Türkiye
Türkiye’s women’s basketball team beat Israel 76-67 for a second win from two in EuroBasket 2027 qualifying
Developing
- What happened
- The national women’s team, known at home as Potanın Perileri, beat Israel 76-67 in Latvia in Group I of the second qualifying round for the 2027 FIBA Women’s EuroBasket.
- Why it matters
- It is a second win in two games under the new French head coach Frederic Dusart, who said he was unhappy with the second half.
- What’s next
- Türkiye play away to Poland on Tuesday 17 November at 19:00 Istanbul time.
How this story developed
- 22:43First report
- 22:562nd source
- 22:56Confirmed
- 23:013rd source
- 22:43First reportCumhuriyet
- 22:562nd sourceHabertürk
- 22:56ConfirmedWas: Single source
- 23:01Latest3rd sourceAnadolu Ajansı
Full story
A big lead, then a scare
Türkiye’s women’s national basketball team, nicknamed Potanın Perileri (“the Fairies of the Hoop”), beat Israel 76-67 on Saturday in the second round of qualifying for the 2027 FIBA Women’s EuroBasket, Anadolu Agency, Cumhuriyet and Habertürk reported. The game was played at the Rimi Olympic Centre in Latvia, and left Türkiye with two wins from two in Group I.
Türkiye scored seven straight points to lead 10-4 in the fourth minute and took the first quarter 22-10 with good shooting from beyond the arc. They led 47-29 at half-time and by 20 points, 60-40, in the 26th minute. Israel came back with a nine-point run and cut the gap to 64-55 in the 36th minute, but Gökşen Fıtık’s free throws in the closing seconds kept them away, AA reported.
Fıtık leads the scoring
Fıtık was Türkiye’s top scorer with 18 points. Kennedy Burke and Alperi Onar added 11 each and Meltem Yıldızhan 10, while Sevgi Uzun scored 7 and Olcay Çakır Turgut and Tilbe Şenyürek 4 each. For Israel, Eden Zipel scored 19 and Yarden Garzon 14, according to the box scores in AA and Habertürk. Türkiye’s ambassador to Latvia, Ahmet Cemil Miroğlu, watched from the stands with members of the Turkish Basketball Federation board.
It was also the second game in charge for the French head coach Frederic Dusart, and his second win, Habertürk noted.
“Not good enough for Poland”
Dusart told AA he was pleased to win but not with how his team played after the break. He added that Poland have quality players with EuroLeague experience and that his team must fix its mistakes first.
“Winning is nice, but winning with the way we played in the second half is not a good thing for me. Playing like that against Poland will not be enough.”
Frederic Dusart, head coach, Anadolu Ajansı(translated)
Onar said the players were still getting used to the new coach’s system with little time to train, and that the team must defend harder against Poland. Türkiye travel to Poland for their third group game on Tuesday 17 November at 19:00 Istanbul time.