| Type: | Women |
| Country: | Spain |
| Coach: | Miguel Méndez |
| Joined Fiba: | 1934 |
| Fiba Zone: | FIBA Europe |
| National Fed: | FEB |
| Oly Appearances: | 6 |
| Oly Medals: | Silver: (2016) |
| Wc Appearances: | 7 |
| Wc Medals: | Silver: (2014) Bronze: (2010, 2018) |
| Zone Championship: | EuroBasket |
| Zone Appearances: | 22 |
| Zone Medals: | Gold: (1993, 2013, 2017, 2019) Silver: (2007, 2023) Bronze: (2001, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2015) |
| H Pattern B: | _redsides_2 |
| H Body: | FFFFFF |
| H Shorts: | FFFFFF |
| H Pattern S: | _redsides |
| A Pattern B: | _yellowsides |
| A Body: | ff0000 |
| A Shorts: | ff0000 |
| A Pattern S: | _yellowsides |
| H Title: | Home |
| A Title: | Away |
| First Game: | 31–40 (Malgrat de Mar, Spain; 16 June 1963) |
| Largest Win: | 113–42 (Madrid, Spain; 9 June 2008) |
| Largest Loss: | 115–42 (Treviso, Italy; 12 September 1985) |
The Spain women's national basketball team (es|Selección Española de Baloncesto Femenina) represents Spain in international women's basketball competition and are regulated by the Spanish Basketball Federation, the governing body for basketball in Spain. Spain has one of the most successful women's national teams in the world, being the current FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2023 silver medallists.[1]
Spain women's basketball team played their first official game in Malgrat de Mar, Barcelona, against Switzerland on 16 June 1963, losing 31–40.[2] They won their first game against the same team two days later, 47–39. It would take six years to play another international friendly game, losing to Cuba 50–70 on 28 September 1969.[3]
Their first official games were in March 1970, trying to qualify for the 1970 EuroBasket, winning their first game against Switzerland 61–44 and losing to Hungary and France. The team qualified for their first major international tournament in their next attempt, the 1974 EuroBasket. After losing their three group stage games, they won their first game in a final tournament against Denmark in the placement matches, finishing in 12th position. Rosa Castillo is considered the best player from the mid-70s to the mid-80s.
Until 1985, Spain played most Eurobasket tournaments, usually finishing around 10th. An important year for the evolution of the team was the celebration on home soil of the 1987 EuroBasket, finishing on 6th position. The team entered their first Summer Olympics qualification in 1988, but failed to qualify. Their first Olympic games were also on home soil in the 1992 Summer Olympics, finishing 5th.
After failing to qualify for the two previous Eurobaskets and having never played a knockout game in a major tournament, the gold medal at the 1993 EuroBasket came as a surprise, beating the newly formed Slovakia in the semi-finals 73–55 and France in the final 63–53. With Blanca Ares as their key player (19 PPG), Spain undoubtedly took advantage of the dissolution of the dominant European teams of Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and especially the Soviet Union.
The EuroBasket victory gave Spain the right to participate in the 1994 Women's World Cup for the first time, finishing 8th. Since then, the team has qualified for every World Cup -seven in a row-, winning three medals.
From 2001 up to 2009, Spain entered a loop of winning five consecutive medals in the Eurobaskets (1 silver, 4 bronze) and being eliminated in the quarterfinals in Summer Olympics and World Cups, until they finally won bronze in the 2010 Women's World Cup. From her debut in 1995 to her retirement in 2013, forward Amaya Valdemoro became the leader of the Spanish squad, taking part in 13 tournaments, playing 258 games, winning 7 medals and becoming the top scorer with 2,743 points.
