Netherlands(20) pound Bulgaria(20) to advance

Aleksandra Kancheva (fibaeurope.com)

17-07-2010 15:08

The Netherlands advanced to the qualifying round of the U20 European Championship for Women by beating Bulgaria 63-32 in Group A action in Grobina.

Maaike Klein led all scorers with 12 points while Clara van der Hoek added 11 points and Karina van den Nieuwendijk chipped in four points, 10 rebounds and three blocks for the Netherlands, who improved to 1-2 in the group.

Bulgaria shot just 21 percent for the game in dropping to 0-3 and will fight now to stave off relegation to Division B. Aleksandra Kancheva led the team with seven points.

The Dutch scored the first 12 points of the game en route to a 23-5 lead after one quarter.

The Netherlands hit the first seven points of the second period for a 25-point advantage. Bulgaria answered with a 9-0 run to trim the deficit to 30-14. The halftime score was 32-14 for Netherlands.

Bulgaria had a final push and used a 12-5 surge to get within 11 points - 37-26. But the Dutch scored the final 10 points of the third period for a 47-26 cushion.

And after Bulgaria hit the first basket of the fourth the Netherlands went on a 14-0 run for a 33-point lead late.

FULL STATS FROM BULGARIA (20) - NETHERLANDS (20) GAME