Buceta and Great Britain get Qualifiers boost with Stanford graduate Samuelson
LOUGHBOROUGH (FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2019 Qualifiers) - With Great Britain’s prospects of making it to FIBA EuroBasket Women 2019 finely poised, head coach Chema Buceta has been given a major boost.
LOUGHBOROUGH (FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2019 Qualifiers) - With Great Britain's prospects of making it to FIBA EuroBasket Women 2019 finely poised ahead of the second qualifying window, head coach Chema Buceta has been boosted by the arrival of Karlie Samuelson.
The player and Stanford graduate recently suited up in the Italian top flight and also signed a training contract last summer with the Los Angeles Sparks. Samuelson will be hoping to make her debut after being named in the squad for the first time.
| Great Britain 16-player squad for FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2019 Qualifiers | |||
| Dominique Allen | Mollie Campbell | Stef Collins | Melita Emanuel-Carr |
| Temi Fagbenle | Nicolette Fong Lyew Quee | Chantelle Handy | Georgia Jones |
| Johannah Leedham-Warner | Chantelle Pressley | Siobhan Prior | Samantha Roscoe |
| Karlie Samuelson | Eilidh Simpson | Azania Stewart | Rachael Vanderwal |
Her quality will boost a pool of players that already includes EuroLeague Women standout Jo Leedham-Warner, reigning WNBA champion Temi Fagbenle and long-serving vetrans such as Stef Collins, Rachael Vanderwal, Chantelle Handy and Azania Stewart. More than half of the 16-player squad are drawn from the domestic Women's British Basketball League (WBBL).
A warm welcome to 🇬🇧 for @ksam44 - for those of you who don't know about the @StanfordWBB graduate and the team's newly naturalised player - here is a little insight #BritishBasketball https://t.co/wdk3EaZgJ9
— GB Basketball (@gbbasketball) February 1, 2018
Great Britain had a positive first window last November when they pipped Israel in a memorable 90-87 overtime thriller in Manchester, prior to almost upsetting FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2018 participants and Group favorites Greece – before eventually getting squeezed out 61-59 on the road.
Coach Buceta and his players will be back on their travels this time, with a double-header that could go a long way to shaping their hopes of making it to Latvia and Serbia next year at the showpiece event.
The team will congregate for a short preparation camp on February 4 and then will depart for Faro on February 8, ahead of their clash against Portugal on Saturday, February 10. They will then move on to Israel, who they will go up against on Wednesday, February 14.
FIBA