Vēvere's most productive attacking display, but Latvia fails to punish Poland for a wasted chance

Latvia's women's national basketball team, led by coaches Rūdolfs Rozītis, Edgars Ikstens and Mudīte Gūtmane, reached the European Championship quarterfinal round for the sixth time in the program's history and the second time in the last four years. On Thursday the team fought for 30 minutes against three-time European champion France.

Friday was scheduled as a rest day after five games in six days, but the players chose to hold an extra training session anyway. In the evening the squad attended a match between the Latvian and Lithuanian national teams, enjoying songs, dances and warm support from fans.

A tight contest with Poland

Before tip-off in the following game against Poland, the arena DJ surprised both teams by playing "Ballējam, neguļam" by the band Bermudu divstūris, while a thirty-year-older song, "Gandrīz tautasdziesma", played shortly before halftime.

Latvia's starting five featured Mila Luzgina, Santa Ozola, Marta Ploriņa, Anete Ozoliņa and Ieva Vēvere. Ploriņa opened the scoring, while Luzgina added five straight points in transition. Poland, using its height advantage and second-chance opportunities, closed the first quarter ahead 27:16.

In the second quarter Latvia trimmed the deficit to eight points, but the Polish side kept dominating inside the paint and took a 40:29 lead into halftime. Latvia opened the third quarter with an 8:0 run to pull within 37:40, but Helena Daniłewicz's scoring, including a missed Latvian chance to capitalize on an unsportsmanlike foul call against Poland, allowed the Poles to stretch their lead back out to seventeen points at 59:42.

In the fourth quarter Latvia fielded an all-perimeter lineup that included Zane Dzenīte and Jasmīne Šmate. The team again closed the gap to 61:50, with Vēvere proving convincing near the basket, though the team's three-point shooting struggled throughout the game.