MUNICH (Germany) - There were celebrations for Zabiny Brno and Kibirkstis-TOKS as they racked up double-digit victories in their EuroLeague Women Qualifiers first-leg games to give themselves a big chance of making the main phase of the competition.
There was also an intense tussle between AZS UMCS Lublin and DVTK HUNTHERM, with the former shading matters by just 3 points.
Some 24 hours earlier on Wednesday night, there were impressive road wins for both Galatasaray Cagdas Faktoring and Umana Reyer Venezia who will now be favorites to progress. The return games for all ties will take place on either Wednesday 24 or Thursday September 25 next week.
Brno blast past Zaragoza to put one foot in the First Round
A lightning start paved the way for Zabiny Brno to record a stunning 81-60 success in their opening clash against Casademont Zaragoza. A stellar 21-0 run in the first half took the game away from their visitors as the returning Laura Juskaite and new signing Amanda Zahui took over.
The former finished with an all-action 21 points, 7 rebounds and 4 steals, with Zahui adding a super efficient 16 points and 6 rebounds. It could have been even worse for Zaragoza who had trailed by as many as many as 36 points at one stage in the contest.
Class of Kamile sparkles as Kibirkstis beat Bourges
Veteran Lithuanian guard Kamile Nacickaite Van Der Horst rolled back the years with a brilliant performance to inspire Kibirkstis-TOKS to an eye-catching 75-64 home victory against Tango Bourges Basket. She was on fire from downtown and sunk six of nine from long-range on her way to a game-high 25 points.
It provides the Lithuanian club with a great opportunity to progress if they can get the job done at Le Prado in the return game. However they will need to slow down Kariata Diaby who had 16 points and 9 rebounds in defeat.
Lublin celebrate squeezing out DVTK
The tie between AZS UMCS Lublin and DVTK HUNTHERM looks perfectly poised for more drama in the next meeting after the Polish club recorded a tough 70-67 home floor success.
With four different players hitting double-digits for each team, it proved to be an entertaining clash as the hosts got it down down the stretch. Destiny Slocum led Lublin with 17 points, while Spanish center Paula Ginzo did the business on debut with 15 points for DVTK.
Galatasaray fire a warning shot as Juhasz shines
Even if they were still missing some of their big-hitters, Galatasaray proved far too strong for ACS Sepsi-SIC as they came away from Romania with a dominant 81-48 triumph. The ball movement and size of the visitors caused headaches from the tip and once they raced into a 26-11 advantage after the first period, they were out of sight.
Galatasaray sent a strong message that if they advance as expected, they could be ready to make some Regular Season noise. Center Dorka Juhasz terrorized the home defense and finished with a standout contribution of 15 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists, while teammate Awak Kuier excelled with 12 points, 10 boards and 4 blocks
Reyer light it up late in Belgrade
Umana Reyer Venezia were on the ropes early and down by double-digits at KKZ Crvena Zvezda but recovered to take an impressive 79-71 victory in the Serbian capital. The turnaround was completed when they posted a fabulous 27-16 final quarter that has put them in a strong position to finish the job on home soil.
A near double-double of 16 points and 9 boards from Steph Mavunga was key - as was a super smart 15 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists from frontcourt partner Lorela Cubaj. The defeat was tough to take for home star Yvonne Anderson who delivered against expectation with a superb 20 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists.
FIBA