Big third quarter gives us dominant victory over Szekszárd

Atomerőmű-KSC Szekszárd - Sopron Basket 49-74 (12-17, 14-21, 3-20, 20-16)
Szekszárd

Atomerőmű-KSC Szekszárd: Studer Á. -, Friskovec 12/12, Miklós M. 5/3, Goree 12/6, Krnjic 2 Cs.: Bálint R. 5/3, Miklós M. 5/3, McCall 4, Theodorean 3/3, Zele D. 1

Sopron Basket: January 6, Varga S. 6/3, Williams 14/6, Brooks 7/3, Krajisnik 7 Cs.: Walker 21/15, Czukor D. 5/3, Fegyverneky 4, Határ 4, Varga A. -

Statistics

2/PTS: 9/31 29% ill. 18/39 46%

3-PTS: 9/24 38% ill. 10/20 50%

FTS: 4/6 67% ill. 8/10 80%

Rebounds: 35 (McCall 10) ill. 39 (Krajisnik 7)

Assists: 15 (Studer Á. 11) ill. 14 (Williams 4)

Steals: 8 ill. 13

Turnovers: 21 ill. 14

Faults: 18 ill. 13

VAL: 63 (McCall 16) ill. 112 (Walker 25)

Jeca got the game going with a lay-up, to which Gabby added a free throw. After that Krnjic scored the first points for the home side. Then Gabby buried a triple, but so did Goree at the other end (3rd minute 5-6). Szekszárd were able to keep up with us at the beginning, but we still managed to stay on top (7-11). The home side cut their deficit in half, and it remained so for a while, but then Gabby hit a huge triple to stretch our lead further (10th minute 12-17).


Zsófi opened the second period with one of her signature mid-range jumpers, to which Tina added a double, while at the other end Miklós hit one from downtown (12th minute 15-21). Gabby came up with a three-point play, and then Goree scored a long double. Megan made an open three to increase our lead to double digits, and when she drained another one Zeljko Djokic called his team to the bench for a time-out (16th minute 17-30). Our American player hit one more from beyond the arc after the short pause, and then Gereben made two free throws. However, so did Briann for us. Lívia Gereben hit one more for Szekszárd from mid-range, forcing Dávid Gáspár to call his team to the bench to talk things over (21-35). The hosts managed to cut even further into their deficit by half-time, but we were still enjoying a double-digit lead (20th minute 26-38).


The second half began with a mid-range double by Gabby, to which Megan added a lay-up from under the rim (23rd minute 26-42). Megan wouldn’t back down, she put five more points on the board, then Jeca also made a lay-up, forcing the hosts’ next time-out, who were still unable to score in the quarter (26-49). Friskovec made her first basket for three poins at the best time from Szekszárd’s point of view, but Megan answered back to it likewise (27th minute 29-52). We put four more in-between, forcing head coach Zeljko Djokic to call his final time-out in the game, after which Briann made the final basket for the period (30th minute 29-58).


Dalma got the final stage of the game going with a nice floater, to which Betti added an easy lay-up. After that Friskovec hit one from outside, and so did Dalma from the corner (34th minute 32-65). Friskovec made her fourth triple in the game, which forced head coach Dávid Gáspár to call his next time-out (35th minute 38-67). In the last few minutes Szekszárd did everything to make the scoreline look better, but we kept our rhythm up and held them off in a game where everyone who got a chance to play contributed to the final score in points after Sára made two free throws. McCall went in for a lay-up after that, but then Sára drew another foul leading her to the foul line, where she split a pair of shots to set the final score (40th minute 49-74).

Dávid Gáspár: I am happy about the win! Winning a game on the road against Szekszárd by almost thirty points is a great performance. I am proud of the team! At the end of the second quarter we had a short period where we lacked focus, and lost multiple defensive rebounds. We came out for the third quarter with the necessary focus and toughness, conceded only three points, which decided the game. Hats off to my players one more time, we are preparing for Saturday's game from now on!

Megan Walker: Whenever we play here it is always a physical battle. We came out focused and managed to keep that up throughout the entire game. I felt good from long range tonight, so my teammates tried to get me open shots which I could then knock down. I am proud of Betti today, she played well under pressure.