Great Britain’s women secured their place at the 2019 EuroBasket finals with a dominant 83-42 win over Portugal at the Belle Vue National Basketball Performance Centre.
Great Britain knew only a win would see them qualify for the tournament to be held in Serbia and Latvia next summer.
And a side which included Manchester born Georgia Jones obliged with a fantastic performance in front of a raucous home crowd.
From the moment Rachael Vanderwal scored the first points of the game, Great Britain never looked back.
The first quarter was particularly notable as Great Britain notched up four three-point scores as they grabbed the early initiative to lead 20-9.
Portugal just about kept themselves in the game in the second quarter, as they launched a mini fightback. Though it was Great Britain’s 13 points from turnovers that helped them into a 33-20 lead at half-time.
Following the interval, Great Britain took complete control as they continued to notch up the points. The highlight of the third quarter Azania Stewart passing 600 career points. The milestone coming in her 101st and final cap as her team extended their lead to 53-27.
In Saturday’s game against Greece, Great Britain had to hang on in the final quarter as their opponents launched a fightback.
However, there was little chance of a repeat this time as Stefanie Collins team produced some champagne Basketball in the final 10 minutes of the match.
A massive 30 points were added to the score including a number of three-pointers from Vanderwal, which took her tally to 21 points on the night, as a comfortable victory was completed.
Portugal put up a good fight, but they were no match for Great Britain, who are now able to look forward to their fourth EuroBasket event next year.
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