Offensively, our transition game again was the difference. We were running right until the end.”

Hamilton, ON native Kia Nurse led the Women’s National Team, scoring 15 points on 4-9 shooting with a pair of 3s. Tamara Tatham scored 13 points along with three rebounds. Poland’s Ewelina Kobryn was the standout, scoring a team-high 13 points after not playing in the first match-up. For full box score, click here.

The two sides started the game through the first seven minutes of the game. Team Canada orchestrated a 9-1 run to end the first quarter and give them a 21-14 lead.

Poland would storm back in the second quarter. An early run made it a tight contest, but Canada would steady in the back-end of the period to maintain a lead. Miah-Marie Langlois scored a bucket with five seconds left in the half to put the Women’s National Team up, 38-35.

Team Canada stood their ground again the third quarter, as Poland got within one point but failed to take the lead. The two teams traded buckets but Canada would rally late to grab a 56-50 advantage.

In the fourth quarter, Poland would outscore Canada 18-17. But the Women’s National Team used defence to close out the game and move to 3-1 on the exhibition tour.

“We definitely ran very well in transition, which we have been working on. Defensively, down the stretch, we came up with some big stops and we were composed at the end,” said Tatham. “Now, we’re looking forward to tomorrow’s game against Italy.”

Canada will have a brief rest before their next match. The Women’s National Team plays Italy at 12:00 pm EST. Live stats can be found on live.ffbb.com or follow @CanBBall for more information.

Full competition schedule and roster here: http://basketball.ca/en/team_programs/womens-team

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