GB BRIMMING WITH CONFIDENCE AHEAD OF DENMARK CLASH
The mood in the Great Britain camp is upbeat ahead of Thursday night’s FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2025, Group D qualifier against Denmark in Manchester.
Great Britain returns home for the second qualifying window, having narrowly lost 64-62 to Sweden in Manchester and then hammered Estonia 83-45 in Tallinn last November.
GB also welcomes Temi Fagbenle back into the rotation for the upcoming games, having missed the Subway® Summer Slam series in July.
Having enjoyed a stellar WNBA season with the Indiana Fever, Fagbenle returns having averaged 22.5 points in the last two FIBA Women’s EuroBasket qualifiers, shooting 53% from the field and 50% from three-point land. She has also pulled down 9.5 rebounds.
Joining her is Holly Winterburn, who is enjoying her first season in Turkiye with Besiktas JK. The former Leicester Riders and London Lions sharpshooter didn’t travel with the team to Estonia but scored 18 points and dished seven assists in the loss to Sweden.
More recently, Winterburn shone in Rwanda, averaging 12 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists as Great Britain impressed at the FIBA Women’s World Cup pre-qualifiers.
Among the performances, Winterburn nearly had a triple-double in the 77-72 win over Lebanon but did end the campaign with a place on the All-Tournament team.
About THURSDAY’S OPPONENT
Heading into Thursday’s crunch clash, Denmark also boasts a 1-1 record in Group D, beating Estonia 81-53 at home in Gentofte before losing 76-69 to group leaders Sweden in Malmo.
With both teams heading into Thursday’s game on identical records, a win for GB will put them in a good position heading into Sunday’s game.
A victory by three points or more against the Swedish could see them potentially top the group if results go their way.
But there is no thinking about positions at this moment. The focus is solely on one game at a time, and GB is aware of Denmark’s threat.
Ranked 51st in the FIBA World Rankings, 28 places below Great Britain, in 23rd, the Danes have players that can be a thorn in Great Britain’s side.
Led by the creative Maria Jespersen, the Danish guard moves very well without the ball and finds the right time to make her move, allowing her to get off a high-percentage shot.
As a result, the 30-year-old, who plays for EuroLeague Women side KGHM BC Polkowice, has shot 43% on 37 shots from the field, averaging 20.5 points in just over 32 minutes on the floor and seven rebounds.
Supporting Jespersen is 23-year-old Nikoline Sandbäck, who has shown great maturity over the last two qualifiers and will only improve as her game progresses.
The promising guard, who plays her basketball in Sweden for Högsbo Basket, averages 11 points a game in the qualifiers, shooting an impressive 50% from the field, while dishing out three assists.
There is still time to secure your ticket. Click here to be part of the epic FIBA Women’s EuroBasket qualifier between Great Britain and Denmark, which tips off at 7:30pm (doors open at 6:30pm).