Tom Maher's team produced a storming second half to win 72-50 on Saturday evening, while most of the damage was done before the break on Sunday as GB recorded a 73-65 victory.

In front of a big crowd, Julie Page led the British scoring on Saturday with 18 points and six rebounds, with Natalie Stafford adding 13 and four boards and Anzani Stewart 11 points.

In a game that GB dominated on the boards, out-rebounding Portugal 41-30, Kim Butler finished with 11 boards to go with her eight points.

GB trailed 19-18 at the first break, and were down by seven late in the second period before rallying to lead 32-31 going into the locker room.

Whatever coach Maher said at half-time clearly had the desired effect as the visitors were outscored 18-9 in the third period as Britain carried a ten point lead into the final stanza, and they wrapped things up with a 22-10 fourth period.

Sofia Romalho led Portugal with 11 points, while Reis finished with nine points and ten rebounds.

The following day saw Maher make one change to his team, with Megan Hoffman replacing Lisa Hutchinson, but the first period was remarkable for the performance of guard Natalie Stafford.

Stafford poured in 15 points off six from seven shooting, adding three steals, and almost single-handedly kept GB in the game.

Portugal opened the scoring with a pair of Reis free-throws, but Stafford gave a hint of what was to come by scoring the next six points.

The score was tied at 17 with 98 seconds in the first period remaining when Stafford sat down having scored 15 points, but that rest lasted just 31 seconds as Chantelle Handy limped out of the action with an ankle injury which ruled her out for the rest of the game.

The game remained tight, and two Julie Page free-throws sent GB into the first break tied at 21.

Despite Portugal shutting Stafford's offence down, GB dominated the second period, and a Steph Collins trey put them 35-28 ahead with four minutes remaining.

They continued to control the game, with Kim Butler's score from downtown making it 46-31, and after a good defensive stop from Page, Butler was needlessly fouled and she sunk both foul shots to send the home side into the locker room with a 48-31 lead.

Portugal's change to zone defence caused GB problems in the second half, but despite ten points in six minutes from Paula Muxiri, the home side held a comfortable 58-38 lead with 3:38 on the clock.

A 9-1 run saw the visitors make it a 12 point game before Stafford sunk a jump-shot and Reis scored the final basket of the period to cut GB's lead to 61-49 at the final break.

There was a four minute GB scoring drought at the start of the final stanza as Portugal narrowed the gap to 61-57 with an 8-0 run before Stafford broke the tear and Rose Anderson hit a pair of free-throws to make it an eight-point game.

The visitors, who look a good bet for promotion from Division B, still refused to lie down, and cut the margin to 68-63 with 3:50 remaining - forcing a Maher timeout.

An excellent score from Page as she fought for a loose ball proved to be the key, making it 72-63 with two minutes remaining, and Portugal never got closer than seven points as GB wrapped up the win.

Page finished with 20 points and five rebounds to lead the GB offence, while Stafford had three assists and as many steals to go with her 19 points.

Butler had an 11 point, 11 rebound double-double, while Anderson had four steals, three assists and three rebounds along with her nine points.

Reis led Portugal with 17 points, with Romalho adding 13 and Muxiri 12.

Click here for game 2 box score.