Big final quarter gives us victory over TF

Sopron Basket - TFSE-MTK 105-73 (27-18, 24-28, 23-17, 31-10)
Sopron

Sopron Basket: January 8, Varga K. 6, Crvendakic 23/9, Brooks 14/3, Határ 9 Sub.: Dubei 16/9, Dupree 11, Jovanovic 8, Fegyverneky 8, Varga A. 2

TFSE-MTK: Jenkins C. 20/6, Bernáth 7/3, Süle 13/3, Jenkins A. 19, Arsenic 9 Sub.: Herman A. 3/3, Németh A. 2, Doktor A. -, Miháczi -, Boros -, Kovács -

Statistic

FGS: 41/61 66% ill. 25/66 38%

3-PTS: 7/16 44% ill. 5/15 33%

FTS: 16/22 73% ill. 18/20 90%

Rebounds: 32 (Dubei 9) ill. 34 (Jenkins A. 11)

Assists: 31 (Fegyverneky 7) ill. 12 (Süle 4)

Steals: 7 ill. 3

Turnovers: 8 ill .13

Faults: 19 ill. 19

EFF: 144 (Crvendakic 28) ill. 73 (C. Jenkins 20)

Betti got the game going with a double, to which Arsenic answered back likewise (2nd minute 2-2). In the next few minutes neither side was able to take control of the game, but then we took it up a notch on defense and pulled away by five by the middle of the quarter (11-6). We wouldn’t stop scoring in this period which made Bianka Magyar call her team to the bench for a time-out (6th minute 17-9). After that we came up with a 6-0 run to pull even further away, to which Chanise Jenkins put an end by converting two free throws into points (8th minute 23-10). The first period ended with us being ahead, but the score was still close (10th minute 27-18).


Aleks opened the second quarter with a triple, to which Alíz added two from mid-range (12th minute 32-18). A little bit later when TF scored twice in a row Dávid Gáspár decided to talk things over in a time-out (34-22). Betti hit one from close in after an inbound-play, to which Arsenic answered back with a three-point play, and then Chanise Jenkins hit a three to reduce the gap to single digits, but to that Jeca quickly reacted with a double at the other end (15th minute 38-28). A little bit later the away side came all the way back down to seven with a double by Chanise Jenkins, to which Kami replied with a nice shot from downtown (17th minute 41-34). However, we didn’t seem to be able to crack the guests’ defense and create a bigger advantage, which made Dávid Gáspár call his next time-out (45-36). What’s more, in the remainder of the quarter the away side managed to reduce the gap to five (20th minute 51-46).


Alisia Jenkins opened the third with a lay-up, to which Süle added two more, before Zsófi was able to score for us (23rd minute 53-50). In the next couple of minutes we managed to build up a slightly bigger lead, but TF came back down to three until the middle of the quarter (25th minute 59-56). Neither side was able to outplay the other, the score was still pretty close, going into crunch time in the period (28th minute 67-63). That’s when Aleks hit a big three to beat the buzzer, and then it was also her who ran down the court off a pass from Debi for a lay-up, and then Tina closed the quarter with a close shot (30th minute 74-63).


Aleks got the final stage of the game going with a triple, to which Süle answered back likewise. Then Jeca grabbed an offensive rebound and hit one from the corner forcing TFSE’s next timeout (32nd minute 84-66). Aleks made a lay-up after the short pause to increase our lead to twenty for the first time. This meant that we were finally able to crack the resistance of TF, and decided the outcome of the game. The only remaining questions for the rest of the period were the difference and whether we would reach triple digits in scoring (37th minute 97-68). With a little less than two minutes remaining on the game clock Kmai hit a double from the corner getting us to 99, and then Debi made two of two free throws to make it triple digits (101-68). The game ended with a huge win for which we had to fight very hard for three quarters (40th minute 105-73).

Dávid Gáspár: Congratulation to TFSE-MTK, I consider them the surprise team of the season. They are doing a good job, you can see that every single person on the team is extremely motivated. We were preparing for the game knowing that, we knew that they are a great opponent, we knew how they play, but we woke up a little too late, and drove the game into a flow that favoured our opponents. We got easy baskets, which is only a matter of focus. It is an important segment of the game, in which we underperformed today. I was a player before, too, I know we played an important derby two days ago, and we couldn't get into rhythm that well, but it is unacceptable on this level. We have to fight hard even if the games keep coming every other day. Dispute that I want to congratulate my players! It is hard to get out of a slump like this, but we were able to do that today! I expect a better performance, and I know how hard they are working in practice, they give everything they've got on the court. I am sure we will play better! Tomorrow is a day off, and from Monday we are preparing for the upcoming challenges. I would like to say thank you to the fans for their support. They got us out of serious trouble today!

Debóra Dubei: The first half of the game wasn't going well for us. We tried to switch things up in the second half, we had to be more agressive on defense, that's where we made mistakes. We had to make those right, and that's how we were able to win by such a big margin. We are looking forward to some very important games in every competition, so we'll keep working. Congratulations to TF, they did well, kept up with us for a long time. I would like to thank the fans for the fantastic support I got from them today!

Bianka Magyar: It was so good to come back to this arena as a coach! I grew up here, this is where I was made to fall in love with basketball. This is why I have mixed feelings right now. We wanted to give Sopron a hard time, and be a worthy opponet for them. I think it is a dream of every coach to guide a team like this one day. We were able to keep up with them for 31 minutes, and tried to be dangerous. I don't think that Hungarian teams will play close games with them here. Congratulations to Sopron, but even more to my team! We gave all we got on court. It is good to be the coach of this team! Thank you to the fans for coming out in such big numbers and supporting us!

Chanise Jenkins: It was such a hard game! Sopron is a Euroleague team with more experience. We just got promoted to the first division. It wasn't easy, but we gave we got, and played a good game against them.