Confident win ahead of first Euroleague Women clash

Sopron Basket - Vasas Akadémia 78-44 (24-12, 16-12, 19-13, 19-7)
Sopron

Sopron Basket: Fegyverneky 8, Sykes 13, Brooks 16, Sitku 2, Stankovic 6 Sub.: Kunek 16/9, Magbegor 8, Czukor 7/3, Böröndy 2, Varga A. -, Völgyi -

Vasas Akadémia: Papp 7/3, Tóth O. 8, Szerencsés 3, Budácsik 3/3, Nunn - Sub.: Smailbegovic 9/3, Salamon 8, Pardee 6/6, Van Rijs L. 6, Madár -, Van Rijs D. -,

Statistics

FGS: 32/57 56% ill. 14/47 30%

3-PTS: 4/16 25% ill. 5/20 25%

FTS: 10/12 83% ill. 11/20 55%

Rebounds: 35 (Brooks, Stankovic 7-7) ill. 26 (Budácsik 4)

Assists: 21 (Fegyverneky 6) ill. 7 (Tóth O. 3)

Steals: 15 (Brooks 4) ill. 11 (Papp 4)

Turnovers: 21 ill. 27

Faults: 18 ill. 16

	Photo: Tóth Zsombor

Jeca opened the game with two quick buckets, and a bit later Brittney made two free throws (2nd minute 6-0). After that Papp began scoring for Vasas as well, while at the other end Dragana made a close shot, and following two more successful attempts by Zsófi and Brittney the difference reached the double-digit mark, forcing Milos Pavlovic to call a time-out (4th minute 12-2). In the next few minutes Vasas cut into their deficit with a 10-6 run, and then it was Dávid Gáspár’S turn to call a time-out (8th minute 18-10). In the remainder of the quarter we allowed Vasas only on ebasket, while making three, and with a bucket by Kiwi after a steal we were up by double digits again by the end of the quarter (10th minute 24-12).


Ezi made a double at the beginning of the second period, to which Smailbegovic answered back with one successful free throw. The game was balanced in this period, both teams were playing with a lot of mistakes, and Dávid Gáspár thought that he had seen enough of that in the middle of the quarter, and decided to call a time-out (15th minute 30-18). Jeca came up with two free throws, to which Brittney added a three-point play, and when Jeca managed to score again, Milos Pavlovic also called his team to the bench to talk things over (18th minute 37-20). Following the short break Vasas came a bit closer to us, but we were still in possession of a big advantage in the big break (20th minute 40-24).


Jeca went in for a lay-up after a steal at the beginning of the third period, and then Pardee hit a triple at the other end, to which she also added a three-point play, forcing Dávid Gáspár to call a time-out (23rd minute 44-30). Following a close shot by Zsófi came an exchange of triples between Budácsik and Alice, and then our Australian player also made a mid-range double. We kept delivering on offense, and Brittney’s made double in the middle of the quarter meant that we were already up by twenty (26th minute 53-33). Jeca and Zsófi even managed to top that, so Vasas had to call time again, and since the difference didn’t change in the remainder of the quarter afterwards, we went into the last ten minutes with a 22-point advantage (30th minute 59-37).


Dalma hit one from mid-range at the beginning of the final stage of the game, and then Szerencsés also made a basket. After that Alice was successful from outside, and with a bucket by Dragana the difference was getting close to the thirty-point mark, which it reached with an open three by Dalma, forcing Milos Pavlovic to call another time-out (34th minute 69-39). We wouldn’t slow down after the brief talk at the benches either, and increased our lead even further with two more baskets, but with four minutes left on the game clock Pardee managed to score again, and Dávid Gáspár called his first time-out in the half (73-41). We wouldn’t slow down in the remainder either, and came away with an overall confident win ahead of next week’s Euroleague Women tip-off (40th minute 78-44).

Dávid Gáspár: I am happy that our game has improved compared to previous games. It is not stabilized yet, but still better. It is the result of our day-to-day work effort. e would like to keep going on that path. There were many turnovers in the game, which didn't mainly come as a result of Vasas's defense, but from badly executed passes. The case was similar in that regard for both teams. However, I would like to focus on the positives. We had better offensive possessions, and the way we did in the previous game, we were able to hold a strong defensive effort. We will keep training, working and preparing for the next opponent!

Alice Kunek: Vasas was a tough opponent, they deserve the praise. We focused on defense, and did well in that regard.

Milos Pavlovic: It was a difficult game, Sopron are a better team. We didn't give our best today, what we missed the most was our strength, the fast-breaks. The other thing was the many turnovers, especially under the basket. Sopron made a lot of effort to force mistakes from us. We gave them the chance for many open shots, which they took. Congratulations to them!

Szerencsés Tamara: Sopron played really well, and took advantage of all of our mistakes. We are sorry we couldn't execute what we had talked about in practice, and were unable to get into the right focus.