Back on top of the group!

Sopron Basket - Basket Landes 76-54 (26-20, 16-8, 23-13, 11-13)
Sopron, 800 néző

Sopron Basket: January 12/6, Jovanovic 9/3, Williams 14/6, Brooks 11/6, Határ 8 Sub.: Fegyverneky 9, Varga A. 7/3, Gaye 4, Varga S. 2

Basket Landes: Paget 5/3, Turcinovic -, Tolo 9, Magarity 14, Chery 7/3 Sub.: Fauthoux 8/6, Cardenal -, Sida Abega 6/6, Roumy 5/3

Statistics

FGS: 32/67 48% ill. 21/60 35%

3-PTS: 8/21 38% ill. 7/21 33%

FTS: 4/7 57% ill. 5/7 71%

Rebounds: 38 (Gaye 9) ill. 38 (Magarity 12)

Assists: 15 (January 4) ill. 15

Steals: 7 ill. 6

Turnovers: 12 ill. 18

Faults: 12 ill. 17

EFF: 89 (Williams 16) ill. 54 (Magarity 18)

The game began with a quick bucket by Neca, to which Magarity answered back at the other end. Gabby and Bri also got themselves going, while Tolo scored for the French (3rd minute 8-4). Bri hit a triple after two successful free throws by Chery, and with a double by Jeca we had already scored more than twice as many as our opponents (5th minute 13-6). However, Chery scored again after that, that time from behind the three-point line, but so did Neca at the other end. It was raining triples, Fauthoux hit one from outside fresh off the bench, too, and with another made shot Landes reduced the gap to two points, but then came Gabby, and put an end to the guests’ comeback efforts with two well-placed shots (8th minute 22-16). Bri came up with to more points after the exchange of buckets between Zsófi and Magarity, and the last points in the quarter were also scored by the French (10th minute 26-20).


A bit under a minute and a half went by in the second period when Alíz made a triple, and then Chery scored the first points for the French at the other end (12th minute 29-22). After that Tolo answered back to a double by Aby likewise, and then Betti also managed to score, forcing Basket Landes to call a time-out by the middle of the quarter (15th minute 33-24). The short pause worked well for the guests, but we somehow couldn’t find our rhythm, and a minute and a half later Landes kept coming closer (33-26). Jeca made a free throw, to which Bri added a triple, increasing our lead to double digits for the first time in the game, forcing Julie Barennes to call her next time-out (37-26). Jeca increased our advantage even further with a triple, but then Tolo managed to score for the guests, too. The first half ended with Zsófi making an assist to Betti, who then completed a three-point play (20th minute 42-28).


Betti picked up where she left off before the break, and increased our lead further with a quick double, following which Neca made a lay-up, and with a triple by Jeca the difference grew over twenty points, forcing the next French time-out (22nd minute 49-28). Betti made another double after grabbing three consecutive offensive rebounds, while at the other end Tolo came up with a three-point play. Approaching the middle of the quarter Gabby put two points on the board, and then Alíz made a close double, while on the French side Magarity managed to score, and after a triple by Fauthoux it was time for Dávid Gáspár to call a time-out (27th minute 57-38). We pulled a bit further away from Landes with points by Gabby and Neca, but Abega hit a triple at just the right time, but at the other end Aby also managed to score, and the quarter came to a close with a mid-range double by Zsófi (30th minute 65-41).


Our captain put two more points on the board at the beginning of the final stage of the game, and then finished a three-point play. As a response, the French also presented a 5-0 run, and then came a short scoring drought, which made Dávid Gáspár call his team to the bench to talk things over (34th minute 70-46). Sára saved a ball after the brief pause, passed it to Alíz, who then made a nice shot, while Abega also managed to score at the other end for three points. Following a mid-range double by Sára came a three-minute scoring drought, which ended with a triple by Roumy, and our head coach decided to call his last time-out (39th minute 74-52). Following a double by Paget Jeca set the final score with a bit over one minute left on the game clock, which meant that we were bak on top of our group in Euroleague (40th minute 76-54).

Dávid Gáspár: I am really satisfied with the team! There were multiple periods in the game where we played with focus on offense, as well as on defense, executing the game plan well. The group is really balanced, so every victory has a high value. That i why I am happy and proud of the team, but we still have a long way to go. I wish our opponents the best of luck for the future!

Briann January: We were really focused tonight! It wasn't an easy game, Landes play a tough, and good basketball putting pressure on their opponents. Tonight's success is valuable! We worked well and functioned well as a team.

Julie Barennes: Sopron have a great team, against whom it is tough to win, especially on their home court. We tried everything, but it wasn't enough against such a great team tonight. We weren't strong enough. We'll keep working, and try to make use of the experiences gained tonight.

GRegan Magarity: Sopron is a great team, obviously, but I am really disappointed about the result. They were more aggressive, and played better than us tonight. We have to get better, and keep working hard.