GB ROUT ESTONIA

Great Britain soared to a 93-42 victory over Estonia in Group D of their FIBA Women’s EuroBasket Qualifier in Manchester on Thursday night.

Stage one complete as GB secured a valuable 51-point victory which only strengthens their position as one of the hopeful best runners-up to qualify for this summer’s showpiece tournament.

“We wanted to focus on our game; it was an important game for us at home to keep fighting for our goal, which is to be in EuroBasket,” Great Britain coach Anna Montanana said afterward.

“If I had to write a script about this game, we came out in the best way, everyone was a big part of this win, 29 assists and 17 steals, which was good.”

Sam Ashby led five GB players in double figures with 12 points. Holly Winterburn, Shanice Beckford-Norton and Savannah Wilkinson supported as the trio added 11.

Winterburn also dished out nine assists and three steals in her haul, with Wilkinson securing a double-double with 10 boards.

“We knew their strengths, but in truth, we just wanted to focus on us,” Wilkinson said.

“Last time we were together was three months ago, so we wanted to get back into a flow, wanted to gel, learn about each other again and knowing what we can do best.”

“It was a great spread on the scoreboard, everyone contributed and it was a great win.”

Caledonia Gladiators’ Tea Adams led Estonia with 10 points.

The hosts’ 7-3 start was a reward for a scrappy sequence of opening exchanges in which turnovers almost outscored points.

GB forced turnovers and were able to convert them into points, whereas Estonia relied heavily on shots from outside in the first four minutes.

However, the visitors hit their rhythm to narrow the gap to 9-8 before a 14-2 finish to the first from Great Britain put Estonia back into neutral.

That run included seven unanswered, with five of those coming inside from Temi Fagbenle, with Shauna Harrison hitting the mid-range jumper to complete the burst.

Despite shooting 38% in the opening ten minutes, GB forced Estonia into 11 turnovers, scoring 14 points off those takeaways, as they enjoyed a commanding 23-10 lead heading into the second.

That double-digit lead only grew as the second quarter progressed. Another 7-0 run by GB, highlighted by back-to-back three-pointers from Ashby and Katie Januszewska, gave the home side a 36-14 cushion.

Estonia did keep their side of the scoreboard ticking, with their offence mainly coming through Maaja Bratka inside, but with a 46-24 lead at the half-time interval, GB was in command.

And heading into the third quarter, GB knew they needed to increase their already sizable margin to improve their plus/minus stat. A 10-0 run over five minutes stretched the lead to 57-27, highlighted by the energetic Hannah Jump, who was a menace at both ends of the floor.

Katlion Kangur ended the streak with a lovely lay-up inside, but Jump responded in the following possessions with a three in the corner as the hosts showed no mercy, relentlessly attacking their Estonian counterparts and getting to the line, where GB scored nine of their 23 third-quarter points.

Leading 69-36 going into the final period, GB maintained their defensive press on Estonia while executing their offensive sets. Winterburn splashed a three from the wing, with Beckford-Norton following up with a long two for a 77-38 lead early in the fourth.

Those scores began a 12-0 run, en route to a strong 51-point victory for Montanana’s side ahead of their vital road game against Denmark – who lost 98-72 to Sweden – on Sunday to conclude Group D.

You can watch the game live on the FIBA YouTube channel.