WINTERBURN: WE HAVE LAID THE FOUNDATION
Great Britain’s Holly Winterburn believes that the side’s semi-final finish at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup Pre-Qualifiers is a big first step and that the future is bright.
Housed in Group D in the Rwandan capital of Kigali, GB lost their opener to Argentina but bounced back to beat Lebanon before hammering the hosts to advance to the semi-finals.
They came up short against European powerhouses Hungary, but the young squad’s experience and growth have been evident.
Despite the loss in the last four, it is seen as an overall victory in terms of what this group can do in future tournaments in terms of competitiveness, heart, and chemistry.
The young guns have proved themselves against some of the top teams representing four continents.
“I think from our group and what we’ve got out of this tournament and even this game [against Hungary], it is more than what we could have expected,” Winterburn said.
“We’re a really young group, really inexperienced, and I’m proud of the girls for all their effort and how we learned every day.
“So this is a first step; we’ve laid the foundation; we will get more of our senior players back in, and that will help massively.”
The introduction to competitive international basketball was tough against an Argentina side that has played together for years and has previously participated in FIBA Women’s World Cup tournaments.
GB fell behind 19-7 after the first quarter and, despite a positive final push, eventually fell to a 53-47 defeat, shooting a subpar 28.6% from the floor.
Already having their backs against the wall, the group’s response was swift and decisive, albeit with a fourth-quarter hiccup.
Great Britain led by as many as 18 points in the second game against Lebanon and were cruising until a late fightback from their Middle Eastern counterparts made things nervous. But a win is a win.
Needing to perform the way they did against Lebanon, but with the call to finish stronger, GB’s goal against the previously unbeaten Rwanda was simple – win or go home.
They fell behind 10-2 within the first three minutes. However, they responded emphatically with a 15-2 spurt, ultimately putting the game out of reach for the African host nation.
The Brits shot 42.2% from the field, and their lead peaked at 29 points before they settled for a 75-61 win in a near-flawless performance.
All in all, Winterburn says the Rwandan experience was positive. The FIBA EuroCup Women’s winner made the All-Tournament Team, averaging 12 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists a game.
Winterburn was also close to recording a triple-double in the game against Lebanon, posting 14 points, 11 assists, and nine rebounds, but admits that even she had to adjust.
“Playing teams from a different area in the world, you have to play in a different way, and it was my first time playing against a different style of basketball,” she explains.
“Just adapting to the different style of play, the different refereeing, that’s been a challenge but our group has responded every single time.
“We’ve got so much valuable experience from this. So we can take that back to our clubs and keep getting better.”
Valuable time together, lessons learned, and a competitive all-around showcase. This is only the beginning.
“This summer was the first step,” Winterburn says.
“Basketball in Great Britain has not historically been very popular. But the Federation are trying really hard to change that around and we have new coaching staff and they’ve been amazing along with the support staff.
“We’ve built a really good foundation.”
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