Finland Hand Latvia First Loss

Simply unstoppable - Taru Tuukkanen finished with 25 points and 16 rebounds to propel Finland to victory over previously undefeated Latvia

Finland knocked Latvia from the ranks of the unbeaten on Saturday with a 65-62 triumph in Vantaa.

The hosts' Taru Tuukkanen tore apart the Baltic side, scoring 25 points and grabbing 16 rebounds in the EuroBasket Women Qualification Round Group E contest.

The Finns, who had opened with a convincing win against Luxembourg but then crashed to a heavy defeat at Greece one week ago, started the encounter against Latvia as the underdogs.

The Latvians had prevailed in their first three games against Italy, Luxembourg and Greece by big margins.

Aigars Nerips' team seemed to be on their way to a fourth victory after going on top 32-22 with 3:47 remaining in the second quarter.

The Finns finished the half strong, though, and a basket by Tuukkanen reduced the arrears to 37-34 at the break.

The lead went back and forth in the third quarter before a jump shot by veteran guard Kristina Karklina gave the visitors a 49-48 advantage heading to the last frame.

The game remained close until the end.

With the score knotted at 56-56 midway through the final quarter, Finland's Dionne Pounds drew a foul and made two free-throws and then Tuukkanen buried a jump shot.

Latvia closed the gap to two points on two occasions, the second time at 62-60 on a jumper by Karklina with 18 seconds remaining.

Finland coach Anton Mirolybov called a timeout to set up the game-ending strategy and when play resumed, Latvia's Zane Tamane fouled Tuukkanen.

The 34-year-old center made one of two free-throws for a three-point advantage and that proved to be the final score.

Heta Korpivaara added 14 points for Finland and Tiina Sten and Pounds weighed in with 10 apiece.

Latvia lost despite a superb offensive show from Jansone, who made 10 of 15 shots from the floor and scored 24 points.

Tamane was an uncharacteristic zero of eight from the floor and didn't register a single point, though she did pull down a team-high 11 rebounds.

Quotes Finland vs. Latvia

Finland Head Coach Anton Mirolybov
"We believed in ourselves and that paid off. We have been putting this campaign together in a short time and we knew that after taking a couple steps forward, we'd take a step back like we did in Greece. Our theme this week theme was to restore faith in ourselves. In the end of the second quarter, we had fantastic ball possession - we didn't need a timeout to get the job done and Taru Tuukkanen ended up with a good 2-point shot. And in the end of the fourth quarter, Latvia needed a 3-point shot to force overtime and they couldn't get a shot off. It's a privilege to coach a team like this and I'd like to take my hat off to everyone who's included in this team."

Latvia player Liene Jansone
"We weren't ready to play in the beginning. Finland's game is concentrated and they felt the game from early on, after that it was difficult for us to get in the rhythm. We didn't concentrate well enough and didn't do our job, it's disappointing. Finland was better from early on."

Finland player Heta Korpivaara
"We have had our ups and downs like against Greece, but I am sure that this win helped us gain a lot of self-confidence for the future. We have played well as a team, played aggressive defence and executed on offense like we are supposed to do. Now we're facing Italy, it's always more difficult to win on the road but then again, Italy couldn't beat Latvia. Anything is possible."