The defeat against Croatia on 26 June in Katowice in the second stage of the 2011 EuroBasket and the consequent absence from the 2012 Olympics has been cited by coaches and players[4] [5] as a catalyst for a golden period of seven consecutive medals under coach Lucas Mondelo. After playing the qualification matches in the summer of 2012, Spain went on to win the 2013 EuroBasket with a balance of 9–0. Afterwards, they won silver in the 2014 Women's World Cup, bronze in the 2015 EuroBasket, silver in the 2016 Summer Olympics and gold again in the 2017 EuroBasket. Spain also won the bronze medal at the 2018 Women's World Cup held on home soil in September 2018. In July 2019 Spain successfully defended their European crown by beating France 86–66 in the final of the EuroBasket Women 2019. These seven successful tournaments came to a halt in the summer of 2021, when the team finished 7th in the 2021 EuroBasket played on home soil and 6th in the 2020 Olympic Games. These results are quite commendable, considering that Spain have only competed with the world elite for two decades. This series of results took the Spanish team to be ranked No. 2 in the ranking of FIBA. In the FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2023, despite a strong performance, they lost to Belgium in the final.[6]
In the senior team for two decades (2002-2021) point guard Laia Palau is the record-holder for most caps (314) and most medals (12) in 19 final tournaments. In the team since 2008, forward Alba Torrens has been regarded as the most talented player of this generation, having won 9 medals in 12 tournaments.
At the Mediterranean Games, Spain won gold in 1991, and bronze in 1993, 2001 and 2005.
| List of matches 2022–2024, including friendlies and scheduled matches | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OPPONENT | TOP SCORER | EVENT | DATE | LOCATION | |||||||
| 778 | 2024.08.03 | Lille (FRA) | |||||||||
| 777 | 2024.07.31/ | Lille (FRA) | |||||||||
| 776 | 90 | 89 | +1 | 29 | 2024.07.28 | Lille (FRA) | |||||
| 775 | 68 | 48 | +20 | 20 | 2024 Friendly | 2024.07.24 | Segovia | ||||
| 774 | 66 | 75 | -9 | 11 | 2024 Friendly | 2024.07.22 | Segovia | ||||
| 773 | 61 | 48 | +13 | 11 | 2024 Friendly | 2024.07.13 | Charleroi (BEL) | ||||
| 772 | 58 | 76 | -18 | 14 | 2024 Friendly | 2024.07.12 | Charleroi (BEL) | ||||
| 771 | 70 | 46 | +24 | 14 | 2024 Friendly | 2024.06.23 | Vigo | ||||
| 770 | 59 | 47 | +12 | 11 | 2024 Friendly | 2024.06.21 | Vigo | ||||
| 769 | 73 | 72 | +1 | 16 | 2024.02.11 | Sopron (HUN) | |||||
| 768 | 60 | 55 | +5 | 16 | 2024.02.09 | Sopron (HUN) | |||||
| 767 | 75 | 86 | -11 | 19 | 2024.02.08 | Sopron (HUN) | |||||
| 766 | 75 | 34 | +41 | 16 | 2023.11.12 | Tenerife | |||||
| 765 | 70 | 65 | +5 | 12 | 2023.11.09 | Split (CRO) | |||||
| 764 | 58 | 64 | -6 | 14 | 2023.06.25 | Ljubljana (SLO) | |||||
| 763 | 69 | 60 | +9 | 27 | 2023.06.24 | Ljubljana (SLO) | |||||
| 762 | 67 | 42 | +25 | 13 | 2023.06.22 | Ljubljana (SLO) | |||||
| 761 | 76 | 60 | +16 | 16 | 2023.06.18 | Tel-Aviv (ISR) | |||||
| 760 | 78 | 57 | +21 | 20 | 2023.06.16 | Tel-Aviv (ISR) | |||||
| 759 | 63 | 67 | -4 | 20 | 2023.06.15 | Tel-Aviv (ISR) | |||||
| 758 | 65 | 77 | -12 | 16 | 2023 Friendly | 2023.06.10 | Sopron (HUN) | ||||
| 757 | 65 | 63 | +2 | 23 | 2023 Friendly | 2023.06.09 | Sopron (HUN) | ||||
| 756 | 72 | 54 | +18 | 14 | 2023 Friendly | 2023.06.04 | Córdoba | ||||
| 755 | 76 | 37 | +39 | 12 | 2023 Friendly | 2023.06.02 | Córdoba | ||||
| 754 | 76 | 60 | +16 | 21 | 2023 Friendly | 2023.05.26 | Vigo | ||||
| 753 | 55 | 44 | +11 | 10 | 2023 Friendly | 2023.05.25 | Vigo | ||||
| 752 | 88 | 34 | +54 | 13 | 2023.02.12 | Reykjavík (ISL) | |||||
| 751 | 75 | 32 | +43 | 14 | 2023.02.09 | Sfântu Gheorghe (ROM) | |||||
| 750 | 77 | 66 | +11 | 21 | 2022.11.27 | Huelva | |||||
| 749 | 120 | 54 | +66 | María Araújo | 19 | 2022.11.24 | Huelva | ||||
| 748 | 54 | 46 | +8 | 16 | 2022 Friendly | 2022.06.19 | Cividale del Friuli (ITA) | ||||
| 747 | 60 | 56 | +4 | 17 | 2022 Friendly | 2022.06.18 | Cividale del Friuli (ITA) | ||||
| 746 | 79 | 70 | +9 | 24 | 2022 Friendly | 2022.06.03 | Melilla | ||||
| 745 | 60 | 49 | +11 | 12 | 2022 Friendly | 2022.06.01 | Melilla | ||||
| valign=top width=0% | Olympic Games
FIBA Women's World Cup
| valign=top width=0% | EuroBasket Women
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Roster for the 2024 Summer Olympics.
