Oaklands Wolves pair Shanice Beckford-Norton and Sam Ashby had mixed results with Great Britain as they continued their EuroBasket 2025 qualifying campaign last week.
Britain beat Greece 75-62 in Manchester before a late comeback against Sweden wasn't quite enough as they went down 63-60 as the hosts sealed top spot in Group D..
In Thursday's game against Greece, Beckford-Norton had an efficient 12 points in 13 minutes, shooting three-from-five from the floor and converting all five free-throws, adding two rebounds and an assist. Ashby drained a pair of triples on the way to 13 points, adding two boards, a steal and an assist for GB.
Three days later Ashby (right)finished with seven points and assist and a rebound while Beckford-Norton went scoreless in 12 minutes, and Britain will now look to qualify as one of the best runners-up.
While Ella Fortu's New Zealand side didn't have any games, two other Wolves represented their country during the week. A late call-up from Ireland saw Abigail Rafferty travel to Latvia on Thursday, and despite five rebounds and three points in 21 minutes from the Wolves' forward her team went down 85-53. It didn't get any better for Ireland on Sunday as they lost 90-61 against Israel, with Rafferty collecting ten rebounds, adding three assists and a steal.
Lavinia Da Silva and Portugal had a tough night on Thursday as they went down 71-37 in Serbia, with the Wolves' forward collecting three rebounds and a steal in 14 minutes of action. Sunday saw a much better result for Da Silva and her team with Portugal crushing North Macedonia 76-43 with the Oaklands' centre collecting two rebounds and an assist.
Pictures: GB Basketball.
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