Latvia sealed a 65-62 win over neighbours Lithuania in Riga as the Eurobasket Women 2017 qualifying rounds got underway on Saturday.
Dita Rosenberga finished off a smart Latvian offence, run by veteran Anete Jekabsone-Zogota with three ticks remaining and then defended Lithuania’s last possession to secure victory in Group A.
Lithuania unfortunately did not help themselves as they turned the ball over a staggering 32 times with several in the closing minutes.
In Group C, Montenegro overcame Great Britain 78-64 in Podgorica but nearly gave away a double-digit lead only to finish strong down the stretch.
Angelica Robinson starred with 20 points and 11 rebounds for the victors, while Johannah Leedham paced GB with with 20 points and 13 rebounds on her return to the international fold after a two-year break away.
The other game in Group C saw Italy brush aside minnows Albania 121-38 in a one-sided massacre.
France beat Estonia 69-41 in Bourges as they raced to an early 10-0 lead and never looked back. Netherlands stunned Croatia 76-67 in Group B’s other contest.
Reigning Eurobasket Women champions Serbia began their defence and quest to return to the finals with a convincing 100-57 rout of Germany in Group D.
Nearly 7,000 fans in Belgrade watched the reigning European queens dismantle their German counterparts by taking a commanding 48-29 half-time lead and see out the game rotating the bench. Jelena Milovanovic led the Serbs with 24 points.
Serbia’s main challengers in Group D, Ukraine were more impressive albeit against Luxembourg as they held the minnows to just two points in the third quarter, en route to a 90-38 win.
Women’s basketball giants Belarus began their qualifying campaign with a disappointing 65-56 loss away to Poland in Group G as they blew a 20-9 first quarter cushion, only to score just a single point in the fourth quarter in a monumental collapse, where they failed to score for the first nine minutes of the last period.
In Group F, Russia thrashed Bulgaria 72-39 and Greece were just as impressive by dismantling Switzerland 83-46.
Elsewhere around Europe, in Group E Slovak Republic beat Portugal 56-43 and Hungary got the better of Iceland 72-50. Group H saw Romania squeeze by Bosnia & Herzegovina 67-65 and Turkey had no trouble against Israel, winning 72-53.
Eurobasket Women 2013 winners Spain comfortably beat Sweden 75-52 on the road in Group I as Sancho Lyttle went for 24 points and 12 rebounds in the win.
The new international calendar will now feature another round of games in midweek before they return to respective club action and reconvene in February.