| Player | National career | Games | Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2002–2021 | 314 | 1839 | ||
| 2 | 1995–2013 | 258 | 2743 | ||
| 3 | 1989–2006 | 253 | 1867 | ||
| 4 | 1989–2004 | 252 | 1978 | ||
| 5 | 2001–2017 | 244 | 897 | ||
| 6 | 1996–2013 | 222 | 1171 | ||
| 7 | Silvia Domínguez | 2006– | 212 | 812 | |
| 8 | 1988–2002 | 204 | 1730 | ||
| 9 | 1984–1995 | 202 | 1264 | ||
| 10 | 2008–2020 | 197 | 1068 | ||
| 10 | Alba Torrens | 2008– | 197 | 2515 |
| Player | National career | Points | Matches | Average | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1995–2013 | 2743 | 258 | 10.6 | ||
| 2 | Alba Torrens | 2008– | 2515 | 197 | 12.8 | |
| 3 | 1989–2004 | 1978 | 252 | 7.8 | ||
| 4 | 1989–2006 | 1867 | 253 | 7.4 | ||
| 5 | 2002–2021 | 1839 | 314 | 5.9 | ||
| 6 | 1988–1994 | 1754 | 124 | 14.1 | ||
| 7 | 1988–2002 | 1730 | 204 | 8.5 | ||
| 8 | 1985–1993 | 1716 | 158 | 10.9 | ||
| 9 | 1974–1988 | 1487 | 127 | 11.7 | ||
| 10 | 2005–2012 | 1430 | 129 | 11.1 |
Top highscorers in official games (friendlies not included).
| Players | PTS | Opponent | Event | Date | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amaya Valdemoro | 39 | 2006 World Cup 2nd Round | 2006.09.18 | São Paulo (BRA) | ||
| Blanca Ares | 36 | 1994 World Cup 2nd Round | 1994.06.10 | Sydney (AUS) | ||
| Amaya Valdemoro | 33 | 2002 World Cup 2nd Round | 2002.09.19 | Suzhou (CHN) | ||
| Rosa Castillo | 32 | 1976 EuroBasket Classification Round | 1976.05.25 | Ferrand Clermont (FRA) | ||
| Rosa Castillo | 32 | 1980 EuroBasket Classification Round | 1980.09.23 | Banjaluka (YUG) | ||
| Rosi Sánchez | 32 | 2002 World Cup Classification Round | 2002.09.25 | Nanjing (CHN) | ||
| Alba Torrens | 32 | 2016 Olympics 1st Round | 2016.08.10 | Rio (BRA) | ||
| Marina Ferragut | 31 | 1999 EuroBasket qualification | 1998.05.15 | Daruvar (CRO) | ||
| Marta Xargay | 31 | 2019 EuroBasket 1st Round | 2019.06.27 | Riga (LAT) | ||
| Rocío Jiménez | 30 | 1978 EuroBasket qualification | 1978.03.23 | Wolfenbuttel (GER) | ||
| Marta Fernández | 30 | 2003 EuroBasket qualification | 2001.11.25 | Salamanca (ESP) | ||
| Amaya Valdemoro | 30 | 2004 Olympics 1st Round | 2004.08.16 | Athens (GRE) | ||
| Alba Torrens | 30 | 2013 EuroBasket 1st Round | 2013.06.15 | Vannes (FRA) |
Most medals won with the national team in Olympic Games, Women's World Cups and EuroBaskets:
| Player | Medals | Details | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laia Palau | 12 | ||
| Silvia Domínguez | 9 | ||
| Laura Nicholls | 9 | ||
| Alba Torrens | 9 | ||
| Anna Cruz | 8 | ||
| Laura Gil | 8 | ||
| Lucila Pascua | 8 |
Timeline of head coaches with games and results in final tournaments at the (EuroBasket, Women's World Cup and Olympics)[8]
(*)
Assistant coach Víctor Lapeña was appointed as head coach for two 2017 EuroBasket qualifiers in November 2015[9]
See main article: Spain women's national under-20 basketball team.
