Belarus survive Luxembourg scare, move to 2-0

AUSTRIA (FIBA U18 Women's European Championship 2018, Division B) – Daryna Bachkarova and Kseniya Malashka came to the rescue for Belarus on the second day of action at the FIBA U18 Women's European Championship 2018, Division B to keep the Lidziya Matsal-coached side undefeated in Group D.

After playing catch-up from the start of the contest, Belarus covered an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter to snatch a 75-72 victory over Luxembourg, with Malashka knocking down the go-ahead basket with 19 seconds on the clock.

She finished the night with a 15-point and 14-rebound double-double and 5 blocks, while Bachkarova had an equally impressive performance of 21 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 7 steals. For Luxembourg, Svenia Nurenberg had a game-high 27 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists.

Slovakia made it two out of two on Saturday

In the other Group D fixtures, the Marta Machalova-led Slovakia defeated Norway 66-51 to also get their second win in a row and Ukraine routed Kosovo 99-42 behind Valeriia Desiatnyk's 22-point effort to get their mark to 1-1.

Meanwhile, Denmark climbed to a 2-0 record in Group C by topping Montenegro 55-48 in Furstenfeld, with Malene Pedersen and Julianna Okosun collecting 13 points apiece.

Netherlands kept the tournament hosts Austria winless in the standings by claiming a 73-53 victory after outscoring the home side 43-18 after the intermission. In the same group, Turkey inscribed a 66-59 win over Great Britain to get on the board.

Lithuania is one of seven teams with a 2-0 record in Austria

Lithuania and Israel have plenty to be happy about in Austria after the first two days of the tournament, moving to 2-0 in Group B with wins over Greece and Albania, respectively, on Saturday.

The Dalius Ubartas-coached Lithuanians had 11 players on the scoreboard in an 83-67 win over the Greeks, while Israeli forward Gaya Sless needed just 20 minutes to collect a team-high 15 points in a 93-43 triumph over Albanian opposition. In the only other Group B game, Switzerland topped Bulgaria 81-54.

Elsewhere, Romania kept their perfect record intact in Group A with a 72-46 win over Cyprus, while Finland quickly followed suit and also improved to 2-0 in the standings by getting the better of Portugal, 59-48. After failing to get off the mark on the opening day, Iceland rectified the situation by blowing out Georgia 93-41 for their first win of the tournament.

FIBA