FIBA EuroCup Women
London Lions 90-79 Roche Vendee (19-13, 43-43, 70-57)
(Lions – Winterburn 19, Herbert-Harrigan 18, Battle 14, Snytsina 14; Roche – Suarez 17, Geiselsoder 14, Lewis 13, Pouye 13)
London Lions secured their first win of the FIBA EuroCup Women season, by defeating French side Roche Vendee at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre and now have an even record of 1-1, following last week’s defeat in France at the hands of Villeneuve d’ Ascq.
Both teams came out the blocks full of energy and matched each other’s quick tempo. To start the match Lions showed more of that on the defensive end, securing seven steals in the first quarter alone. Their tough D helped them score easy baskets on the fast break, with Taylor Murray being a great example of that as she benefited from Ty Battle’s steal, putting her team up 11-6.
The game’s fast pace helped the British side on the defensive end, but harmed them going forwards on certain occasions, when rushed offences led to bad shot choices. An example of that was the final possession of the first period where London had the whole shot clock for themselves, but decided to shoot with 13 seconds left, allowing Roche to score a lay-up on the transition and close the gap to six points at the end of the first 10 minutes (19-13).
The second quarter saw much of the same energy and quick tempo, but also saw a lot more made shots, particularly for the French side – who scored a game high 30 points in this period alone. Led by Ana Suarez – who shot 3/3 from behind the arc – Vendee closed the gap to just one point with three minutes left (38-37).
The visitors then managed to get their noses in front for the first time in the match (38-39), after Oceanie Monpierre made both her free throws, with just over two minutes left until half time. The Londoners however quickly regained the lead after a 5-0 run by their top scorer in the first half Katsiaryna Snytsina, who made a 3-pointer and a lay-up to put her team up 43-41, before Roche scored with just a few seconds left to tie the game at 43 apiece in a very even first half.
From the beginning of the second half, Lions made their intentions clear and built up a small lead, by using their quick pace and exploiting Roche’s slowness on the defensive transition. The British side managed to lead by double digits for the first time in the game when their top scorer Holly Winterburn nailed a 3-pointer (68-56).
The 22-year-old was not only the game’s top scorer with 19 points, but also the one with the most assists (nine) and with the highest efficiency (20). The GB international led her team to their best quarter of the match, with a score of 27-14, putting them up by 13 going into the fourth.
The home crowd in attendance got to witness one of basketball’s cheekiest plays in the middle of the fourth quarter, as Suarez bounced the ball off Murray’s back off the inbound, in order to make the wide open lay-up. Despite her quick thinking and great numbers throughout the game, the Spaniard could not lead her team to victory, as the margin at the end of the third was enough for London to control the final period.
Vendee tried their best to come back into the game with surges here and there, but were unable to bring the gap down to below eight points in the final 10 minutes and Lions secured their first win of the EuroCup season – made all the sweeter as it was in front of their loyal fans.
Lions will travel to Italy next week for Gameday 3 on Wednesday, November 9, to play against Dinamo Sassari, before returning back to the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre in two weeks’ time (November 17), to face off against Villeneuve-d’Ascq, who beat them so convincingly in France last week.
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