Will participate in international tournaments
Marius Tamolis, head of the Lithuanian women’s basketball national team program, detailed the plans for our country’s women’s national team. Preparation will begin on July 20 in Klaipėda, followed by a four-team tournament.
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“Four teams will meet in Gargždai: Lithuania, Sweden, Finland, and Poland. Later, we will continue work in Vilnius, travel to Sweden, and the last tournament awaits in Finland. We managed to gather almost all the players we planned,” said M. Tamolis, adding that in autumn and winter the national team will face qualification windows with teams from Finland, Sweden, and Belgium.
Mindaugas Balčiūnas, president of the Lithuanian Basketball Association, emphasized that the European Women’s Championship returning to Lithuania after more than a century is a historic event, for which preparations are already underway – almost a year in advance.
“We are very happy to have organized a good European U20 girls’ championship in Gargždai. It became an introduction to the women’s national team program. After more than 100 years, the European Championship is coming to Lithuania – Klaipėda and Vilnius. From now on, sports preparation for this stage begins,” said M. Balčiūnas.
Experience and new faces in the national team
Vilius Stanišauskas, head coach of the Lithuanian women’s national team, praised the players’ mindset. Although this summer is not marked by an official championship for the team, the players understand the importance of preparation for the future.
“I am glad that most players agreed to participate, even though there is no championship this summer. Everyone knows what we are preparing for – the summer of 2027 in Lithuania. We will have a long time for training and friendly matches; this summer we will train for almost the entire month,” said the strategist.
This summer, the national team will be without its brightest stars – Justė Jocytė and Laura Juškaitė, who are currently overseas continuing their commitments in the strongest women’s league in the world – the WNBA.
“The fact that they play in the WNBA is an excellent recognition both for the players themselves and for all Lithuanian women’s basketball,” added M. Tamolis.
Also, this summer the team will be without Kamilė Nacickaitė-Van der Horst, who dedicates the summer to 3×3 basketball and her personal life.
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“We talked with Kamile, she is playing 3×3 basketball intensively, has family circumstances, so we decided she will not be with us this summer, but we hope to see her in the upcoming windows,” explained V. Stanišauskas.
The coach also revealed that we will see new faces and young talents in the national team: students arriving from the USA – Rusnė Augustinaitė and Ugnė Sirtautaitė, women’s national team debutants – Livija Sakevičiūtė and Dominyka Paliulytė, as well as representatives of the Lithuanian U20 team – Sintija Aukštikalnytė and Danielė Paunksnytė.
Goal – teamwork and continuity
Asked about the ambitious preparation plan, V. Stanišauskas emphasized that it is not accidental.
“We do not want to gather for just a week. We want to be together as long as possible, remember the systems, play together, feel each other. That continuity is necessary right up to the European Championship,” summarized the coach.
All representatives present at the press conference confirmed that communication with WNBA clubs regarding the participation of key players in the 2027 championship is going smoothly, and the federation is ready to fulfill all necessary requirements so that Lithuania has the strongest possible lineup at the home championship.
“It is nice that our preparation starts immediately after the 2026 FIBA European U20 girls’ championship held in Lithuania. I would like to sincerely thank everyone who contributed to organizing this championship. It is a top-level event that attracted great spectator interest, WNBA scouts, US university coaches, and other basketball specialists’ attention.
It is very pleasing to see the growing interest in women’s and girls’ basketball. We are sincerely grateful to all partners, volunteers, organizers, and fans who contributed to the success of this championship. Such events not only strengthen Lithuania’s name as a basketball country but also provide an additional impulse for the further growth of women’s basketball and the development of a new generation of players,” emphasized M. Tamolis.
He also added: “We are very pleased with the successful cooperation and communication with our basketball players and some players’ US universities.”
Lithuanian women’s basketball national team summer preparation plan:
- July 20–31, 2026 – training camp, Klaipėda
- July 30–31, 2026 – international control tournament, Klaipėda / Gargždai
- August 2–5, 2026 – training camp, Vilnius
- August 5–9, 2026 – training camp and control matches, Sweden
- August 9–13, 2026 – training camp, Vilnius
- August 13–17, 2026 – training camp and control matches, Finland
Players
- Daugilė Ūsė
- Laura Miškinienė
- Sintija Aukštikalnytė
- Danielė Paunksnytė
- Eglė Zabotkaitė
- Livija Sakevičiūtė
- Brigita Sinickaitė
- Eglė Šventoraitė
- Dominyka Paliulytė
- Danguolė Pupkevičiūtė
- Ugnė Sirtautaitė
- Rusnė Augustinaitė
- Gabrielė Nikitinaitė
- Gabija Meškonytė
- Giedrė Labuckienė
National team staff
- Head coach – Vilius Stanišauskas
- Assistant coach – Tomas Rinkevičius
- Assistant coach – Sandra Linkevičienė
- Assistant coach – Egidijus Ženevičius
- Physiotherapist – Gintarė Lackė
- Physiotherapist – Agnė Abromaitė
- Team doctor – Mantas Ambraška
- Program manager assistant / team manager – Gintarė Petronytė
- Program manager – Marius Tamolis
