Finland Demolish Luxembourg

Finland's Taru Tuukkanen was once more unstoppable, contributing 25 points and 18 rebounds.

Finland showed no mercy as they ripped apart winless Luxembourg in a 92-45 victory in Group E of the EuroBasket Women Qualification Round.

At one point in the second half, Finland went on a 34-0 run that turned a comfortable lead into an outright rout.

Luxembourg, trailing from the start, were still vaguely in touch when Jill Bausch's three-pointer made it 49-39 with 3:31 to go in the third quarter.

But Taru Tuukkanen's put-back from Evita Iiskola's missed lay-up sparked the huge run that ended with two free-throws from Tuukkanen before Cathy Schmit ended more than 10 minutes of basketball with a point for Luxembourg with a jump-shot.

By then, however, it barely mattered, and Tuukkanen rounded off an impressive personal display with the final two baskets of the match.

Tuukkanen finished with 25 points and added 18 rebounds, while Tiina Sten added 18 points and Linda Lehtoranta 11.
Lisy Hetting led Luxembourg with 12 points.

Quotes Luxembourg vs. Finland

Finland coach Anton Mirolybov:
"We played a good second half, I am happy about the result. The first 20 minutes were very hard, we knew that Luxembourg will play very fast, and that it would be another game than the first game in Finland, where we had an extremely good day and everything was perfect. We had a good defence during the second half, and we were more aggressive. I think the best team won tonight."

Finland player Tina Sten:
"The first half was very hard. Luxembourg progressed and they played much better with a little bit more international experience. We tried to play our quick passes and aggressive defence. We played as a team. I am happy about the result but I think we could have done better in the 20 first minutes."

Luxembourg coach Hermann Paar:
"We played perfect basketball for 27 minutes, afterwards we gave the victory away. We showed no reaction, and Finland penalized us. We know that our preparation was not as good as it could have been but we must keep on fighting and be proud to play for our country until the end."

Luxembourg player Lisy Hetting:
"The first half was perfect for us, we could manage to even the score but we didn't play any more as a team. We lacked concentration at the end of the third and during the fourth quarter. Otherwise the result would have been different. It is an honour for us to play at this level. But we have to keep progressing and giving our best in each game."