Latvia U18 women beat Slovenia to reach European Championship quarterfinals
Latvia's U18 women’s basketball team defeated Slovenia 54:48 in Stockholm on 5 August to reach the European Championship quarterfinals. Latvia will face France on Thursday.
The Latvia U18 women’s basketball team secured a 54:48 victory over Slovenia in Stockholm on Wednesday, 5 August, and advanced to the top eight at the European Championship. In Thursday’s quarterfinal, Latvia will face France.
The squad, coached by Rūdolfs Rozītis, Edgars Ikstens and Mudīte Gūtmane, won against Croatia in the group stage but lost to Serbia and Poland, finishing third in Group D. Slovenia, meanwhile, were runners-up in Group C.
This is the sixth time Latvia’s juniors have reached the European top eight and the second under Rozītis, who previously guided them there in Konja in 2023. The team coached by Daiga Jansone made the quarterfinals in 2009 in Sweden, while Ainārs Čukste’s sides reached the last eight in 2016, 2018 and 2019.
In the opening quarter, the game was uneven, with short runs from both sides. Ieva Vēvere and Mila Luzgina each scored four consecutive points late in the period, and Latvia added two more points from free throws after being fouled with 0.2 seconds left, taking an 18:14 lead. In the second quarter, Luzgina’s vision helped find Marta Ploriņa, and she drew three fouls as Latvia moved ahead 24:17. Better ball movement and organization, reflected in the assist count (8-3), gave Latvia a 29:19 halftime advantage.
During the group stage, none of the 16 teams had shot better than 30 percent from three-point range, and early in the knockout game outside shots were still rare: Latvia made 1 of 8 attempts and Slovenia 0 of 11 in the first half. In the third quarter, neither team scored in the opening three minutes, and over the next five minutes each side managed four points. Luzgina drew another foul, Šarlote Skrebele hit Latvia’s second three-pointer, while Slovenia made their first shot from beyond the arc on their 12th attempt, making it 33:26. Madlēna Pērse and Vēvere each added a basket, and the score was 37:31 heading into the fourth quarter.
Latvia then went scoreless from the field for six minutes, allowing Slovenia to tie the game at 39:39. Slovenia switched to a zone defence, but Vēvere scored after Luzgina pulled down an offensive rebound to make it 41:39, and a minute later Emija Gulbe drained a three-pointer for 44:40. With 2:14 remaining, Slovenia had a chance to take the lead but failed at the free throw line, missing six consecutive attempts after offensive rebounds. Luzgina drove for two points, Gulbe hit another three, and Marta Ploriņa converted two free throws to make it 51:43. Slovenia could not recover in the final 46.7 seconds, and the game ended 54:48.
