National team goes 6-1 at world event with Lopes duo
Grand Canyon sophomore basketball players Laura Piera and Carla Balague acquired some bronze this weekend to add to their dorm decor when they return to campus next month.
Piera and Balague helped their Spanish national team to a third-place finish at the U19 Women's Basketball World Championship in Thailand, where Spain defeated Belgium 58-52 in the bronze-medal game on Sunday. Piera added four points, two
Carla Balague
rebounds and two assists in the win that put Spain at 6-1 for the tournament, which the U.S. won with Australia taking the silver. It was the first time that an under-19 Spanish national team earned a medal in world competition since 2011.
Piera, donning her Lopes purple shoes in games, was Spain's starting point guard and posted the team's third best plus-minus rating average (plus-8.5 points per 40 minutes) for the tournament. She averaged 2.8 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.5 steals in 16.7 minutes per game. In a pool play victory against Japan, Piera posted 10 points and four assists without making a turnover.
Balague, a power forward, played in all seven games off the bench and averaged 1.9 points and 1.7 rebounds with 46.2 percent shooting in 10.5 minutes per game. She went 3 for 4 from the field for six points in Spain's 64-55 semifinal loss to Australia on Saturday.
Piera and Balague are two of seven returning players for GCU head coach Nicole Powell's 2019-20 team.
