Tight loss in Istanbul

Fenerbahce SK - Sopron Basket 69-67 (20-21, 14-18, 17-9, 18-19)
Istanbul

Fenerbahce SK: Vardarli 7/3, Plum 11, Zandalasini 6, Vaughn 6, Verameyenka 22/3 Sub.: Sottana 17/3, Canitez -, Senyürek -, Yavas -, Topuz -

Sopron Basket: Fegyverneky 10, Turner 9/6, Crvendakic 14/6, Zahui 10, Dupree 13 Sub.: Salvadores 9/3, Határ 2, Dubei -

Stats

FGS: 27/63 43% ill. 26/60 43%

3-PTS: 3/10 30% ill. 5/16 31%

FTS: 12/14 86% ill. 10/13 77%

Rebounds: 29 (Verameyenka 10) ill. 39 (Zahui 13)

Assists: 15 (Plum 5) ill. 11 (Turner 5)

Steals: 8 ill. 3

Turnovers: 11 ill. 16

Faults: 18 ill. 20

EFF: 73 (Verameyenka 29) ill. 70 (Zahui 17)

Fenerbahce started the game better, and after the first few possession were in possession of a single basket lead (4-2). That is when our players started performing, and made a 9-1 run to gain the lead (5th minute 4-11). Then came Kelsey Plum for the Turkish and scored 4 points in a row, but before they could tie the game up, Aleks buried a double to calm her team down, and after that Zandalasini and Angela exchanged baskets. Later, with a triple by Verameyenka the Istanbul side came back to a signel point deficit, and when Sottana also hit one from behind the arc they even took over the lead (20-18). Not for long, though, because Angela was able to answer back with a triple of her own, setting the score for the first quarter (10th minute 20-21)!


Aleks opened the second period with five points, to which Yvonne added one more from the line, without allowing a single point at the other end (13th minute 20-27). It took the home side almost four minutes to score in the second period, but then they did it twice in a row very quickly – first Vardarli, then Zandalasini was successful for two points, forcing a time-out for us (15th minute 24-27). After the break Fener hit two more doubles to regain the lead, but then came Zsófi with a mid-range jumper to get us on the front foot again, and after two successful foul shots by Plum she also handed out an assist to Amanda. Our Swedish post player scored twice in a row, which meant that now the hosts had to run for the lead, and so they did with a double by Verameyenka, forcing our next time-out (19th minute 32-33). Following the short pause Zsófi buried another double, and then gave an assist to Amanda. Vardarli and Candice exchanged buckets, and since Yvonne's shot at the buzzer came off the rim, we were heading into the half-time break with a five-point advantage in Istanbul (20th minute 34-39)!


Both teams began the second half with many mistakes, and unfortunately Fenerbahce were the side to break the ice first – Vardarli buried a huge triple to get her team back to being down by only two points, and later on Verameyenka tied the game up with a double, because we were still unable to get our first basket in the period (24th minute 39-39). A minute later Zsófi finally hit one from mid-range to give us our lead back, but only temporarily, because Sottana equalized at the other end, however, she wasn't able to convert the and-one. Zsófi hit another one, and so did Verameyenka. Then came a very long scoring drought, which was broken by Aleks beating the buzzer, but right after that Sottana came up with a three-point play at the other end. Angela made one of two from the line, and Verameyenka copied her teammate's previous actions and put three points on the board. Betti was left alone under the rim for two, but Fenerbahce were able to score again before the clock ran down, which meant that the teams were heading into the last period with a three-point home lead (30th minute 51-48).


Aleks opened the final stage of the game with a nice lay-up, and after a couple of huge defensive efforts Amanda was able to give us the advantage with two shots made from the foul line (33rd minute 51-52). Sottana and Vaughn led a run for Fenerbahce with five points in a row, but we wouldn't stand down. Aleks hit a triple to get us back in the game. The refs called an unsportsmanlike foul on us, and even though Sottana made both shots from the line, they gave the ball away thanks to an offensive foul, but so did we. (35th minute 58-55). After that Fenerbahce even drew a technical foul on us, and scored three points off it, forcing our next time-out (61-55). When the break was over Zsófi scored two to keep our hopes alive, but Sottana answered back likewise right away. We tried everything in our power to come back, but it just didn't seem like it, so Roberto Iniguez called his team to the bench to talk it over again (38th minute 68-61). His words had a positive effect on the team – Yvonne hit a huge three right after the break, and then Candice made one of two at the line to make it a one possession game again. Just when we had the opportunity to tie the game up, Yvonne missed a lay-up after a nice penetration, and then fouled Plum to send her to the line. She made one of the two, time-out Sopron (69-65). Yvonne made two from the line, time-out Fener. Two-point game! (69-67). After the time-out Fener managed to get the ball inbound, and the refs didn't call another foul, so the score didn't change, we fell just short to a star-studded Fenerbahce team on the road (40th minute 69-67).

Roberto Iniguez: Congratulations to Fenerbahce! They played a very good second half, better than we did. We got into rhythm slowly after half time, and we lacked the necessary aggressivity from our game. Congratulations to the referees, they did an excellent job at the right moments tonight.

Valerie Garnier (head coach, Fenerbahce SK): We did very well in the second half, especially on defense! We got a crucial win, and with the other players we will be a much stronger side in the future. If we can deliver the defensive performance of the second half for 40 minutes, the sky is the limit for us this year!

Zsófia Fegyverneky: We played a very good game on the home court of Fenerbahce, it was an open game until the very end. It was a matter of some small mistakes, some missed shits at the end. On defense we didn't always pay attention to rebounds which resulted in three-point plays on some occasions. I'm sad about the two-point difference, because we had opportunities to get the win.

Giorgia Sottana: We reached our goal, and kept Sopron under 80 points. This way we closed the first part on the season well. After the FIBA window Bria Hartley and Kia Stokes will also join us, making us an even stronger side in the Euroleague.