Women's Basketball | 7/18/2018 4:18:00 PM
FAIRFAX, Va. – When
Livija Kaktaite steps on campus next month, she'll bring with her not only international experience but an international medal, too.
George Mason's incoming freshman point guard recently helped Lithuania to a bronze medal at the FIBA U20 Women's European Championship, Division B. Lithuania defeated host Romania 53-48 in the third-place game on Sunday. The eight-day tournament was held in Oradea, Romania and featured 12 teams.
Kaktaite, a 19-year-old from Sveksna, Lithuania, played in four games during the tournament. Lithuania defeated Ukraine, Israel, Greece and Romania and lost to Great Britain in the group stage to post a 4-1 record – the best mark in the group stage of any team.
In the semifinals, though, Lithuania suffered a narrow 73-70 defeat to Belarus this past Saturday. Lithuania bounced back on Sunday, however, rallying from a five-point halftime deficit to hold off Romania.
By finishing in the top three of the tournament, Lithuania is promoted to Division A for next year's European Championship.
This marked Kaktaite's fourth consecutive summer competing for the Lithuanian National Team. This is the second international medal she has won as she captured gold with Lithuania at the 2015 U16 Women's European Championship.
The 5-foot-7 guard moved to the United States last year to compete at Long Island Lutheran High School in New York – the same school where rising sophomore
Marika Korpinen spent two years – for her senior year. Kaktaite helped Long Island Lutheran reach the semifinals of the state tournament.
After graduating from Long Island Lutheran on June 11, Kaktaite headed directly to national team training camp in Lithuania. She trained with the national team for four weeks before heading to Romania.
