MUNICH (Germany) - The EuroLeague Women First Round swung into action on Wednesday night and produced plenty to love, including another superb advert for the competition as Casademont Zaragoza edged out Basket Landes. The dramatic encounter, which was played out in front of a packed Arena in Mont-de-Marsan, took top billing and there was also major noise made by Flammes Carolo Basket who took down Sopron Basket with a huge road win.
There are also still another three matchups to be played in Week 1 and these are scheduled for Thursday, October 8.
Key Storylines
Helena Pueyo puts on a show to help Zaragoza sneak past Landes;
Flammes Basket Carolo stun Sopron with huge road win after making it rain;
Valencia and reigning champions Praha collect comfortable road wins;
Girona sail past Gdynia to get off the mark.
Weekly Highs
Efficiency: Kayla Alexander (Valencia Basket Club) - 30 Points: Eleanna Christinaki (Olympiacos SFP) - 26 Rebounds: Kayla Alexander (Valencia Basket Club), Ciera Johnson (Olympiacos SFP) - 10 Assists: Multiple Players - 7 Steals: Coline Franchelin (Flammes Carolo Basket) - 5 Blocks: Multiple Players - 2
Pueyo shines for Zaragoza; Flammes too hot to handle
There was road joy for Casademont Zaragoza who had their nerves shredded but still came out on top with a 73-70 success at Basket Landes. Ahead by as many as 16 points in the contest, the visitors watched their commanding lead evaporate and that set up an absorbing last few minutes.
It was consecutive triples from Helena Pueyo and Veronika Vorackova with less than 90 seconds to spare that sealed the deal, the former starring with 23 points.
Flammes Carolo Basket caught fire from long-range to sink Sopron Basket in am 82-54 road win. They made 12 triples and were led by 15 points from Elizabeth Dixon, with both Maia Hirsch and Noemie Brochant netting 14 points. Sopron couldn't handle the slick ball movement of the visitors who took control early and didn't look back.
Reigning champions ZVVZ USK Praha tipped off their title defense in style as they put their foot on the gas in the second-half at Tango Bourges Basket. That put them on the road to a 77-57 victory at Le Prado, with the holders led by captain Valeriane Ayayi who fired 21 points.
Valencia Basket Club made light work of moving past Olympiacos SFP 97-74 as they made a statement of intent. The Spanish side were propelled by Kayla Alexander who did great work in the paint with 23 points and 10 boards, while Hind Ben Abdelkader impressed with 18 points. Eleanna Christinaki accrued a game-high 26 points in defeat.
Finally, Spar Girona came racing out of the blocks against VBW Gdynia and ended up taking a convincing 86-53 win. While their Polish opponents improved after the break, Girona eased to victory behind 14 points from Lithuanian young gun Juste Jocyte, 15 points and 7 assists from Klara Holm, plus 22 points and 8 rebounds from Mariam Coulibaly.
Results
Wednesday, October 8
Olympiacos SFP 74-97 Valencia Basket Club Sopron Basket 54-82 Flammes Carolo Basket Basket Landes 70-73 Casademont Zaragoza Spar Girona 86-53 VBW Gdynia Tango Bourges Basket 77-57 ZVVZ USK Praha
Thursday, October 9
DVTK HUNTHERM vs Fenerbahce Opet Galatasaray Cagdas Faktoring vs Beretta Famila Schio Umana Reyer Venezia vs CIMSA CBK Mersin
FIBA