Big win in France

BLMA - Sopron Basket 53-66 (17-24, 8-15, 17-14, 11-13)
Montpellier

BLMA: Bernies 4, Whitcomb 12/3, Tchatchouang 3, Williams 19/3, Mavunga 4 Sub.: Milapie 4, Lundquist 3/3, Bankole 4, Kamba -

Sopron Basket: Fegyverneky 4/3, January 5/3, Crvendakic 16/3, Brooks 16/3, Jovanovic 9 Sub.: Határ 14, Weninger 2, Dubei -

Stats

FGS: 18/59 31% ill. 24/65 37%

3-PTS: 3/23 13% ill. 4/20 20%

FTS: 14/21 67% ill. 14/17 83%

Rebounds: 39 (Mavunga 10) ill. 43 (Brooks 10)

Assists: 5 (Bernies 2) ill. 16 (Fegyverneky 5)

Steals: 6 (Williams 3) ill. 8 (Fegyverneky 3)

Turnovers: 15 ill. 15

Faults: 20 ill. 23

EFF: 42 (Williams 20) ill. 77 (Brooks 18)

Jeca got the game going from behind the arc, to which Tina added a three-point play, while the home side were able to score only once (3rd minute 2-6). After that we kept scoring and pulled further away from BLMA, but at 4-11 our run was stopped by Gabby Williams from three, and as time passed by they even made it a single possession game again (7th minute 13-15). Then we took control again and pulled away by six forcing Montpellier's first time-out in the game (15-21). After the break Jeca and Johannes both got the chance to shoot free throws, Jeca converted one, while Johannes made two, and then Aleks also hit the target twice from the foul line setting the score for the first period (10th minute 17-24).


Tchatchouang made the first bucket of the second quarter for two points, but then Zsófi hit a triple at the other end (13th minute 19-27), and with a nice mid-range double by Jeca our advantage grew all the way up to the double-digit region. Not for long, though, because Gabby Williams rushed down the court for two, forcing our next time-out. A few minutes later it was the home side's turn to call time, because we were able to top our previous performances in the game and pulled even further away (16th minute 23-35). The final minutes of the half were ours again, and we went on the half-time break in possession of a commanding lead (20th minute 25-39).


The second half began with a double by Whitcomb, to which Tina answered back likewise (27-39), and then Williams and our Serbian center exchanged buckets. The home side started this stage of the game better, and after a mid-range double by Williams it was head coach Dávid Gáspár's turn to call a time-out again (24th minute 33-41). Jeca came up with a double after the short break, to which Aleks added a corner three, and then she also completed a three-point play (27th minute 33-49). Lundquist put an end to our run with a double, but then Betti was also able to score at the other end. However, BLMA closed the quarter with a 9-4 run to cut into their deficit and keep their hopes alive for the final period (30th minute 42-53).


Betti got the final stage of the game going with two successful free throws, to which Briann added her first points in the game off a lay-up forcing Montpellier to call a time-out (33rd minute 42-57). It proved effective, because at first they managed to stop us from scoring and then buried a triple by Whitcomb. However, the next minutes were ours, mostly scoring from free throws – we put four points on the board from the foul line. With a little less than four minute remaining on the game clock both sides were in the bonus in terms of fouls so it looked like it was going to be a long shootout from the free throw line (37th minute 47-61). After that Briann was successful from downtown, while Bankole made a lay-up for Montpellier. With just a few seconds on the clock Aleks missed a shot from outside and that gave an opportunity to the home team to try one last time, but they also missed and that meant that we have won our first Euroleague game of the new season away from home being in the lead all the way through the forty minutes of the clash (40th minute 53-66)!

Dávid Gáspár: The excitement is gone by now! We are very happy to have begun the Euroleague season with a win! Congratulations to the girls, they executed the plays we planned to do very well. We defended and boxed out beautifully, and that was a key factor for our victory at such a difficult venue. We'll keep going, there is no time to celebrate, the next challenge is right ahead of us. We'll keep working hard and get on with the new season!

Jelena Brooks: I am so happy that we won the first game! We knew that it would be very difficult here in France. In the past two weeks we have done everything so we could play against them the way we did tonight. I am glad that we could stay focused for forty minutes, as coach wanted. Congratulations to my teammates for having started the Euroleague with such a great game!