ISTANBUL (Turkey) - Sopron Basket have been crowned EuroLeague Women champions for the first time after downing hosts Fenerbahce Safiport 60-55 in front of 9,500 fans in Istanbul.

Coping with a red-hot atmosphere,  Sopron defied all the predictions to complete the greatest result in their history and become the first Hungarian team to lay claim on the title.

Turning point: While there were plenty of moments down the stretch when Sopron continually made plays to keep their noses in front, this was all about a nightmare first period from Fenerbahce Safiport. The home team made just 2 of their first 15 field goal attempts and were left chasing the game. 

Game hero(es): While it was a huge team effort, Gabby Williams was outstanding for Sopron Basket and her defense shut down the combination of Fenerbahce danger duo Kayla McBride and Alina Iagupova. Williams collected 4 steals and also racked up 16 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.  And, what about 37-year-old Sopron captain Zsofia Fegyverneky? She chipped in with 12 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and sunk the free-throw that sealed the deal in the last seconds.

Stats Don't Lie: This was all about Fenerbahce's dismal shooting performance, illustrated by the fact that they had 19 points at half-time. Kayla McBride was 1 of 10 and Alina Iagupova was 4 of 18. 

Bottom line: Fenerbahce needed a good start to get any nerves out of their system and they suffered the opposite. It was a catastrophic opening. They failed to make the most of the best ever opportunity they might ever have to finally end the long trophy drought and take their maiden title.

Instead, the patience, teamwork, defense and veteran know-how of Sopron Basket got it done. They were so, so impressive. Their consistency and composure was epic in a tough atmosphere. It's a day that no one connected to Sopron will ever forget and it's tough for anybody to argue against them having their moment after the way they applied themselves.

"What can I say? We came to Istanbul and won EuroLeague Women. Before this weekend, we worked a lot and set that goal. To achieve it and live with this feeling is unebelievable and it is hard to explain. We came here and we kept Fenerbahce under 60 points. We played a hell of a defense." Sopron Basket head coach, David Gaspar.

"I just brought as much energy as I could. My teammates also fed off that. Our good start in keeping the crowd as quiet as we could was the key. It feels amazing and that is because we were so focused in every single thing that we did." Sopron Basket wing and MVP, Gabby Williams.

"This was an unfortunate game for us. I think we started really slow offensively even if our defense was not that bad. We couldn't hit a shot. Overall, the hardest to deal with is that we played our best all year and today we were not at our best - which we had to be if we wanted to win it. " - Fenerbahce Safiport center, Elizabeth Williams

"First of all, congratulations to Sopron. They did a great job. They played with more energy than us. In the most important moment we missed many easy options. We did not play the basketball we normally have with spacing and moving the ball. Sopron were able to stop us too much." - Fenerbahce Safiport head coach, Victor Lapena

FIBA