|
EUROBASKET WOMEN - G.B. v. UKRAINE
|
30/08/08
Great Britain (24, 34, 52) 73
Ukraine (27, 47, 71) 80
Having come within eight points of Ukraine in their debut game in EuroBasket Division A, Great Britain were entitled to approach the return match with the Group leaders in optimistic mood, despite heavy defeats against Lithuania and Israel. By the end of the third quarter, though, they looked down and out, trailing by 19, but a storming final quarter saw them claw their way back to within four points before just falling short.
The pre-match build-up was hardly auspicious, as the teams lined up for the national anthems. The Ukrainian anthem went without a hitch, but then the sound system refused to respond with the home anthem. It was the team themselves who saved the day, as they launched into a spirited vocal rendition!
The opening exchanges were close, with Georgia Jones and Kimberly Butler showing well for GB. A "3" from Iryna Biryuk opened a 4-8 lead for the visitors, and after Butters responded with a jump-shot over the considerable frame of Lyubov Alyoshkina, the Ukraine, with Olexandra Gorbunova outstanding, hit seven without reply for a 6-15 advantage.
Mark Clark called a Time Out, with 5:23 still to play, and the result was an immediate improvement in the team's offensive penetration, and a raising of the defensive intensity, which brought a 9-2 run to bring GB right back into the game, at 15-17.
A long "trey", from Gorbunova put Ukraine ahead by five, 19-24, but then a Butler jump shot, great team defence and a Lisa Hutchinson "3" pulled the scores level, only for Gorubnova to strike from downtown again to leave the home side trailing by three after an enthralling first quarter.
The second quarter began even better for Great Britain, as a Meagan Hoffman put back, and a Harriett Yea "3" gave them their first lead of the game, at 29-27. That just stung the Ukraine into a response, and they answered with eleven unanswered points, that took them 29-38 ahead, and they edged further away in the closing stages of the quarter, to lead by thirteen at the half.
Despite a renewed effort in the third quarter, GB just could not close the gap, and they still trailed by fourteen, with 3:30 to play. At this point the game seemed to slip completely away from GB, as their opponents drained seven unanswered points, and though Hoffman pulled a basket back before the buzzer, the 19 point margin seemed insuperable.
Neither side could find the basket at the start of the final quarter, and it looked as though the match would fizzle out, and nearly two minutes had elapsed before Lisa Hutchinson found the net with a lay-up, only for Olena Zherzherunova to respond with 8:30 to play.
It was to take another 5¼ minutes before Ukraine recorded another score (and that was 1 of 2 from the stripe by Zherzherunova) by which time the home side had hauled themselves right back into the game, with a run of twelve unanswered points.
The visitors seemed bemused by the sudden turn in fortunes, as the GB players fought for every ball, and covered every inch of the court, and with a minute to play the game was still wide open, at 73-77.
That was as close as GB could come, however, and Inna Yegorova drained a "3" on the buzzer, to give the Ukrainian score a modicum of respectability ... though they had been held to single figures in that final stanza.
"Yes" agreed a disappointed Mark Clark, "it was a hell of a fourth quarter, but it would have been nice to have had a hell of a second and third as well!"
In more serious vein, he went on "The important thing is that we're supposed to get better with each game - and we are doing. The key game for us, now, is the one at home to Germany on 10th September; if we can win that one, we'll be all right".
Great Britain : Butler 28; Moody 11 [+7 ass.]; Hoffman 7; Jones 6; Mason 5; Hutchinson 5; Handy 3; Yea 3; Butters; Collins; Luckhurst; Leedham.
Ukraine : Gorbunova 26; Biryuk 19; Ogorodnikova 16; Zhjerzherunova 8; Kozachenko 4; Stavits'ka 3; Yegorova 3; Alyoshkina 1; Isachenko; Zaryts'ka; Lysyuk; Prystupa.