Staying on winning ways ahead of second Euroelague bubble

Sopron Basket - PEAC-Pécs 88-53 (15-10, 32-14, 21-10, 20-19)
Sopron

Sopron Basket: January 11/6, Varga S. 3/3, Williams 13, Brooks 9/3, Krajisnik 12 Sub.: Walker 14/12, Határ 10, Czukor 7/3, Fegyverneky 5/3, Varga A. 4

PEAC-Pécs: Szűcs R. 7/3, Wentzel 7/3, Strautmane 10/6, Kiss V. 5/3, Andusic 8 Sub.: Sánta 6/6, Popovic 4, Szűcs L. 3/3, Kaposi 3, Sarok -, Hegedűs -

Statistics

FGS: 34/61 56% ill. 19/56 34%

3-PTS: 10/28 36% ill. 7/24 29%

FTS: 10/11 91% ill. 8/12 67%

Rebounds: 38 (Krajisnik 12) ill. 28 (Kaposi 6)

Assists: 24 (Varga A., Williams 5-5) ill. 7

Steals: 8 ill. 6

Turnovers: 10 ill. 16

Faults: 16 ill. 16

	Photo: Zsombor Tóth

Briann got the game going with a triple, to which Gabby added two points. After that Tina first made a lay-up, followed by a mid-range double, forcing Ferenc Csirke to call a time-out (4th minute 9-0). After five minutes of play Pécs were abel to get their first basket by Tijana Andusic, to which Tina answered back at the other end right away. The guests stayed on the roll, and when there were only four points left from our double-digit advantage from earlier Dávid Gáspár decided to call a time-out (13-9). Kaposi made a free throw after the short pause, and the first quarter came to an end with a buzzer-beating lay-up by Betti (10th minute 15-10).

Sánta made a lay-up at the beginning of the second period, while at the other end briann came up with a three-point play. Andusic copied Briann’s actions at the other end, and then Megan buried a triple (12th minute 21-15). It was raining threes, we made four in just a few minutes, while Pécs managed to make one as well, which forced the next Pécs time-out (15th minute 33-18). Briann put an end to the three-point shoot-out by scoring from just inside the line after the brief talk, and then Jeca kept us going with three consecutive free throws growing our lead to twenty points. We were already on a 19-3 run in the second quarter, when Wentzel managed to score again for the guests, and at the other end Jeca came up with a three-point play (18th minute 43-20). Paula Strautmane kept the away side going with four quick points, but th final basket of the half was made by Tina, who had tallied ten points and ten rebounds by half-time already (20th minute 47-24).

Jeca made a triple at the beginning of the third period, and then Gabby put three more points on the board. Andusic made a foul shot for the guests, while Betti and Kiss both got their fourth fouls called on them (23rd minute 53-25). In the next few minutes we came up with a 10-0 run, which was ended with a triple by Sánta (28th minute 63-28). Sára and Strautmane both made triples, then Gabby scored twice from the foul line, and the quarter was ended with a double by Réka Szűcs (30th minute 68-34).

The final stage of the game began with a lay-up by Betti, to which Andusic answered back likewise at other end. Réka Szűcs made a triple following a lay-up by Megan, to which Dalma added another shot from outside (33rd minute 75-39). In the next few minutes the teams were balanced on the court, but Dávid Gáspár thought he needed to call a time-out (37th minute 81-45). Wentzel made a triple after the brief talk, to which Betti answered back with a double. Luca Szűcs also made a three for Pécs, but so did Megan at the other end, then the final score was set by Alíz (40th minute 88-53).

Dávid Gáspár: Thank you for the well-wishes and the support! We wish Pécs the best of luck to reach their goals! The team played well, we managed to play in a good rhythm. There were some periods, when we made mistakes on defense, which would be punished twice as hard next week. I hope that we can improve on these, and play more perfectly! All in all, congratulations to my team for their performance!

Gabby Williams: It looked way better tonight than it did on Tuesday! We prepared well, communicated well, even on defense. It's always good to see multiple players get to double digit scoring.

Ferenc Csirke: Congratulations to Sopron! There is not much to say about this game, the difference between the sides showed. It was our fifth game within 14 days, so we couldn't compete with a stronger opponent. However, there were some positives tonight as well, we have to build on them, for the upcoming games. I wish Sopron the best of luck for next week, I really hope that they will make it past the Euroleague bubble.

Paula Strautmane: We did everything we could tonight, but this is a different level team. We have to learn from this game, make use of it for the future, and we will hopefully see them in the playoffs.