Sharne Robati got the first points of the game and Tegan Graham followed with another triple as the Tall Ferns took an early 6-2 advantage against the world No6 side.
Turnovers gave the Spanish the chance to get back into the game and they controlled the game from there, going on a 14-1 run to lead 22-9 at the break.
Spain opened with another 7-0 run to open the second quarter before Robati hit her second triple to stop the run.
Pahlyss Hokianga got on the scoreboard with a tough driving lay-in for the Tall Ferns.
Robati and Graham continued to do a job for the Ferns on the offensive end, combining for 17 of the Tall Ferns’ first 22 points on the night.
Spain pushed the pace and forced turnovers to open up a 25-point lead at halftime.
Las Vegas Aces centre Megan Gustafson started the second half with a couple of buckets and five triples from her team extended their lead.
Southern Hoiho forward Rebecca Pizzey knocked down a triple before the end of the quarter for the Tall Ferns to trail 77-36.
Ella Tofaeono celebrated her 28th birthday with 14 points, including 12 in the final quarter, to go along with seven rebounds.
“Obviously turnovers killed us from the start of the game,’’ Tall Ferns coach Nat Hurst said.
‘‘Spain are a really good team, lots of length, super athletic and we struggled with that.
“Positives out of this, you know, we win the rebound count. I thought we hung in there together as a team for 40 minutes.
‘‘We’ve got to learn quickly and move on quickly as well.”
The Tall Ferns won the rebound count 39-31 and Jade Kirisome, Emma Rogers and Briarley Rogers made their debuts.
The Tall Ferns were back in action against Italy this morning.
World Cup qualifiers
The scores
Spain 99
Megan Gustafson 20, María Conde 12
Tall Ferns 50
Ella Tofaeono 14, Sharne Robati 12
Quarter scores: Spain 22-9, 47-22, 77-36, 99-50.
— Allied Media
