Besiktas lean towards Final after late show; London edge out comeback queens Reyer

MUNICH (Germany) - A late surge by Besiktas means they're now in touching distance of a first Final after beating Spar Girona, while London Lions overcame Umana Reyer Venice in a thriller 24 hours earlier.

All four clubs in this year's Semi-Finals are in the race to be crowned EuroCup Women champions for the first time.

Besiktas do the business to hand Girona first loss

Besiktas showed they are a team on a mission right now after they did the business on their home floor with a super last quarter to take an 81-60 triumph against Spar Girona. The hosts opened up in a high gear and found some excellent early rhythm and while the visitors fought back, Besiktas caught fire for a second time in the last 10 minutes.

They outscored their rivals 25-7 to jump onto the front foot and establish a handy lead to take to Spain for next week's second leg encounter. It also meant a first defeat of the season in the competition for Girona as well, with Besiktas able to shine through the one-two punch of guard Dana Evans and center Yueru Li. The former excelled with 27 points and 6 assists, while Li accumulated 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Reyer grab momentum from London in epic Semi-Finals showdown

Umana Reyer Venice may have ultimately lost on their home floor but they were the ones celebrating after the final buzzer had sounded after they dug themselves out of a deep hole against London Lions who took a 69-68 victory. 

A nightmare second quarter had left Reyer seriously on the ropes, but the home team showed tremendous heart to come back. It was certainly a spectacular second period for Lions who had Temi Fagbenle absolutely cooking against her former club as they outscored the hosts 20-3, with the forward moving on to 18 points.

They were unstoppable and it was with less than 20 seconds left in the half that the home side finally hit a triple to spare the potential blushes of a possible scoreless period. It proved to be a big shot to end the drought, since it gave Venice a spark and some momentum.

They were a different team when they re-emerged from the locker room and came roaring back from that second quarter humbling and they almost overhauled London in the closing stages of the game. Young gun Matilde Villa was at the center of their renaissance with 14 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists, while London leaned on 24 points from Fagbenle, plus 14 points and 12 boards from Megan Gustafson. 

Highs

Efficiency: 29 – Yueru Li (Besiktas)
Points: 27 – Dana Evans (Besiktas)
Rebounds: 12 - Megan Gustafson (London Lions)
Assists: 8 – Holly Winterburn (London Lions)
Steals: 3– Dana Evans (Besiktas); Magali Mendy (Spar Girona)
Blocks: 2 – Elif Bayram (Besiktas)

Thursday, March 7

Besiktas 81-60 Spar Girona

Wednesday, March 6

Umana Reyer Venice 68-69 London Lions 

FIBA