GREAT BRITAIN BEAT LEBANON, IMPROVE TO 1-1

Great Britain showed resilience in the final seconds, surviving a furious Lebanon comeback to win 77-72 in their Group D clash of the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup Pre-Qualifiers in Kigali, Rwanda, on Wednesday.

Leading 63-45 thanks to a three from Holly Winterburn with 5:57 left, GB were seemingly easing to a routine win.

What followed, though, was a down-and-out Lebanon side suddenly getting a second lease on life.

A 21-9 run spreading the next four minutes made GB sweat and gave Lebanon hope of a miracle. Sam Ashby provided daylight, but Rebecca Akl made it 74-72 with 15 seconds left.

Ultimately, Savannah Wilkinson took the game-winning charge with seven ticks left to spare Great Britain’s blushes as they improved to 1-1. Lebanon drops to 0-2.

“There are many positive things about today’s win; we recovered from our loss the other day. This is a young team, and it’s very important that we recover and we learn,” Montanana said as she celebrated her first win as Great Britain women’s head coach.

“We had a lead of 18 points, and we turned it down, so there are things we need to improve overall though, we are happy, and hopefully, we can learn for tomorrow’s game [against Rwanda].”

Wilkinson led the way with 16 points, going 8/8 from the foul line. Sam Ashby added 15, and Winterburn was one rebound shy of a triple-double, settling for 14 points, 11 assists, and nine boards.

“Any win is super important,” Wilkinson said. “In a tournament, after a loss, you have to learn and turn things around really quickly.

“With such a young team, that may be delayed, but thankfully, we quickly turned things around in practice, got the looks we wanted, and we’re really happy on getting that win.”

Trinity Baptiste led Lebanon with 24 points. New B. Braun Sheffield Hatters signing Zena Elias contributed four points and three rebounds in under 20 minutes of action.

Great Britain had more urgency from the opening tip, with numerous second-chance opportunities, but only Shanice Beckford-Norton and Harriet Ottewill-Soulsby converted.

On the flip side, Lebanon looked comfortable as the team’s primary offensive threats: Akl and Baptiste did a lot of damage in the first four minutes, with the latter scoring six of her side’s first nine points.

GB’s shooting woes haunted them in the first, as they went 0/9 from three-point land. There were positive signs when they drove to the hoop, but their over-reliance on long-range shooting hurt them.

Trailing 16-13 after the first, Wilkinson narrowed it to one with a free-throw line jumper, only for Baptiste to score seven straight to put Lebanon up 21-15 with 6:49 left in the second.

Shooting just 5/25 from the floor with four minutes played in the second, Great Britain needed to find other options. They found solace from the foul line, albeit briefly, as they were still behind.

A triple from Amar Mansour forced coach Montanana into a timeout with Lebanon up 24-17, and out of the timeout, Winterburn splashed back-to-back threes as you sensed a momentum switch.

That spell carried on as GB’s hot shooting continued. For the first time since the opening exchanges, the Brits led 28-27 with 2:25 left as Ashby hit from distance in the corner.

After missing its first 11 attempts from three-point range, Great Britain suddenly couldn’t miss, hitting four within two minutes. They finished the half 4/19 from deep and led 32-27 at the break.  

Montanana’s side heavily out-rebounded their counterparts, particularly on the offensive side, collecting 15 in the first half. They continued the trend in the third, extending their lead midway through the quarter.

There was a more composed flow to GB, where they executed solidly. Conversely, Lebanon was being forced into difficult shots, predominantly from outside, and missing horribly.

Flirting with a double-digit lead for most of the third, with their biggest lead being nine, Ashby connected from the wing as Great Britain led 48-38 with 46.8 seconds remaining.

After extending the advantage to 50-38 heading into the fourth, GB needed to maintain the offensive pressure and, more importantly, be strong defensively.

And for large parts, they were, with the lead peaking at 18 points thanks to a triple from Winterburn.

However, Great Britain was made to sweat in the final stages, but they survived.

GB next play hosts Rwanda on Thursday, tipping off at 7:00 pm BST.

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