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09 - 17
July 2016
10 Sarune Melinauskaite (LTU)
11/07/2016
News
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Late three wins it for Lithuania; Croatia, Romania and Slovenia also advance

PODGORICA (FIBA U20 Women's European Championship 2016 Division B) - Croatia, Slovenia, Romania, Hungary and Lithuania are the five unbeaten teams after the first two days of action in Montenegro.

Lithuania had the toughest task, but held on to a 63-61 win over Israel. The game was headed for a tight finish until Agne Bobinaite decided to end the Israeli hopes. Bobinaite hit a clutch three-pointer to make it 63-56 with 2:30 minutes left, and Israel only managed to soften the final score.

Laura Juskaite led all scorers with 23 points. Daugile Sarauskaite went 8-of-11 from the field to finish with 16 points, 16 rebounds and an impressive five blocks, whilst Bobinaite connected on three shots from deep on her way to 13 points for the winners. For Israel, Tal Lev scored a team-high 14 points.

Group D saw the first Montenegro game of the tournament. The home team could not find an answer for Slovenia's great shooting night, which resulted in a 77-72 win for the Slovenians. Damir Grgic's team shot 53% from the field, doing even better from three-point range (54%). Alma Potocnik played the entire 40 minutes and scored 26 points to go along with her seven assists and five steals. Annamaria Prezelj channeled her inner Potocnik with 20 points and seven assists. Larisa Ocvirk helped the team with 15 points.

Montenegro had four players in double digits, but will have to battle with Ireland for a place in the second round. Bozica Mujovic and Bojana Kovacevic combined for 30 points.

Croatia and Romania advanced from Group B. A strong third quarter (21-9) was enough for Croatia to hand Belarus a 74-61 defeat, as Iva Slonjsak led the way with 22 points, five rebounds, five assists and three three-pointers. Romania had to work harder than that for a 61-56 victory over Bulgaria. Bulgaria were only a point behind with two minutes left, but Vasilica Cuzic scored the game's final four points, including the all important three-pointer. Cuzic was only 1-of-8 from long range before her final shot.

Hungary started their tournament with a 72-57 win over Czech Republic as Debora Dubei scored 15 points for the winning team.  Another win for Hungary against Ukraine would carry both Hungary and Czech Republic into the second round.

FIBA