14.08.2010

Slovakia Score Important Road Win In Britain

Slovak Republic coach Pokey Chatman was thrilled as her team recorded a vital 76-67 road win against Great Britain to get their EuroBasket Women 2011 qualifying campaign off to a flying start.

In a game of many ups and downs, the play-caller was left breathing a sigh of relief after her team came up trumps with a strong second half performance to finally silence the British fans.

"The toughest game during these type of qualification competitions is always the first one and so we are really happy to start off with a victory," explained Chatman.

"I think when you start out, there is always going to be nerves and that showed as we were a little sloppy at times and we had too many turnovers.

"However any win on the road is always a good win, especially when it's your first in the Group and without your best player who is injured with a broken hand.

In a strange start to the contest, the visitors opened up with a 10-0 run to force Great Britain coach Tom Maher into calling an early time-out. His team responded in fine style with a 14-0 run and they continued their good work to lead 36-34 at the break.

However Slovak Republic dominated in the third quarter and changed the complexion of the game as they outscored Great Britain 22-20. Much of that was due to the superb play of Luisa Michulkova who scored ten points in the period to put the home team to the sword.

While Great Britain rallied in the latter stages of the game, Slovak Republic held on for a fine win. Michulkova finished with 19 points and also weighed in with five steals.

Jo Leedham top scored for Great Britain with 17 points.

 

14.08.2010

Quotes Great Britain vs. Slovak Republic

Great Britain coach Tom Maher:
"We showed we were competitive, but we had one really bad part where we fell apart. We just didn't play in that spell, and that was the killer. We got a lot of foul shots, but we didn't make enough from the floor, if you miss the shot you have to run back and play defence, not worry about the shot. We have to learn to play together a bit more, we go for too many home runs, but the thing about us is we have a lot of players who are stars in their team. We have to learn to share the ball a bit more, they're not selfish we just have to stop trying to hit home runs all of the time."

Great Britain player Julie Page:
"I'm disappointed that we lost. I thought we rushed a couple of things and stopped playing as a team a little bit. We tried to hit home runs which was a common phrase in locker room after the game. We need to relax a bit, let the plays come to us rather than trying to force it. We wanted to win so much that we tried too hard at times. I don't think it was anxiety, we just wanted to win the game."

Slovak Republic coach Pokey Chatman:
"The toughest game during these type of qualification competitions is always the first one and so we are really happy to start off with a victory. In particular because I think when you start out, there is always going to be nerves and that showed as we were a little sloppy at times and we had too many turnovers. However any win on the road is always a good win, especially when it's your first in the Group and without your best player who is injured with a broken hand. Now I think my players can relax a little and we can enjoy it. This gives us the confidence that we can get a place at EuroBasket Women next year but it really does take a lot of hard work to get there."

Slovak Republic player Katarina Hrickova:
"We were really bad at the beginning of the game, but the first game is always the hardest. We said at half-time that we had to be better, and we were much better in the second. I'm really happy that we won our first game, and I'm hopeful that we can qualify for the finals."