GB Under-18s Finish Strong in Opening Loss to Netherlands

Image credit: FIBA

Great Britain Under-18s began their Division B campaign at the European Championships in Skopje, North Macedonia with a 48-73 loss against the Netherlands, on Friday evening.

Len Busch spread the minutes throughout the roster and having been as many as 36 down, they battled back to take the final quarter for a positive finish.

’03 born Asha Andrews top scored with eight points, while captain Brahe Ashton and Pollyanna Storie both had seven points each.

Esther Little collected 13 rebounds to go with six points and four steals for a team-high efficiency rating of 12.

Box score.

Little had opened the scoring for GB early on before a 10-0 run from the Netherlands set the tone. The gap was 8-16 at the end of the first, but GB were held to another eight points in the second, while their opponents racked up 30 points in the period to build a commanding 16-46 advantage at the break.

GB improved after the interval with Andrews hitting five points in a more competitive third quarter and they took momentum into the final quarter, despite being down 31-67.

Amelia Sandie got GB going in the fourth with back-to-back scores, whilst battling hard on the boards. Alex Baker and Ashton hit late threes to help their side take the final period 17-6.

GB will look to improve on taking care of the ball with 31 turnovers – 10 of which came from Little – whilst shooting 3 of 17 from 3-point range. Each player had 10+ minutes on the court with nine players on the scoresheet and the strong fourth quarter effort is something to build on.

Notes
– GB starters were Ashton, Mbam, Baker, Little and Taylor-Willis
– Full game can be watched on YouTube HERE
– GB face Sweden (1-0) in their next game on Saturday at 15:30 BST
– Little and Partridge were part of the U18s roster last summer
– Seven players stepped up from the U16s, 10 making U18 Euro debuts
– The top two in each group advance to the quarter-finals
– Little’s 13 rebounds for the third highest in a single game for a GB U18
– Under-18 stats leaderboard

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