Preview: Estonia v GB
Details
Estonia v GB
FIBA Women’s EuroBasket Qualfier
Sunday 14th November, 4:00pm tip (GMT)
TAL TECH Sportshall, Tallinn
INTRO
GB Women have travelled to Tallinn, Estonia ahead of our second FIBA Women’s EuroBasket qualifier of the November window tomorrow night.
The opposition: Estonia
Hosts Estonia come into the game off a 62-43 defeat to Portugal in their opening game of qualifying, also on Thursday night. The team has named two changes to their final 12, with Jane Svilberg and Birgit Piibur replacing Martha-Liisa Oinits and Ivetta-Elizabeta Okuneva – both of whom only saw a few minutes of action in Thursday’s defeat.
Kadri Ann Lass was the player who impressed in their opener, picking up a 13-point, 10-rebound double double in Matosinhos. The 24-year-old plays domestically in Spain with Club Polideportivo Bembibre and has also represented Estonia’s 3×3 team at the European and World Championships.
TEAM NEWS
Chema Buceta has made one change to Thursday’s roster, with Eilidh Simpson set to receive her 50th cap in place of the injured Temi Fagbenle.
The final roster: Shanice Beckford-Norton, Renee Busch, Georgia Gayle, Cheridene Green, Chantelle Handy, Shequila Joseph, Hannah Robb, Karlie Samuelson, Eilidh Simpson, Azania Stewart, Rachael Vanderwal & Holly Winterburn
QUOTES
Veteran Azania Stewart is aware of the threat posed by any team at this level but insists the team’s focus is on improving themselves following Thursday’s defeat.
“We have great respect for Estonia as obviously in this tournament everyone is going to play hard and tough. We’ve managed to watch a good amount of film in the short space of time we’ve had and they actually travelled to Estonia on the same plane as us which was pretty fun.
We had a tough practice today and now we’re just trying to focus in. They’ve got great guards – they’re quite scrappy, they trap, they do a fair few things – so for us it’s just being ready for when the game starts. It’s a 40 minute game so we need to respect our opponent but really worry about what we can do better from the last game. We’re ready for tomorrow.”
How to watch
Tomorrow afternoon’s game is live via FIBA’s YouTube channel below.