See main article: Spain women's national under-18 and under-19 basketball team.
See main article: Spain women's national under-16 and under-17 basketball team.
| width=14% bgcolor=#75AADB | width=17% | Europe U-20 | width=17% | World U-19 | width=17% | Europe U-18 | width=17% | World U-17 | width=17% | Europe U-16 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Q | Q | |||||||||
| 2023 | |||||||||||
| 2022 | |||||||||||
| 2021 | 7th | ||||||||||
| 2019 | 5th | 5th | |||||||||
| 2018 | bgcolor=gold | bgcolor=silver | 6th | ||||||||
| 2017 | bgcolor=gold | 8th | 6th | 5th | |||||||
| 2016 | bgcolor=gold | bgcolor=silver | 6th | bgcolor=gold | |||||||
| 2015 | 4th | bgcolor=gold | 4th | ||||||||
| 2014 | bgcolor=silver | bgcolor=silver | |||||||||
| 2013 | bgcolor=gold | 4th | bgcolor=gold | bgcolor=gold | |||||||
| 2012 | bgcolor=gold | 5th | bgcolor=silver | bgcolor=gold | |||||||
| 2011 | bgcolor=gold | bgcolor=silver | bgcolor=gold | ||||||||
| 2010 | bgcolor=silver | bgcolor=silver | 8th | 4th | |||||||
| 2009 | bgcolor=silver | bgcolor=silver | bgcolor=gold | bgcolor=gold | |||||||
| 2008 | 4th | 5th | bgcolor=gold | ||||||||
| 2007 | bgcolor=gold | 4th | bgcolor=silver | bgcolor=silver | |||||||
| 2006 | 4th | bgcolor=gold | |||||||||
| 2005 | 8th | 5th | bgcolor=silver | bgcolor=gold | |||||||
| 2004 | 9th | bgcolor=silver | bgcolor=gold | ||||||||
| 2003 | 4th | ||||||||||
| 2002 | 5th | 5th | |||||||||
| 2001 | DNQ | 7th | |||||||||
| 2000 | 5th | 6th | |||||||||
| 1999 | bgcolor=gold | ||||||||||
| 1998 | bgcolor=gold | ||||||||||
| 1997 | 8th | 5th | |||||||||
| 1996 | 4th | ||||||||||
| 1995 | 4th | ||||||||||
| 1994 | bgcolor=silver | ||||||||||
| 1993 | DNQ | bgcolor=silver | |||||||||
| 1992 | 5th | ||||||||||
| 1991 | 9th | ||||||||||
| 1990 | |||||||||||
| 1989 | 5th | 4th | |||||||||
| 1988 | 6th | ||||||||||
| 1987 | 9th | ||||||||||
| 1986 | 12th | ||||||||||
| 1985 | 7th | 9th | |||||||||
| 1984 | 4th | 7th | |||||||||
| 1983 | 8th | ||||||||||
| 1982 | 8th | ||||||||||
| 1981 | 9th | ||||||||||
| 1980 | 10th | ||||||||||
| 1979 | DNQ | ||||||||||
| 1978 | 11th | ||||||||||
| 1977 | 11th | ||||||||||
| 1976 | 10th | ||||||||||
| 1975 | 6th | ||||||||||
| 1973 | 8th | ||||||||||
| 1965–71 | DNQ |
