Hatay get onto front foot against Reyer Venezia and jump towards first Final

ANTAKYA (EuroCup Women) - Hatay made home advantage pay with a 74-54 victory in their first leg Semi-Finals clash against Reyer Venezia as they took a large stride towards booking a maiden Final appearance.

Turning Point: The second quarter saw Hatay shut down Venezia 20-9 and that is when they were able to assert control and gain the initiative. Aside from a brief wobble in the third period, they were able to keep their opponents at arms' length, but it was the 10-0 run to finish the game that is likely to be the real turning point in the tie.

Stats Don't Lie: Hatay did the business in the paint with 32 points - that was twice as many as the visitors. Meanwhile Venezia just didn't get themselves to the line often enough, taking just 5 free throws in the entire game.

Game Heroes: It was the usual suspects and Hatay starters who all made the telling contributions in a team effort. Powerhouse center Courtney Paris sealed a double-double of 13 points and 17 rebounds, Leilani Mitchell and Katsiaryna Snytsina were joint top scorers with 17 points each and Belgian shooting guard Hind Ben Abdelkader came up with 16 points.

They Said: "I want to congratulate Venezia for the fight they showed on the court. But I also want to say congratulations to my players because they demonstrated a good character today. We will go to Italy next week and we will not think about the 20-point difference we gained today." – Hatay BB head coach Aikaterini Chatzidaki.

FIBA