UMMC edge out ESBVA-LM to land second SuperCup Women title

UMMC Ekaterinburg spoiled the party for SuperCup Women 2016 hosts ESBVA-LM as they completed a nail-biting 66-63 victory against the French side to lift the title for a second time.

Turning point: With UMMC seemingly drifting towards a comfortable success, the homes fans found themselves on the edge of their seats as ESBVA-LM posted a rousing comeback which saw them almost overturn a considerable deficit of 15 points. They got themselves back in contention with a triple attempt in the dying seconds to force overtime when the momentum was in their favour. But, Valeriane Ayayi couldn’t connect and it left Ekaterinburg with another piece of silverware.

Stats Don't Lie: ESBVA-LM came up short in agonising fashion and could have won the prize on offer had they made a decent shooting percentage. However, they only sunk 23-of-71 attempts from the field and combined with being outscored 34-20 in the paint, it was two of the reasons that UMMC came out on top.

Game Heroes: Without some big-hitters such as Diana Taurasi in their line-up, their other kingpins like her USA team-mate Brittney Griner stood up in a big way. Despite only arriving back in the UMMC pack very recently, she picked up where she left off from her impressive rookie season by recording a tidy double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds. Alba Torrens had 23 points and 6 assists, although it wasn’t exactly one of her finest shooting nights, while Slovenian guard Nika Baric had an excellent near double-double of 10 points and 9 assists.