Greece Sign Off With Win Over Luxembourg

Nafsika Stavridou and Greece finished on a high against Luxembourg

Greece didn't make it to next year's EuroBasket Women in France but they finished the Qualification Round campaign with a 70-62 home triumph over Luxembourg on Saturday.

Center Faidra Skiadopoulou, 21, poured in 21 points and corralled 12 rebounds for the Greeks, who finished third in Group E behind Italy and Latvia with a 5-3 record.

Greece led Luxembourg from start to finish.

They stormed into a 16-4 lead with veteran guard Olga Chatzinikolaou scoring six of those points and Zoe Dimitrakou four.

Luxembourg, who had some bright moments this summer, never gave up against Greece.

Down by 14, they closed to within four points midway through the third quarter.

The visitors weren't able to come all the way back, though, and lost for the eighth time in as many games in the Qualification Round.

In a losing effort, Cathy Schmit had 15 points and six assists and Nadia Mossong finished with 13 points and 11 boards.

Quotes Greece vs. Luxembourg

Greece head coach Alekos Daglas
"I would like to thank all my players for the cooperation we had all these days. We didn't achieve our goal, but I believe that our team has everybody's respect. We were unlucky, since we failed to get to the EuroBasket, because of the points' difference with Latvia. We knew that we had a new team; we tried to move ahead without the presence of (Evina) Maltsi and (Stella) Kaltsidou. Our overall presence was satisfying and everybody must support this team in order to be successful in the future. I would like to thank my assistants Mageiras and Mavros, the doctors and the physiotherapists of the team, Mr Oikonomidis and the Hellenic Federation for their support. It was a really great journey for me."

Greece player Faidra Skiadopoulou
"Unfortunately we didn't manage to advance to the final phase. Our effort was enormous. All together players and coaches gave our best. We tried, we were focused on our target in order to succeed. I believe that the future belongs to this team. This team will be rewarded in the future, because we all know what hard work means, we all put our soul in the game."

Luxembourg head coach Hermann Paar
"This was our best game so far. We tried really hard during the encounter, although we knew we didn't stand a chance to advance. Greece could advance. They have a really good team."

Luxembourg player Cathy Schmit
"It was a difficult game for us. We knew it that it would have been a difficult game even before the tip off. We improved game by game. We are a new team and we fight each and every time we step on the court. We hope that in the future we'll be in a position to celebrate better results."