Day One Latvia, Riga Tournament

After defeats in their last two preparation games, it was back to winning ways for France tonight in Riga with a 65-54 victory against the hosts Latvia.

The hosts edged out their guests at the end of the first period by one point and extended their advantage to 7 points half way through the second period but only had a slim one point lead (31-30) at the interval.
The second half of the match was another affair as France went on the offensive and took command of the game with some clutch 3-point shooting and within 3 minutes of the restart had opened up a lead of 8 points. This advantage was reduced to five points by the end of the third period. France quickly pushed their advantage to nine points early in the final period (52-43) which enabled Jacques Commères to turn his bench but it was not until Audrey Sauret Gillespie trey with 3 minutes left in the match (56-48) that finally put an end to the hosts challenge.
France hit 7-from-16 shots from beyond the arc that proved to be the difference between the two sides in the end.

Latvia: Elina Babkina 3, Santa Dreimane 0, Zane Tamane 6, Gunta Basko 10 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists, Liene Jansone 7, Anete Jekabsone-Zogota 11 and 4 assists, Ieva Kublina 12 points and 10 rebounds, Aija Brumermane 0, Ieva Tare 4, Ilze Ose-Hlebovicka 1, Dace Cinite 0, Dita Krumberga DNP.

France: Clemence Beikes 0, Sandra Le Drean 0, Celine Dumerc 3, Sandrine Gruda 9, Edwige Lawson-Wade 12, Audrey Sauret-Gillespie 9, Sabrina Reghaïssia 3, Emilie Gomis 7, Krissy Bade 6, Sandra Dijon 2, Emeline Ndongue 0, Isabelle Yacoubou 14 points and 8 rebounds.

Spain vs China 

In the other match China beat Spain 83-76 after an incredible 17-0 run during 4 minutes in the final period. Spain was leading (67-60) after 33 minutes and looked on course to win the match but everything changed as China scored 17 unanswered points in less than 4 minutes to (67-77) go ten points up. Spain then simply ran out of time and was not able regain control of the match. Unlike the other teams in the tournament Spain only started their preparation this week and the players are a little short of match practise.

Spain: Laura Camps 3, Cindy Lima 4, Isabel Sanchez 2, Lucila Pascua 8, Laia Palau 11, So Aguilar 10, Nuria Martinez 6, Ana Montanana 12, Amaya Valdemoro 13, Marta Zurro 7, Silvia Morales 0, Irene Herradas 0.
China: Song Xiaoyun 6, Bian Lan 12, Zhang Hanlan 6, Miao Lijie 7, Ren Lei 3, Zhang Fan 3, Chen Xiaoli 11, Liu Dan 3, Zhang Xiaoni 7, Chen Nan 25, Liu Jiacen 0,Chen Lixin DNP