ZHANGJIAGANG, China — Canada's women's basketball opened its four-game Asian exhibition series with an 82-65 loss to China on Wednesday.
Miranda Ayim had a game-high 15 points and three rebounds. Yang Li Wei led China with 14 points.
The Canadian team is without its WNBA players for the series, part of the preparations for both teams ahead of the FIBA women's World Cup in September in Tenerife, Spain.
"It was good to get on the floor and see where we are in our preparation," said coach Steve Baur. "Tonight we were a step behind in our execution. We will learn from this and build into our next game."
The Chinese led 26-21 after one quarter and had stretched it to 44-37 by halftime. They took a 64-53 advantage into the fourth quarter.
Canada will face China again on Friday before travelling to Japan for a pair of games.
The Canadian Press
