CLARK ADMITS FRUSTRATION

"It's frustrating that we didn't play well enough in the first half" he said. "To be fair they were exceptional in the first half, but we gave ourselves a shot at winning in the end."


The visitors opened up a 21-point lead late in the third quarter but then had to hold on for dear life before finally seeing off Clark's side at the Welsh Institute of Sport.


There were some encouraging signs for Clark, but he acknowledged that his side are finding it tough going in their debut season in the top section of European basketball: "We were better than in the previous game, and offensively we've been at our best in the last two.


"Defensively we've been worked out a bit, and although we improved in that area in the second half, it's clear that the return games were always going to be tough. It's harder to surprise teams when you've already played they once.


Kim Butler led the British scoring with 28 points, and she was one of three players Clark singled out for praise: "Obviously Kim Butler played very well to get to 28 points, but Megan Moody had a good performance as well. She took good shots, but they just didn't go in. Harriet Yea also did really well for us, coming off the bench."


Britain have the next game-day off, on Wednesday, before returning to action on Saturday with a trip the Lithuania.


The Britain team have had two days off before returning to practice on Tuesday. They will have one eye on the result of the Israel v's Germany game on Tuesday evening. Victory for the home side will help Clark's team in their quest to reach the Additional Qualifying Round and miss out on the relegation play-offs.