Crucial victory in Szekszárd

Atomerőmű KSC Szekszárd - Sopron Basket 59-65 (18-13, 18-22, 11-12, 12-18)
Szekszárd

Atomerőmű-KSC Szekszárd: Dojkic 10/3, Miklós M. 3, Marshall 10, McCall 11/6, Krnjic 12 Sub.: Studer Á. 9/3, Ruzickova 4, Theodoerán -, Bálint R. -

Sopron Basket: January 9/3, Czukor 2, Crvendakic 22/3, Brooks 14/6, Határ 4 Sub.: Dupree 7, Jovanovic 4, Varga K. 3/3, Fegyverneky -, Dubei -

Stats

2-PTS: 20/47 43% ill. 21/43 49%

3-PTS: 4/15 27% ill. 5/13 39%

FTS: 7/12 58% ill. 8/13 62%

Rebounds: 36 (McCall 11) ill. 38 (Határ 10)

Assists: 12 (Dojkic 4) ill. 11

Steals: 6 ill. 6

Turnovers: 11 ill. 14

Faults: 22 ill. 16

IBM: 75 (Krnjic, McCall 19-19) ill. 94 (Crvendakic 31)


The first couple of minutes were a little slow, neither side was able to crack the opposition’s defense, but fortunately, Jeca got a rebound and ran down the court with it for our first basket (3rd minute 0-2). After that Erica McCall hit a triple for the hosts, to which Briann answered back likewise. The teams were neck and neck in the first quarter, whatever we did Szekszárd had an answer to it. What’s more, they even managed to get into a five-point lead forcing our first time-out in the game (7th minute 13-8). Candice hit one from just inside the three-point line go get a little closer to Szekszárd after the short pause, but then Marshall made two free throws. Then Jeca made a double, to which Studer answered back with a triple from way outside beating the buzzer and giving the home side a five-point advantage after the first period (10th minute 18-13).


Krnjic opened the second with a lay-up, to which Dalma answered back from mid-range, and then Studer made a basket to pull further away. That’s when we shook it off and scored four points ion a row to get back to a three-point deficit, but Ruzickova was able to put an end to our comeback effort with a double (13th minute 24-19). Jeca made a lay-up after that, followed by a split pair of free throws by Dojkic and Aleks, and when Briann made a jumper from mid-range we finally caught up with the hosts (25-25). Marshall got the hosts on the front foot again with a double, to which Miklós added one of three shots from the line, while Betti missed both free throws at the other end. Then came Kami with a big three off an assist by Candice that tied the game back up again forcing coach Djokic to call a time-out (17th minute 28-28). Marshall and McCall scored four quick points after the short break, and then it was time for our next time-out. Betti made one from close in to cut our deficit in half, and then Studer and Aleks exchanged buckets. It was also our Serbian star who buried a huge triple to get us back to being down by a single point going into the half-time break (20th minute 36-35).


Krnjic and Tina exchanged baskets to begin the second half, to which Aleks added a four consecutive points giving us the lead after a long time forcing a time-out for Szekszárd (23rd minute 38-41). Marshall beat the buzzer for two after the break, and then McCall hit one from behind the arc to regain the lead for Szekszárd. After a mid-range jumper by Dojkic it was Dávid Gáspár’s turn to call his team to the bench for a time-out again (45-41). Betti converted both free throws awarded into points after the short pause, and then Aleks tied the game up from the base-line again. The quarter ended with Studer and Candice both making doubles which meant that the game was tied before the fourth period (30th minute 47-47).


Candice got the final stage of the game going with a mid-range jumper, to which Jeca added a huge demoralizing triple to force Zeljko Djokic’s next time-out (32nd minute 47-52). Dojkic made two of three free throws after the pause, to which Briann answered back with a lay-up, and then Aleks added another one before Krnjic made a double for the home side (35th minute 51-56). With a minute left in the game we were still ahead by seven points, which made the home side call their next time-out (54-61). Szekszárd tried everything they could come up with to turn the game their way, but we managed to hold them of and got a crucial victory away from home (40th minute 59-65).

Dávid Gáspár: We managed to get a road win on an extremely tough court! Congratulations to both teams, it was a great game! It was a tough game, with many tactical moves, both teams deserve the praise! This was our 9th game of the month, and the victory is even more valuable in the light of that. I am very happy and proud of my players for coming back into the game so nicely, because we can say that in most parts of the game we were trailing. It is a great joy for me to finally be able to win a game on this court. We are thankful for the support of our fans, they created a fantastic atmosphere, and they played a big part in our comeback! They were fantastic!

Aleksandra Crvendakic: We knew that we could expect a very hard game on the home court of Szekszárd who play a very tough defenseand we had to focus and do our job from start to finish. I am proud of the team, we fought for 40 minutes, and followed coach's orders. Our fans were awesome too!