Big defensive effort results in victory at local derby

Sopron Basket - UNI Győr MÉLY-ÚT 67-43 (11-9, 21-8, 14-13, 21-13)
Sopron

Sopron Basket: Fegyverneky 6, Jovanovic 11/6, Williams 11/3, Varga A. 14/6, Határ 13 Sub.: Gaye 4, Varga S. 3/3, Kókai P. 2, Molnárova 2, Sitku 1

UNI Győr MÉLY-ÚT Ruff-Nagy 3, Weninger 6, Dombai 11/3, Török 13/3, Orosova - Sub.: Milkovics 4/3, Varga Zs. 4, Markovic 2, Révész -, Rozmán -, Baffy -

Statistics

FGS: 24/63 38% ill. 18/50 36%

3-PTS: 6/17 35% ill. 3/17 18%

FTS: 13/15 87% ill. 4/6 67%

Rebounds: 43 (Williams 9) ill. 25 (Orosova 6)

Assists: 19 (Williams 5) ill. 8 (Ruff-Nagy 3)

Steals: 6 ill. 6

Turnovers: 12 ill. 17

Faults: 16 ill. 16

Gabby got the game giong with two successful free throws, to which Weninger answered back with a lay-up. Following a bit of a dry spell we got ahead again thanks to a bucket by Neca, and then she also hit from outside (4th minute 7-2). Török was able to score for the guests as well, and then we had to wait a long time for the next made shot, which came from Ruff-Nagy off a free throw, while a minute later Török first tied the game up and then even got the lead for Győr, forcing Dávid Gáspár to call his first time-out in the game (8th minute 7-9). In the remainder of the quarter Aby and Gabby put two points on the board each, so we were ahead after the the first period (10th minute 11-9).

	Photo: Zsombor Tóth

Betti converted Gabby’s great assist into to points to begin the second period, and then our center also buried two free throws, while at the other end Dombai hit one from mid-range (13th minute 15-11). A bit later Nevena Markovic got an unsportsmanlike foul called on her, causing Dalma Iványi to call her team to the bench to talk things over. Neca split a pair of foul shots after the brief pause, and then Betti scored an easy double off Zsófi’s assist, while Győr stayed close to us thanks to a double by Weninger. Our scoring run stretched all the way to 9-2, when Zsófia Varga put two points on the board for the guests, and with a lay-up by Gabby the difference passed the double-digit mark (18th minute 26-15). The gap between the sides got even bigger by half-time, we had scored almost twice as many as Győr until the big break (20th minute 32-17).


Markovic scored two at the buzzer to begin the third quarter, while at the other end Alíz buried a triple. Then came an exchange of buckets between Dombai and Betti with the former putting two on the scoreboard, while the latter adding three to her tally on a three-point play, and then the young Győr player was successful again (24th minute 38-24). In the next few minutes both sides played with more mistakes, but we were still going for a twenty-point advantage, however, Dombai scored at the other end (27th minute 42-26). Győr was unable to come any closer to us by the end of the period, so we went into the last quarter in possession of a comfortable lead (30th minute 46-30).


Sára got the final stage of the game going with a triple, and then Alíz also hit one from behind the arc forcing Győr’s next time-out (32nd minute 52-30). Weninger made one from mid-range after the brief pause, to which Betti answered back with two successful free throws, and then Gabby went in for a lay-up. In the middle of the quarter Török hit one from outside at the buzzer, and then Patrícia Kókai beat her defender very nicely for a lay-up (37th minute 62-37). In the final minutes Laura Molnárová also scored her first points in the game, while after Zsuzsi’s free throw we could say that every single player who came on court in the game for us managed to contribute to the victory at the local derby in points as well (40th minute 67-43).

Dávid Gáspár: It was a well-paced game! There were tough clashes, the prestige could be felt on both sides. It was a low-scoring game, which was a result of defense, and also both sides were a bit out of focus on offense. Looking at our own performance we came up with a good defensive effort, however, we passed on our chances multiple times on offense. It is partly understandable, because we are in a tough series of games, where this can sometimes happen, but I would rather let that affect our offense and still have such a great defensiver performance.

Dalma Iványi: Congratulations to Sopron! It was a good game, both sides gave their all. It was an important goal for us to be able to catch Sopron's rhythm and to play a good game against them. We fought really hard on defense, and while we could keep up with them in terms of focus and physicality, we could match them. We weren't sharp enough on offense, we weren't lucky either, and Sopron took advantage of all of our weaker periods. However, we were unable to do that against them. Hopefully, with the arrival of Mompremier we can make steps forward in every aspect.

Bernadett Határ: Congratulations to Győr for making us work hard for the win. We were more tired physically and mentally tonight, but were still able to play a good game with great defense. We'll keep going, on to prepare for Schio!

Ágnes Török: We are struggling with problems in many positions, but were trying to make the most of tonight's game. There were some positive signs on defense, we were able to hold the in-form Sopron to a low scoring. The mistakes rather showed on offense. We'll try to fix them later on.