Third time lucky for Galatasaray, Girona shock Fenerbahce, Landes win nail-biter

MUNICH (Germany) - There were plenty of talking points on an action-packed night in EuroLeague Women with hugely contrasting fortunes for two Istanbul giants and more joy for Basket Landes.

After opening up with a pair of losses, Galatasaray were successful on their third outing as they eased out VBW Arka Gdynia 71-60. Capitalizing on some sloppy handling by their Polish rivals, a 17-6 third period also turned the game in their favor.

The in-form Tina Krajisnik stood out with 15 points and 7 rebounds for Galatasaray, while Megan Gustafson and Alice Kunek were unfortunate to be on the losing team. The former had a fine 26 points and 10 rebounds, with Kunek putting up 16 points and 10 rebounds. 

In stark contrast, Fenerbahce Safiport could never have imagined being 1-2 at this stage as they followed up last week's shock home loss to Basket Landes with another disappointing result. However, the credit and spotlight deserve to go to Spar Girona for a fantastic 71-59 victory.

In a rollercoaster contest which witnessed some huge runs for both teams, including a 16-0 start to the second period for the home side and a 16-2 start to the second half for Fenerbahce, it was the Spanish club who got it done.

While Elizabeth Williams was excellent for Fenerbahce with 15 points and 15 rebounds and Amanda Zahui achieved 14 points and 12 boards, there was no stopping Kennedy Burke. She took Girona to victory with a sensational 28 points.

Basket Landes are on a roll with successive wins which has put their nightmare start in their opener well and truly behind them. They inflicted a first loss of the season on Dynamo Kursk as a packed crowd roared Landes to a dramatic 78-75 triumph, clinging on in the closing second having almost snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

The experience of Celine Dumerc was again priceless in crunch time and she did the business with 16 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, with Marianna Tolo making a difference under the basket with 14 points and 10 boards.

UMMC Ekaterinburg warmed up for Friday's SuperCup Women Final against Valencia BC by jumping out on BLMA with a red-hot start. That was the foundation for a big 92-73 victory as the reigning champions welcomed WNBA MVP Jonquel Jones back to their lineup and she garnered 19 points and 9 rebounds.

Yet it was guard Alex Bentley who stole the show as she claimed 20 points in a sparkling shooting display, while also serving up 8 assists.

Perfumerias Avenida Salamanca are also yet to taste defeat in the competition as they moved to 3-0 after completing a 71-56 lockdown of Umana Reyer in Italy. Despite the best efforts of Yvonne Anderson with 14 points and 8 assists for the hosts, Avenida were too strong and had the edge in the paint. Maria Fasoula went 7 of 8, Emese Hof finished with 12 points and 9 rebounds, while Katie-Lou Samuelson top-scored with 16 points.

ZVVZ USK Praha are back to full strength after the arrival of Alyssa Thomas and Brionna Jones, with both doing the damage to KSZ Szekszard as the Czech giants blasted their way to an 83-56 victory against their still-winless opponents. Thomas recorded 14 points, 10 boards,5 steals and 4 assists, with Jones also impressing by scoring 18 points and pulling down 7 rebounds.

FIBA