Bellona Agu and Yakin Dogu Universitesi punch precious EuroCup Women Final tickets

MUNICH (EuroCup Women) - The 2017 EuroCup Women Final will be contested by Bellona Agu and Yakin Dogu Universitesi after both clubs took the wins they needed to advance to the title game.

Holding a six-point advantage from the first leg of their Semi-Finals clash with with Hatay, it was a bumpy ride for Bellona Agu who eventually prevailed 64-58 in front of a passionate partisan crowd in Kayseri.

Bellona Agu will continue pursuing their long-standing dream of lifting the silverware, having lost in their two previous Final appearances. Although after 20 minutes, it had looked like they might miss out when they were shutdown by their opponents.

Trailing 35-25 at the interval and head coach Ayhan Avci demanding a strong start to the second-half, it duly arrived with nine unanswered points putting them on the front foot.

It was Tanisha Wright who led the way as the guard amassed 19 points and she was well supported with 16 points from Montenegro national team forward, Jelena Dubljevic.

The loss was tough on Hatay center Courtney Paris, who finished a fabulous individual season across EuroCup and EuroLeague Women with a customary and eye-catching double-double of 20 points and 16 rebounds. 

Competition rookies Yakin Dogu Universitesi also held a six-point lead from the first leg against Galatasaray and they made it safely into the Final with an 81-68 win in the second clash.

They had to resist a Galatasaray renaissance as the visitors, who had trailed by as many as 19 points on the night, worked back to make it a one-shot game early in the fourth quarter. But Yakin Dogu Universitesi kept their composure and finished strongly to cruise into their maiden Final.

Kayla McBride was a star performer once again with 24 points, while Courtney Vandersloot had another double-double after racking up 14 points and 12 assists.

The Final will be played across two legs on April 5 and 12.

FIBA