Report: Scotland U16 Women 61-50 Wales

Scotland U16 Women earned their first win of the FIBA European Championships as they overcame Wales 61-50 in Moldova.

It took almost two minutes for the first basket of the came to come, falling in favour of Wales. Lucy Lemmon quickly added Scotland’s first basket in what was a low scoring start to the game. With the scoreboard reading just 5-3 after five minutes, Jenni Torrance (13 points, 5 assists) netted a three-pointer to give Scotland the lead.

Eabha Kerr extended Scotland’s lead to three with a layup but after a few scoreless minutes Wales moved back to within a point with two shots from the free throw line. A follow up three-pointer restored Wales’ lead which they maintained until the end of the first. 10-8.

Taryn Cummins found the basket from outside the arc and Lemmon made a jump shot as Scotland started the second with a five-point scoring run. This forced Wales into a time out and although they added two points upon their return to the court, back-to-back threes from Cummins and Eva Morrison (9 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists) gave Scotland a seven-point margin.

Wales reduced the deficit to five from the free throw line, but both Eva and Marie Morrison (9 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists) added their own baskets as Scotland reached a game high seven-point advantage. Eva Morrison added a jump shot after Wales threw one of two from the free throw and the gap was maintained in the closing minute of the half as Scotland entered the break up by seven. 18-25.

Lemmon extended Scotland’s lead to nine at the start of the third but Wales replied with a four-point streak. Eva Morrison added a three-pointer for Scotland to halt the Welsh scoring run but they swiftly replied with a three of their own.

The gap reduced to three points with Wales taking advantage of a foul but a Torrance three restored Scotland’s cushion. The gap remained at six points for most of the third as Marie Morrision added to her tally for Scotland.

Three unanswered points from Wales at the end of the quarter left the gap at just three in Scotland’s favour with ten minutes to play. 37-40.

Wales started the fourth strongly as they looked to overturn Scotland’s lead, and took the lead with a five-point streak early in the fourth. With Wales now leading by four, Jannike Marshall (10 points, 3 rebounds) and Morrison netted back-to-back to tie the game. With Wales again taking a two-point advantage, Torrance sank a three-pointer with five minutes left to leave Scotland up by one.

With a one-point advantage heading into the final few minutes, back-to-back threes from Torrance and Marie Morrison gave Scotland a vital seven-point cushion. Marshall added a further two baskets from outside the arc in the final minute as Scotland found the points when it mattered to overcome the Welsh side. 50-61.

The team play Malta in their final group game tomorrow at 4pm.