Two for two in three days

Sopron

Sopron Basket: January 22/15, Pfeiffer 5/3, Walker 21/6, Williams 16/3, Brooks 17/3 Cs.: Czukor 3/3, Fegyverneky 2, Kocsis F. -

ELTE BEAC Újbuda: Koch 7/3, Small 14/3, Boros 9/3, Mérész 6, Dusanic 15/3 Cs.: Zsámár 2, Juhész A. 2, Dénes -

Statisztika

FGS: 33/74 45% ill. 23/65 35%

3-PTS: 10/27 37% ill. 4/12 33%

FTS: 10/10 100% ill. 5/6 83%

Rebounds: 43 (Brooks 15) ill. 38 (Small 7)

Assists: 24 (January, Williams 6-6) ill. 12 (Small 4)

Steals: 13 (January 5) ill. 5

Turnovers: 9 ill. 18

Faults: 17 ill. 18

Mérész answered back to Briann’s triple with a double, and then Gabby hit a triple from the corner as well (6-2). Dusanic made a lay-up, then Megan converted two free throws, while at the other end Small hit one from behind the arc. The Serbian player for the away side was also successful from outside, tying the game up for BEAC, what’s more, with the basket by Dóra Koch they even took over the lead (4th minute 10-13). It was a tight game, both sides were delivering offensively, but we were always a step ahead (21-17). However, we couldn’t pull further away, BEAC tied the game up very quickly, forcing Dávid Gáspár to call a time-out (7th minute 21-21). The flow of the game didn’t change in the remainder of the quarter either, which meant that we were going into the short break in possession of a slight advantage (10th minute 27-23).

Zsámár made a double at the beginning of the second period, to which Briann answered back with a lay-up. Virág made a three giving us some room to breath, and when Briann went in for a lay-up it was Judit Balogh’s turn to call a time-out (15th minute 34-25). After the short tactical break we increased our lead to double digits, and we managed to keep that momentum going until the end of the half (20th minute 45-32).

Jeca converted Zsófi’s assist into two points, and then she made another shot. Jeca’s next double was followed by Zsófi’s successful shot, which put us into an 8-0 run already (23rd minute 53-32). We were at 12 points scored by the middle of the quarter, while BEAc were unable to make a single shot, forcing Judit Balogh’s next time-out (25th minute 57-32). Smallput an end to our 19-0 run with a double, and then Gabby also made a shot. The guests couldn’t cope with our Euroleague rotation in this quarter, so we went into the final quarter in possession of a confident lead (30th minute 73-38).

Juhász made a two under the rim at the beginning of the final stage of the game, to which Briann answered back with two long shots at the other end. Small’s double was followed by a similar shot from Jeca, and after Koch’s double it was time for a home time-out (35th minute 82-44). BEAc started a scoring run after the brief pause, which was ended by Gabby’s lay-up (38th minute 84-52). The team from the capital found their rhythm well in the closing minutes, but we came away with a nice win anyway (40th minute 86-55).



Dávid Gáspár: We couldn't stop BEAC on offense, especially in the first quarter, we conceded points from many situations that we talked about before, and practiced a lot. That is a praise on their game, and the reasons for these baskets were also our mistakes in focus. In the second and third quarters we paid a lot more attention on our tasks on defense, and that resulted in a way better rhythm on offense. We were able to create a bigger advantage. The biggest conclusion has to be that the bubble is near, and we are going to play against three opponents, , who will ruthlessly take advantage of these mistakes. We have to use every day, every practice and game to get ready for these opponents. We didn't take that chance in the first quarter tonight, which we cannot afford. BEAc are also struggling with a lot of difficulties because of the epidemic, I wish them the best of luck for the future!

Briann January: We have to deal with games better than we did in the first half. We have to be tough and focused in every game, because that's what we can expect from our opponents!

Judit Balogh: Just like Sopron, we also played our last game together a long time ago. We were missing some people today as well, but we won't cry about it, we will play with whoever is eligible. We played without a point guard today, but the others did a great job filling in. We fought Sopron like a brave little pig. We kept up with them for an entire half. It was proved that bravery and will are the two most important virtues! We played our best game this season tonight. It was also proved that less can sometimes be more. Everyone who was here tonight played with confidence, sometimes even well, which is also not something to miss.

Leshia Small: We did a good job! We focused on working well as a team, and fight the worse periods, keep going forward. We did a good job!