All of the national teams were in action on Thursday, either playing their first games or their second games, which meant that some teams could advance or be eliminated based on their results today.
Great Britain
It was the first day of action for Great Britain as their group started play in Germany. The team has had a stronger presence on the continental level in recent years, but this is another tournament where their roster was not nearly as strong as it could be. Their first game was against Spain, the runners up from two years ago and the game proved to be as tough as expected as they lost 85-70. Temi Fagbenle had 14 points and a game high 8 rebounds in 32 minutes. Her teammate Kirsty Brown, a Bay Area native who played collegiately at Cal Poly, had 2 points in 8 minutes.
https://www.fiba.basketball/en/events/fiba-womens-eurobasket-2025/games/123044-GBR-ESP#boxscore
Lithuania
After a big win yesterday, Lithuania was looking to continue their momentum against a Serbia team coming off a loss. Their opponents had won two championships since the last time Lithuania finished a tournament at this level, but their struggles continued after a big second half resulted in a 74-63 Lithuania win. Juste Joycte had 15 points, 8 rebounds, and a game-high 8 assists in 31 minutes.
https://www.fiba.basketball/en/events/fiba-womens-eurobasket-2025/games/123056-LTU-SRB#boxscore
France
Turkey defeated Switzerland earlier in the day so France would officially qualify with a win over Greece. The hosts had won their opening game as well and were hoping to put themselves in position to play in the final stage at home too. The game was close for a little over a quarter before France started to seize control, winning 92-56. Janelle Salaun led all scorers with 17 points and added 5 rebounds in 28 minutes. Migna Toure scored the next most points with 15 points in 20 minutes and Iliana Rupert had 14 points in 20 minutes.
https://www.fiba.basketball/en/events/fiba-womens-eurobasket-2025/games/123038-FRA-GRE#boxscore
Italy
Italy needed a win against Slovenia to send themselves and Lithuania through to the next round. They took a big lead in the first half, but then almost gave it all up before recovering to win 77-66 and guarantee their spot in the quarterfinals. Cecilia Zandalasini had 14 points and 5 rebounds in 33 minutes.
https://www.fiba.basketball/en/events/fiba-womens-eurobasket-2025/games/123053-ITA-SLO#boxscore
Belgium
The first game in this group was delayed so Belgium ended up starting their title defense at the end of the day against Portugal, which was making their debut at this level. It was still a fairly close game in the first half, but Belgium showed their strength in the second half, winning 81-52. Julie Vanloo had 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists in 23 minutes. Kyara Linskens returned to the starting lineup after coming off the bench in exhibition games and had 9 points and 8 rebounds in 23 minutes.
https://www.fiba.basketball/en/events/fiba-womens-eurobasket-2025/games/123051-BEL-POR#boxscore
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