MUNICH (Germany) - It was a historic night for BAXI Ferrol, Iraklis STHIL and Bodrum Basketbol as the trio all started out with first ever wins as the curtain fell on the first leg of the EuroCup Women Qualifiers. The three clubs all find themselves in a great spot to finish the job next week. Meanwhile on Wednesday evening, UFAB 49 and BDS Dinamo Sassari collected comfortable victories on the road. The second leg meetings are scheduled for September 25 and 26. You can check the full schedule here and also watch the games LIVE and for FREE
O.ME.P.S. Battipaglia 47-89 BAXI Ferrol
BAXI Ferrol breezed past their Italian hosts and never needed to engage their highest gear as they strolled to a comfortable win. Irish national team centerpiece Claire Melia showed her teeth with a fine 17 points and 7 rebounds, with Gala Mestres also highly influential after shining with 12 points, 12 boards and 4 assists.
The one bright spot for the Italians on a difficult night was the performance of Marie Benson. She rracked up 18 points and 12 rebounds during the loss.
GiroLive Panthers Osnabruck 36-78 Bodrum Basketbol
Bodrum Basketbol locked down GiroLive Panthers Osnabruck to make it a miserable debut for the German side as they coasted to a superb victory that puts them in the box-seat in the tie ahead of the return leg on Turkish soil.
Too hot to handle, the visitors were led brilliantly by frontcourt pair of Laura Juskaite and Tina Krsajisnik. The former harvested a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Krajisnik stepped off the hardwood with 13 points and as many boards. Jasmine Thomas also epitomized the lockdown with 6 steals.
Iraklis STIHL 61-50 Universitatea Cluj
A powerful third quarter was the difference-maker for Greek first-timers Iraklis STHIL who made history with a fine home win. They outscored Cluj by 20-10 to get onto the front foot after the break and were left celebrating a landmark night. Alecia Westbook dropped 12 points and 12 rebounds, while Maria Aftzi top-scored with 16 points. Cluj were left reeling from a nightmare night from long-range as they went 1 of 22 from downtown.
TFSE-MTK 57-90 UFAB 49
Hungarian newbies TFSE-MTK had a challenging opening experience of the competition as they were sunk by a slick and powerful UFAB 49. The visitors jumped all over their opponents with an electric 25-12 first quarter. They never had cause to look back and dominated on the glass - out-rebounding the hosts 50-31.
Angers were led by French rising star Marine Dursus who top-scored with 16 points. Axelle Merceron was only one rebound short of a double-double after scoring 13 points, while the experience of Joy Adams was telling as she offered up a super smart 9 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.
PAS Giannina 63-80 BDS Dinamo Sassari
BDS Dinamo Sassari backcourt duo Debora Carangelo and Shaylee Gonzales put PAS Giannina to the sword as the Italian side imposed their authority against the Greek rookies.
The former used her experience and quality to great effect and stepped off court with 12 points and a stellar 11 assists, while Gonzales enjoyed her debut with 22 points. The defeat was tough on home star Janika Griffith-Wallace who showed out with 26 points.
FIBA