Kirsten Simpson helps Scotland defeat Nan Shan Taiwan

Portobello's Kirsten Simpson played a key role as Scotland's basketball team '“ containing seven players from Edinburgh outfit Caledonia Pride '“ grabbed a nail-biting single-point victory at the International Women's Tournament in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Kirsten Simpson

Simpson barely featured in Wednesday’s narrow defeat by Chinese side Shanghai but made a major contribution to the 72-71 win over Nan Shan Taiwan. Coming off the bench with Scotland trailing 36-32 at half-time, she sparked a tartan surge in the third quarter which saw Pride coach Bart Sengers’ side ahead by a point going into the final period.

Simpson played almost 20 minutes in total, scoring five points and providing two assists, while her Caledonia Pride club-mate Robyn Lewis added seven points.

Leicester Riders duo Dee Hayward and Erin McGarrachan were both highly-influential, Hayward landing 23 of her 33 points in the second half to outscore Nan Shan’s Tzu-Yin Pan with 27. McGarrachan added 11 rebounds to her 16 points.

Scotland next face the Malaysian national team today as they continue their build-up to next year’s Commonwealth Games in Australia.