Hillsman and the Dutch Make History
8/10/2011 3:28:19 PM | Women's Basketball
OREDEA, Romania – Syracuse University head coach Quentin Hillsman and the U18 Netherlands National Team made history, advancing to the quarterfinals of the “A” Division U18 European Championship for the first time in team history. The Dutch also ended Italy's defense bid with a 55-48 win in the last game of the Qualification Round. Hillsman is serving as an assistant coach on the Dutch U18 National Team. Italy, the 2010 champions of the U18 European Championship, will finish no better than ninth.
The Netherlands finished fourth in group F and will play the first-place finisher from group E, Spain, on Friday.
Kourtney Treffers rebounded after her poor performance in Tuesday's game against Belgium, and led the Dutch with 17 points and seven rebounds. She got all the help she needed on offense from Gabrielle Van Den Bosch, who finished with 14 points and from Willemijn Kallenberg who added seven points and six assists.
After a poor first quarter from both sides, as they combined for 14 points in total, the Netherlands managed to take a slight advantage in the second quarter to lead 24-20 at halftime.
Italy fought back and took the lead in the beginning of the third period, 24-26. But then it was Treffers time. She scored 10 points in a 14-2 run for the Dutch side, including two 3-point shots that silenced the Italians for good.
The reigning champions never got within a single-digit gap until Elena Ramó scored a 3-pointer with 1:50 left to make it 55-48, which was the last basket of the game.
Alessandra Formica and Marta Masoni had 10 points each for Italy, and combined for 13 rebounds. The Italians had 16.7 percent from the 3-point line, on 5-for-30 shooting.
