The weekend at Women’s EuroBasket 2019
By Kim Doss
Group D: Belarus 69, Belgium 61
After a close loss to Serbia on Thursday, Belarus was looking to right the ship. Belgium, on the other hand, was looking to maintain momentum after a double-digit win over Russia. Redemption won out over momentum, with the Belarusian team walking away with the win.
Alex Bentley led Belarus in scoring with 19 points, but it was teammate Anastasiya Verameyenka who had the standout all-around game. Verameyenka produced a stat line of 15 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and a blocked shot. It was enough for Belarus, despite having no other players in double figures.
Emma Meesseman and Kim Mestdagh once again combined for stellar games. Meesseman had 23 points, 9 rebounds, and a steal on the night. Mestdagh added 17 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and three steals while only turning the ball over once. Unfortunately for Belgium, Julie Allemand’s 6 points were the next-highest for the team.
Both teams move on to the next game with records of 1-1 in the group stage.
Group C: Hungary 59, Italy 51
Italy and Hungary both escaped with close wins on the first day of competition. On paper, Italy’s win over the No. 6 team in FIBA’s rankings would appear to be the more impressive. It didn’t help them on Friday, though.
Dóra Horti and Yvonne Turner led the way for Hungary. Horti led the team in scoring with 13 points. Turner had a double-double with 10 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. Bernadett Hatar added 10 points and 9 rebounds.
Giorgia Sottana led the Italians with 16 points to go along with 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal. Sabrina Cinili was Italy’s only other player with 10 or more points, scoring 12 and corralling 5 boards. She added 2 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block.
Group A: Spain 67, Great Britain 59
As the top-ranked team coming into the tournament, Spain may have felt they needed to make a statement. They certainly did in the opening game. They weren’t as dominant in their second match-up, but they got the job done against the British team.
Astou Ndour led the way in scoring for the victorious Spanish side with 23, while Great Britain was paced by 20 points from Temi Fagbenle. The two players also led their respective teams in rebounding–Ndour with 8 and Fagbenle with 5. Fagbenle added 3 assists and 3 steals to her stat line.
The win put Spain in the driver’s seat in Group A with a 2-0 record, while dropping Great Britain to 1-1.
Group D: Serbia 77, Russia 63
Russia got off to a poor start with their opening-day loss to Belgium. The co-host Serbian team didn’t feel sorry for them, walking out with a 14-point victory over the Russians on day two.
Serbia’s Ana Dabovic led all scorers with 16 points, but teammate Dajana Butulija may have had the more impressive game. Butulija put together a line of 15 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal.
Anastasia Shilova paced the Russian team with 11 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block. Unfortunately for Russia, Serbia was able to contain them. Shilova was the only player in double figures, and the team shot just 29.2 percent from the field. That included a tough 23.5 percent from beyond the arc.