Perfumerias Avenida lock down Sopron Basket to soar into the Final

ISTANBUL (Turkey) - Ten years after winning the EuroLeague Women title, Perfumerias Avenida are one win away from repeating the feat after taking down Sopron Basket 72-61 in the Semi-Finals.

In what was always billed as a war of attrition between two of the best defensive teams in the tournament, the script was followed as Avenida came out on top in a grueling matchup.

Turning point: It was a one-shot game when Avenida set the tone for the last 10 minutes by posting what proved to be a vital 10-3 run to finish the third quarter. Sopron Basket never wrestled back the initiative. 

Game heroes: This was all about Tiffany Hayes. The Avenida wing did a great job as always with an electric shooting display, netting 25 points, shooting 73 percent from the field and also grabbing 5 boards. There was a nice cameo from Katie Lou Samuelson who added a smart 16 points.

Stats don't lie: Perfumerias Avenida were dominant inside with 55 percent shooting and that was simply too high from a Sopron perspective.

Bottom line: Perfumerias Avenida struggled badly from long-range and couldn;t get anything to drop from outside and yet despite this, their defense was good enough to keep Sopron Basket at arms' length. They also had the one special player in form in this Semi-Final in Hayes. Meanwhile, Sopron worked hard and have enjoyed another fairytale ride to the Final Four, but came up short and must now dust themselves down and go for a win to finish the season in the Third Place Game against Fenerbahce Oznur Kablo.

FIBA