Latvia's women's basketball team faces Slovenia in Ljubljana in second qualifier

Latvia's women's national basketball team meets hosts Slovenia on Saturday, 14 November, at 19:00 in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana. The game is part of Group K in the second round of qualifying for Women's EuroBasket 2027, the European women's basketball championship, where the top two teams from each group reach the finals. LTV7 will broadcast the game live.

On Wednesday Latvia won away against Austria 81:66. In the same group, Italy beat Slovenia 67:62 at home in Terni. After the game in Vienna, the Latvian squad travelled four and a half hours by bus to Ljubljana, as there are no regular flights between the two cities. The team held its first training session in Ljubljana on Friday at the Kodeljevo hall.

The opponent

Latvia knows Slovenia well from the first qualifying round. A year ago in Ljubljana Latvia lost 66:77, and in March in Riga it won 79:53. Since then the Slovenian roster has changed considerably: captain Teja Oblak has taken a rest after a long season and her debut in the WNBA, the US professional league. Several young players compete for US college teams in the NCAA.

Slovenia's core includes captain Eva Lisec, Tina Cvijanovič, Teja Goršič, Blaža Čeh and Zala Friškovec. Against Italy, the naturalised American Jessica Shepard was left out, possibly to be rested for the Latvia game. In her WNBA season with the Dallas Wings she averaged 14.5 points, 11.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists. In the first qualifying round she scored 22 points against the Netherlands.

What comes next

In Group K, Latvia also plays Italy (17 November in Riga) and Austria. The second window opens on 10 February 2027 with a home game against Austria; Latvia hosts Slovenia on 13 February and travels to Italy on 16 February.