Four of GB"s players ended on double figures; Kim Butler (17), Sarah McKay (15), Kristy Lavin (10) and Mason, who also recorded 12 rebounds. Finland"s Taru Tuukkanen ended on 16, Tiina Sten 13 and Reetta Pipari 11.
"In the first quarter Finland played very well but that"s the first time we have been on the floor in a competitive game,"€ said head coach Mark Clark
"We stepped up the defence in the second quarter. The work we have been doing with Ken (Shields) in defence really made the difference. We worked out in the second quarter how to stop them and then we never let up.
"Four or five played a lot of minutes but as a team after the second quarter we never let anyone catch the ball in an open area and in the circle our players charged them down.
"If we had had more preparation time then I think that in the fourth we would have had better shots which would have put it away a lot sooner. It is about refusing to lose. We weren"t great offensively as we made mistakes but we always made up for those mistakes in defence.
"An away win is a great achievement and invaluable to keeping out status. Now we need to take care of business at home."€Â
Leading scorer Butler added: "It"s these sort of wins which get us pumped but it"s also these sorts of games that we would have lost last summer.
"Ken has helped so much with our defensive work; our defence has been our main focus every practice. Plus we got some steals which were crucial. We have focused on the last five minutes of the game throughout our training as this is what let us down last summer and this result shows where we have come from.
"Everyone worked hard to come back and there was great energy on the bench too. We have shown that we belong in Division A. It was our first game together but now we hope to take this momentum into the three home games."€Â
The opening minute and half of play saw the ball turned over by both sides until Tiina Sten capitalised on a pair of free throws. However McKay and Stef Collins responded almost immediately with two consecutive lay-ups.
A Lisa Hutchinson lay-up a minute saw GB trail by a point but the home side then went on to stamp their authority with an eight-point run courtesy of a Heta Korpivaara basket and free throw and then Tuukkanen and Tiina Sten added to the score.
Head coach Mark Clark called his first timeout with just under half of the first quarter played and Britain went on to respond immediately when McKay set up Butler. Lavin"s first effort, having returned from injury, was to score from the three-point line. However that would be the last time GB would score in the first period as the Finns put together a nine-point run to lead 27-13.
Britain started the second quarter with near misses, from both Lavin and Meagan Hoffman before Butler bagged a lay-up. Tuukkanen then fouled and Butler made one of the two free throws, while Mason"s accuracy from the charity strip further chipped away at the deficit.
Butler"s basket was immediately cancelled out by a pair of Finnish free throws before McKay returned to court and made a jumper. GB then began to find some rhythm and it wasn"t long before they were back within touching distance of the Finns at 36-30 after Mason once again converted both of her free throws and then added a basket either side of McKay taking her total to double points. McKay and Butler combined well in the last thirty seconds to ensure Britain"s hard work in the second period reduced the deficit to only seven points at 43-36.
Britain"s leading scorers McKay and Butler started the second half as they had left the first, both scoring jumpers before Collins was on hand to pick up Butler"s rebound. Despite calling timeout Finland were unable to halt GB"s run and it wasn"t long before the combination of a Lavin freethrow, Mason jump shot and Lavin three pointer saw the visitors lead for the first time.
Finland eventually ended Britain"s 12-point run when Tuukkanen made two freethrows. Hoffman had her initial shot rejected but her offensive work allowed Hutchinson to fire in from the three-point line
The final quarter may have started as a one-point game had it not been for Butler"s freethrows and Lavin"s deadly accuracy from downtown.
Mason opened the fourth with a pair from the charity strip, which looked to maintain GB"s momentum but Finland refused to give up and both Vilma Kesanen and Laura Sario made three pointers.
The final five minutes were a nervy affair as Britain would extend their lead only for Finland to remain close behind, always threatening to regain the advantage, but it would be the visitors who would hang on to record their first win of the campaign.
Britain now return home for three consecutive games, the first against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sheffield on January 7.
Photo (right) courtesy of Ville Vuorinen
