Spain Ride Second Quarter Surge To Victory

20.07.2008

Spain used a 26-5 second-quarter run to blow Bulgaria away 97-57 at the U18 European Championship for Women.

Vega Gimeno had game highs of 15 points, 12 rebounds as Spain's bench provided a huge lift when it was most needed.

Bulgaria jumped out to an early 9-4 lead thanks to Stefka Nikolova, who accounted for five early points.

Spain though turned to their substitutes to provide a spark and it was mission accomplished as they tied the game at 14 all by the end of the first period and looked to have swung the game's momentum in their favour.

Nikolova kept Bulgaria in it for a while longer, hitting a three-pointer to make it a one-point game, 23-22, early in the second quarter.

But Spain then went on their incredible run - punctuated by Alba Garcia's half-time buzzer-beating three - for a 49-45 half-time lead.
 
And Carlos Colinas's girls kept it going after the break, pushing their advantage to 37, 73-36, on Rodriguez's lay up with a minute left  in the third period.

The final quarter enabled Spain to rest its key players.

Stanislava Stankova led all scorers with a game-high 22 points while Nikolova finished with 10 and eight rebounds.

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