FERROL (Spain) - Villeneuve d'Ascq LM came out on top against BAXI Ferrol in a classic EuroCup Women Finals first leg matchup as they won a roller-coaster encounter 78-75 on the road.
Played out in front of a sold out and passionate home crowd, Villeneuve kept their cool under pressure to take a precious three-point advantage into the second meeting next week. The victory came thanks mainly to the brilliance of 20-year-old guard Carla Leite.
The French club are chasing a second title, while rookies Ferrol are still dreaming of landing a first ever piece of silverware. The second leg of the Final will take place on Wednesday, April 01 at 20.30 CET.
Turning point
After some sharp-shooting early from the visitors, Ferrol could have found their hopes hanging by a thread had they not responded to being 40-28 behind with a blistering 16-2 run to give them the lead at half-time.
While they were still squeezed out by their rivals, they're still very much in the tie and avoided what had looked at one stage to be a potentially worrying blowout.
Game hero
Leite lit it up as usual for Villeneuve, with the young guard pouring in 25 points after going 9 of 11 from the field. She also handed out 5 assists for good measure. Angela Mataix impressed for Ferrol in defeat with 17 points, as did Claire Melia with 12 points and 6 assists.
Stats don't lie
While Villeneuve were unstoppable from downtown in the early stages, it was a massive 40 points in the paint that founded their victory - along with 24 points off the bench compared to just 9 for Ferrol.
Bottom Line
BAXI Ferrol were roared on by their fans who backed them until the buzzer in a pulsating encounter. Just their third loss of the entire season, they will still fancy their chances of an upset on the road in France. But they will need to keep their rivals away from the block and stop them dominating under the basket to be successful. Villeneuve showed their teeth with some tremendous shooting from distance and then a more consistent and measured physical presence in the paint which was highly productive. While they relied heavily on young gun Leite for a huge scoring contribution, they will be confident of finishing the job at home. Watch out for Aminata Gueye who looked a real handful and is often unstoppable on her own court.
FIBA