GB Under-20 Women Come up Short Against Unbeaten Belarus

By Bradley Gains on July 12, 2017

Great Britain Under-20’s hopes of reaching the semi-finals were dented on Wednesday, despite a spirited display against unbeaten Belarus as they went down 58-70 in Eilat, Israel.

Chema Buceta’s side now have a 2-2 record in Group B and will require a huge win over Croatia tomorrow as well as an Israel loss to Belarus in order to have a chance of a top-two finish.

Gabby Nikitinaite top scored with a 16-point haul, while Abigail Johnson posted a double-double of 10 points and 15 rebounds.

Millie Stevens and Georgia Gayle were also in double figures with 12 and 11 points respectively.

GB U20s beaten 58-70 by Belarus and drop to 2-2 record in Group B. @gabsszz with team-high 16p, Johnson 10pts/15rbs. 🇬🇧🏀 pic.twitter.com/sqHRwAvtlK

— Hoopsfix Women (@HoopsfixWomen) July 12, 2017

GB opened with the first five points of the game, including a three from Gayle, but Belarus responded with an 11-1 run out of a timeout as they connected with their first three attempts from downtown.

Stevens and Johnson combined well in the post, while great ball movement led to a wide-open corner three from Nikitinaite to make it 14-19 at the end of the first.

The gap returned to double digits, but GB continued to battle well and began to step things up on the defensive end with a block from Jess Davies and multiple forced turnovers including a late 8-second violation.

Imani Whittington netted a triple and Gayle ended the half with a strong drive and finish to cute the gap to 33-34 at the break.

Gayle then fired in another three to put GB ahead at the start of the third as they opened with another 5-0 burst. Again, Belarus responded and a strong close established a 43-50 advantage heading into the final period.

Despite their best efforts, GB were unable to make further inroads into the deficit with a 6-1 run proving decisive as Belarus maintained their unbeaten record in the competition.

Abigail Johnson becomes the 5th GB player to record 15+ rebounds in a single game at #FIBAU20Europe. Averaging 10.5rpg over 4 games. 🇬🇧🏀 pic.twitter.com/Y7OnN1lqBd

— Hoopsfix Women (@HoopsfixWomen) July 12, 2017

Box score.

Notes: Johnson, Norton, Gayle, Nikitinaite & Stevens were the starting five

GB Under-20s play their final Group B game tomorrow (Thursday) against Croatia at 6:30pm UK time.

Image credit: FIBA Europe

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