PRISTINA (Kosovo) – Norway completed a perfect campaign by beating Malta 61-54 in the Final of the Women’s European Championship for Small Countries 2024.
After trailing for the majority of the first half, they outscored Malta by 12 in a pivotal third quarter to turn the Final in their favour.
They were led by Aurora Sorbye, who recorded 14 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists as her nation secured their first ever gold-medal in the event - bettering their runners-up finish from 2022.
Karyn Sanford and Karoline Teigland also grabbed 13 points to help their team over the line.
As has been the case throughout the tournament, Norway proved more of a danger from outside the arc than Malta sinking nine triples on their way to victory.
Tournament MVP Amber Melgoza put up another double-double of 16 points with 12 rebounds for Malta, but that wasn’t enough to deliver a fourth event gold medal.
Karoline Teigland stroked a three from the corner after good ball movement, to increase Norway’s lead to seven with a minute to go.
Sorbye then delivered the dagger with an up-and-under layup move to seal victory for Norway.
Earlier, Albania were able to clinch bronze with a 73-61 win over Cyprus, while in the Classification Games, Andorra beat Georgia 80-49 to take seventh place and Kosovo beat Armenia 53-39 to finish fifth.
FIBA