Big win against Galatasaray

Sopron Basket - Galatasaray 73-44 (16-14, 28-12, 11-16, 18-2)
Sopron

Sopron Basket: January 8/6, Fegyverneky 12/6, Williams 12/3, Varga A. 6, Határ 16 Sub.: Jovanovic 8, Gaye 5, Czukor 4, Sitku 2, Varga S. -

Galatasaray: Bilgic 4, Plum 12/3, Gülcan 6, Davis 13, Krajisnik 4 Sub.: Basaran Turan 4, Yilmaz 1, Sahin -, Albayrak -

Statistics

FGS: 30/67 45% ill. 17/59 29%

3-PTS: 5/18 28% ill. 1/11 9%

FTS: 8/9 89% ill. 9/14 64%

Rebounds: 47 (Határ, Gaye, Williams, Varga A. 8-8) ill. 33 (Krajisnik 7)

Assists: 20 (Williams 7) ill. 10 (Bilgic 6)

Steals: 8 ill. 8

Turnovers: 14 ill. 18

Faults: 20 ill .12

EF: 99 (Határ 22) ill. 31 (Bilgic 10)

On the home side Jelena Brooks had to miss the game due to an illness, while for the Turkish Steinberga was absent due to an injury.


The game began with a double by Davis, and then Krajisnik hit one from inside, too. With another bucket by Davis the guests were ahead by six already (2nd minute 0-6). After that Betti drew a foul under the basket, and then converted both free throws awarded. Bri answered back to a bucket by Davis with one from mid-range, while at the other end Plum was also successful, and after her second lay-up made in a row, Dávid Gáspár called a time-out (5th minute 6-12). Zsófi hit a three off Gabby’s assist after the brief talk at the benches, and then with two points by Aby we reduced the gap to one. However, that was when Tina Krajisnik scored to push the Turkish further away from us again, but at the other end Bri was also successful, we tied the game with her shot from outside the arc, and then a double by Aby gave us the lead (10th minute 16-14)!

Neca oneped the second period with a double, to which Davis answered back right away, and then for the home side Zsófi was able to score as well. Basaran tied the game up, but then Betti scored two from just inside the three-point line. It was raining buckets on both ends of the court, and when we pulled away by five thanks to a lay-up by Gabby the guests called a time-out (14th minute 26-21). Our French-American player completed the and-one after the break, and then Betti beat the buzzer for two. With a double by Alíz we were already ahead by ten, forcing the Turkish to call their next time-out (31-21). After that, Betti made a lay-up first, and then Dalma ran down the court for a double with a steal. Then Betti was able to score again, following which she committed her second personal foul, after which Plum split a pair of shots at the free throw line (17th minute 37-22). In the next minutes Galatasaray were getting closer to us, forcing Dávid Gáspár to call his second time-out (39-26). Bri got Betti a chance she just couldn’t miss after the short pause, and then our point guard drained a triple to set the score for the half-time break (20th minute 44-26).

Davis scored two at the beginning of the second half, and then Gülcan converted two free throws. After that we also began scoring thanks to Betti, and following a bucket by Neca the Turkish called their next time-out (23rd minute 48-30). The guests came up with an 8-0 run after the time-out, so it was Dávid Gáspár’s turn to call his team to the bench (48-38). Zsófi put an end to the Turkish run with a double, and then Neca drew an unsportsmanlike foul and put both free throws in place. After that our team captain hit a triple, but so did Plum at the other end from the corner (28th minute 55-41). In the last minute Galatasaray came a bit closer with a free throw, but we were still in a good position going into the last period (30th minute 55-42).


Alíz managed to score with over a minute having passed in the final stage of the game, and after a shot by Betti from close in the guests called time again (32nd minute 59-42). Gabby made a triple from the corner after the time-out, increasing our lead to twenty, to which she added a double (64-42). There weren’t many shots made in this quarter, so we were still ahead in a confident lead, when there were only two minutes left in the game. That was when Dávid Gáspár sent Zsuzsi Sitku and Sára Varga on court, so they could actively take part in the game as well. Zsuzsi scored her first points in the game in the last minute setting the final score (40th minute 73-44).

Dávid Gáspár: It was a joy to see how the team was playing with a lot of energy and motivation. The girls were only a bit nervous, but it went away in a couple of minutes. We improved on defense, and were able to finish ozur offensive possessions with quick baskets on fast-break opportunities. We tried to play with a pace that we would like to maintain later on. The big margin of the victory is also joyful, and the way out Hungarian players performed tonight as well. Zsuzsi Sitku also scored her first points in Euroleague Women. Thank you to the fans for their support, we will need them badly on Saturday, I hope we will fill the arena!

Briann January: We were really focused! We have been playing with different line-ups in recent weeks, but we fought and worked together as a team. We gave one of our best performances tonight!

Efe Güven: We are past a really difficult journey. We were able to arrive here today only, due to weather conditions, and we left at 5 am. We don't want to find excuses, but it was hard to play like that on Euroleague Women level, which is a tough league. We started off well, but then we didn't have enough strength and played very badly on offense, which led to the decline of our defensive efficiency as well.

Tina Krajisnik: Sopron played an excellent game! We tried to keep up with them as long as we had the stamina. We played really badly on offense. Congratulations to Sopron, they gave an incredible performance! I wish them the best of luck in the future! I also have to say that today's game was really emotional for me, I spent many years playing here. I felt great to be back in the arena again, among all the familiar faces.