Majana Gorina scores 32 points as Israel dominates Latvia U18 in friendly

The Latvian U18 women's national basketball team suffered a 56:77 defeat against their Israeli counterparts in a friendly held at the Komandu sporta spēļu zāle on Tuesday, July 7. The two sides will meet again on Wednesday at 6:00 PM.

Coached by Rūdolfs Rozītis and Edgars Ikstens, the team returned from Hainan Island ten days ago, where they had a mixed run: splitting wins with Brazil's junior squad, losing twice to China's U18 team, and falling to Serbian top-league side Vojvodina 021 and a Taiwanese student team. On Monday, the players watched the men's national team beat Austria at Riga Arena.

In the first three quarters, Latvia kept pace, scoring 15 points each period. However, the third quarter proved decisive as Israel went on an 11-30 run. The game was dominated by Israel's Majana Gorina, who shot 7-for-11 on two-pointers, 5-for-6 from three-point range, and 3-for-4 at the free-throw line, finishing with 32 points.

Top scorers for Latvia: Anete Ozoliņa (11), Zane Dzenīte (10), Emija Gulbe (7), Evelīna Glāziņa (7), Annija Birziņa (6 points, 8 rebounds), Jasmīne Šmate (5), Madlēna Pērse (4 points, 16 rebounds). Santa Ozola, Ieva Vēvere, and Tīna Karlsone did not play.

Upcoming fixtures include games against Germany on July 13-14 in Berlin and the Baltic Cup in Lithuania from July 21-23, facing Lithuania, Estonia, and Turkey. In August, the team will compete in the U18 European Championship in Stockholm, drawn in Group D alongside Serbia, Poland, and Croatia.