GB’s U20 Women’s team have finished their FIBA U20 Women’s EuroBasket campaign in 12th place, having completed the classification stage of the tournament on Sunday.

After narrowly losing both of their group stage matches against Ukraine and Ireland, GB entered the 9th-14th Classification Stage. This involved a six-team group, including Switzerland, Denmark, Malta, Albania, and Romania.

GB earned a fourth-place finish at this stage of the competition, and thus 12th-place overall, with standout star Olivia Forster leading the way in back-to-back victories against Albania and Malta to close out the tournament.

Whilst GB suffered early set-backs, Head Coach Sarah Hopkins-Chery will be proud of the resilience of her squad to rally together and secure two huge victories to leave Miskolc, Hungary, on a high.

GB’s first 9th-14th Classification Game came against Romania, on 5 August.

Despite a scoring explosion from Miky Panait in Romania’s opening match against Slovakia, in which she collected 31 points, five rebounds and four assists, they were defeated 72-64.

Romania suffered a humbling defeat in their second and final group game, losing to Hungary by 36 points.

Although GB similarly lost their opening group games, their solid performance against Ireland provided some confidence of a positive result in their first classification match.

GB started the game well, Zoe Sharpe and Debra Wilson-Osuide kicking off the scoring before Olivia Forster knocked down a three. However, Ioana David’s ability to get out ahead of GB’s defence on the fastbreak proved successful for Romania, who took an 11-20 first-quarter lead.

From there, Romania took over. 6’1” centre from the University of Maryland, in the US, Sara Nicole Fritea dominated inside, scoring 18 points and securing seven rebounds. Ilinca

Belegante also produced a strong, if inefficient, performance. She made all of her four shots from three-point range, on 16 attempts in total.

For GB, Forster led the way with 10 points, six rebounds, and three assists. GB’s offence couldn’t find a rhythm, ultimately allowing Romania to run away with the win.

Final Score: GBR 33 / ROU 61

GB scrapping for the ball in the U20 Women's EuroBasket

Next up, GB would face Denmark. The Danes won their opening group stage match against Albania in a convincing 45-78 victory.

Denmark were unfortunate, however, to be drawn into a challenging group that featured both Bulgaria and Serbia, both of whom would reach the semi-finals of the tournament. After losing their final two group matches, Denmark joined GB in the 9th-14th classification stage of the competition.

GB were determined to generate a more consistent offensive display going into this match.

Nevertheless, a rocky start, headlined by Ida Christensen and Olivia Lutterodt’s one-two punch, saw GB fall to an 11-5 deficit halfway through the first quarter. A couple of baskets each from Sharpe and Haley Wright cut the lead to just 2, preventing a similar situation to their game against Romania.

GB took that momentum into the second, as Wright, who was competing in her third international tournament for GB this summer, splashed in a short jumper.

Soon after, Kerry McGhee converted her layup to give GB their first lead of the game. Some physical play from Felicia Jacobs Abiola, and a three from Forster, kept GB ahead, going into the half up 27-30.

In the third quarter, Denmark began raining down three-pointers. Emilie Borges-Michaelsen kickstarted the avalanche before Julie Moller hit two of her own in quick succession. Accompanied by Christensen and Lutterodt’s consistent scoring, Denmark ended the quarter up 49-40.

Despite strong efforts from Sharpe and Forster, who scored 10 and McGhee, who had 11, GB were unable to counter the Danish momentum.

Final Score: DEN 69 / GBR 55

Olivia Forster crosses the ball over against Denmark

GB’s next game against Switzerland would prove yet another challenging test. Switzerland won one of their three group stage matches against Malta, falling to Greece and tournament semi-finalists Croatia.

They arrived to face GB buoyed by their convincing 25-point victory over Romania.

McGhee again started well for GB, scoring seven of their 11 first-quarter points. She would finish the match with an efficient 12 points and four assists.

Forster also produced another impressive performance, providing a team-high 17 points, five rebounds, and three assists.

Other standout performers for GB included Alexandra McIntosh and Abiola, as they collected six and seven rebounds, respectively, dominating the glass.

Nevertheless, Switzerland led throughout, never releasing their grip on the lead. Julija Matic tied Forster with 17 points in the game, but also grabbed an astounding 12 rebounds to accompany her five assists. Sharline Hulliger followed closely behind with 16 points and seven rebounds.

Final Score: GBR 57 / SUI 74

GB warm up before they face Switzerland

After three difficult matches against high-quality opposition in their classification group, GB had a point to prove against Albania.

Albania lost all three of their group games, including a brutal 116-22 loss to tournament finalists Serbia.

They won their first game of the EuroBasket against Malta, taking the lead with 13 seconds to spare in an incredibly tight match.

GB came roaring out of the blocks, scoring 12 unanswered points courtesy of Forster and Abiola, and never looking back.

Forster enjoyed a prolific performance, connecting on seven three-point shots and scoring 25 points in total.

Elizabeth Archer and Abiola scored 15 points each and grabbed eight and 13 rebounds, respectively.

Darcey Woodman enjoyed her finest performance of the tournament thus far, scoring 17 points and making five of her six three-point attempts.

GB dominated throughout and thoroughly deserved their wide margin of victory. They were efficient in their long-range shooting, relentless in pursuit of rebounds, and stingy in defence, producing an all-around performance.

Final Score: GBR 96 / ALB 41

Kerry McGhee secures the ball for GB against Albania

GB’s final classification match of the tournament saw them take on Malta on 10 August.

Malta was the lowest-ranked opposition GB would face at the tournament, and, having lost all of their six previous games at the EuroBasket, were lacking in confidence.

Forster again proved why she was included in FIBA’s ‘ones to watch’ list ahead of the tournament, as she erupted for 28 points, eight rebounds, and four assists in perhaps her most untouchable performance of the entire campaign.

Sher started aggressively, making three three-pointers in the first quarter, along with drawing a foul on another attempt from deep.

Accompanying her, Wilson-Osuide produced her strongest performance of the tournament as well, with the forward from the City of London Academy scoring 14 points and grabbing five rebounds, splashing in three three-point shots to get there.

Malta managed to hold GB to just 11 points in the second quarter, matching them in scoring during the period, but a catastrophic fourth quarter performance saw GB score 30 points to Malta’s two, securing a huge blow-out victory.

Final Score: GBR 83 / MLT 33

Felicia Jacobs Abiola dominated in the paint against Malta

With two victories to close out the tournament, GB finished fourth in the 9th-14th Classification Stage and 12th overall.

Olivia Forster enjoyed a phenomenal campaign, finishing 7th in points-per-game amongst all scorers with 16, along with 3.1 assists and 4.7 rebounds each match.

Felicia Jacobs Abiola was truly dominant in the paint, grabbing 10 rebounds and securing one block, and 1.4 steals-per-game.

Kerry McGhee further had an impressive tournament, finishing third in minutes-per-game for GB, and leading the side in assists with 3.9 each match.

Head Coach Sarah Hopkins-Chery will be proud of her side, and confident with the strong foundation she has to build on.