Belarus first-timers beat Latvia in women's hoops

(BEIJING, August 11) -- The Belarus Women's Basketball team defeated Latvia 80-57 in a preliminary group A match on Monday, August 11, marking their first ever Olympic victory in this event.

Euro Basket bronze medal Belarus had the game's high scorer with Yelena Leuchanka netting 22 points and grabbing four rebounds. Three of her teammates also finished in double digits, with Tatyana Troina, Katsiaryna Snytsina and Anastasiya Verameyenka, scoring 17, 12 and 10 respectively.

Gunta Basko of Latvia was the biggest contributor to her team, with 19 points, five rebounds and one assist. Her teammates Liene Jansone and Anete Jekabsone-Zogota contributed 16 points and 12 points respectively.

The first quarter saw the two teams neck-and-neck, reaching a tied score five times. It ended 21-20, with Belarus leading by a small margin. Latvia caught up 31-31 midway in the second quarter, but Belarus managed to leave their opponent five points behind at the end of the half.

The gap grew continuously throughout the third quarter, reaching 18 points with four and a half minutes left. Latvia made a big effort and narrowed it to 11 points when the period ended, but after opening the last quarter with a three-pointer they failed to add points for five minutes. Scoring only eight points in the final ten minutes was not enough to overtake Belarus, who put up 20 points in the last quarter and closed the match 80-57.