Spain held Greece scoreless for the first seven minutes of the second half to break open a close contest and rolled to a 67-48 Qualifying Round triumph.

Silver-medal winners two years ago in Italy, the Spanish went undefeated in Group A in Liepaja and on Thursday provided further evidence they will be in the reckoning for honors in Riga.

Trailing 35-34 with 1:15 to go in the first half, Spain co-captain Elisa Aguilar hit a jump shot to spark a 21-0 run that lasted deep into the third quarter and Greece never recovered.

Playing without Amaya Valdemoro, the EuroBasket Women 2007 MVP, Spain struggled in the early exchanges with Greece reeling off 10 straight points to claim a 12-4 lead.

Spain still trailed 25-18 with 6:44 to go in the second quarter when their defense started to cause problems for their opponents.

Lolita Limoura turned the ball over under pressure and Anna Montanana punished them with a fast-break lay-up to spark a 12-0 Spanish run.

Aguilar and Palau followed with three-pointers and Montanana added four free straight free throws for a 30-25 Spain lead.

The brilliant Evina Maltsi capped a 10-4 spurt with a lay-up, taking her personal haul to 17 points in the first half, to put Greece in front for the last time in the game at 35-34.

That's when Aguilar started the 21-0 scoring rampage that propelled the Spanish to their fourth straight win at the EuroBasket Women.

When it was over, the strain Greece's players were under showed in the turnover column on the stat sheet.
They had turned the ball over 25 times.

"I thought Greece did a great scouting job in the opening half," Spain coach Evaristo Perez said.

"We adjusted our defense at the break and we grew as a team.

"I thought we played brilliantly in the third quarter. That is the level that we can play at."

Excellent defense has been the staple of the Spanish teams that have reached the podium at every EuroBasket Women since 2001.

They have collected three bronze medals and one silver (2007) in that time.

Defense certainly disrupted the Greeks in the third quarter when they failed to score for such a long stretch.
"A team needs great defense to achieve its aims and we gave Greece not much space," Perez said.

"We suffocated them. We also found balance on both defense and offense."

For Greece, a EuroBasket Women that promised so much again delivered little.

After opening the tournament with a big triumph over Hungary, Greece lost to Poland in the waning seconds and then fell to hosts Latvia in overtime.

"I think we played basketball for one half," Greece coach Kostas Missas said.

"The second half we lost concentration and Spain played very well in the second half.

"They started pressure from defense and 25 turnovers is a big number. My team was tired but mostly psychologically."

Maltsi finished with 26 points and was the only Greece player to hit double digits in scoring.

Montanana once again led the way for Spain with 19 points.

Fans back in Athens have every reason to think Greece are the best team heading into the Qualifying Round of the EuroBasket Women with a 1-2 record.

After opening their account with a big victory over Hungary, Greece lost heart-breakers to Poland and hosts Latvia and ended up third in Group B.

"We go to next round with not as many points (as we could), but we have achieved one target already by going through to the best 12," Greece coach Kostas Missas said.

Despite Spain's pedigree in women's hoops, which includes bronze medals from the EuroBaskets in 2001, '03 and '05 and a silver one from 2007, a game against them could be just what Greece need.

Both teams like the open-court game and that style will certainly suit Evina Maltsi and Styliani Kaltsidou, Greece's biggest weapons on offense.

For Spain, center Cindy Lima hasn't been much of a factor but Spain coach Evaristo Perez has gotten solid contributions from centers Laura Nicholls and Lucila Pascua.

The most encouraging sign for Spain in the win over Slovakia was the play of Anna Montanana, who not only scored a lot of points but also came up with six steals.

Spain not only forced Slovakia to turn the ball over, but capitalized on their opponents' mistakes. They finished with 18 points of 21 Slovakia turnovers.
 
Last Time Out: Spain won 68-53 over Greece in the 1999 Challenge Round.
 
Stats: Greece had 12 steals in their overtime defeat to Latvia while Spain had 13 steals in their triumph over Slovakia.
 
Key Match-up: Greece's Styliani Kaltsidou v Spain's Anna Montanana. Montanana was far and away the best player on the court in Spain's win over Slovakia. It's imperative for Bourges' big-summer signing Kaltsidou to not only score points but to lessen the offensive impact of Montanana.
 
X-Factor: Evina Maltsi. With just two points at half-time, Maltsi was floundering and so were Greece who trailed by 16. Thanks to her offensive explosion after the intermission which saw her finish with 24 points, Greece stormed back and took the lead before falling in overtime.
 
Sounding Off: "We still need to improve on defense and although we are happy going 2-0 to the Qualifying Round, we go to Riga knowing we have to start from zero" - Spain coach Evaristo Perez.