Latvia win puts Great Britain into EuroBasket Women round two
Last Updated: 11/09/18 2:19pm
Kim Butler scored 14 points as Great Britain progressed to the second round of EuroBasket Women with a 69-56 win over Latvia in their second Group C game in Trelaze, France.
Butler led the way with 14 points and nine rebounds before fouling out a little over three minutes before the buzzer, while Jo Leedham had 13 points and eight boards.
The win secures qualification for the next round with a game to spare - tomorrow's meeting with Olympic silver medallists and hosts France, one of the favourites for the title.
"We set out a goal seven weeks ago, to make it to the second round, and to do it in the first two games makes life a little easier in the third game," said coach Damian Jennings, who is now 2-0 in competitive games since taking charge earlier this year.
After a sloppy start, Britain finished the first quarter on a 9-0 run to take charge as they led 16-10.
Latvia hit back, closing the gap to 18-17, but Britain led 32-24 at half-time despite Ieva Krastina's late three.
The third quarter saw Britain come out cold and Latvia took advantage, pulling ahead 37-36 on another shot from Krastina but the Brits rallied with a 12-4 run that put them back in control.
A big three from Butler at the end of the buzzer extended the lead to 48-41 and a 7-0 run in the fourth quarter put the contest to bed.