USK Prague – Salamanca, 1st match of the quarter-finals of the European Women's Basketball League, March 14, 2023, Prague. From left, Alyssa Thomas of USK and Michaela Onyenwere of Salamanca.
Prague – USK Prague basketball players clearly beat Salamanca 77:56 at home in the first quarter-final of the European League and came close to advancing to the Final Four. The Czech champions were led to victory by American star Brionna Jones, who recorded a double double with 18 points and 13 rebounds. The visiting team was not helped by Maita Cazorla's 12 points, nor by the Czech pivot Julia Reisinger's 11 points. Coach Natálie Hejková's wards can secure promotion on Friday if they win in Spain. Otherwise, the decisive duel will be played again next Wednesday in Prague.
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“We're happy, but we don't take it like it ended by twenty-one today. It's only 1-0 and today's difference means nothing. The next game starts at 0-0 and the only thing we have is the advantage of one win. We have to re-concentrate and go into it fully,” Hejková told Radiožurnál.
USK avenged Salamanca's defeat last year in the fight for third place in the Final Four (59:71). He can get into the top four teams of the competition for the second time in a row and sixth overall. The women from Prague leveled the balance of their matches with the Spanish team at 6:6.
“The team was extremely concentrated on the match. That was the alpha and omega. There were some mistakes, but we will try to eliminate them for the next match. I mean, for example, defensive rebounds and the number of losses. But we basically didn't let our opponents into anything,” said Hejková .
The start of the match was delayed for a while by a malfunctioning timer. The women from Prague had a great start and thanks to eight points by Thomas and six by Jones, they led early 16:5. However, the opponent returned to the game after a time-out and Reisinger's deployment and reduced the deficit to two goals (21:19). The end of the first part, however, once again belonged to the Czech champion. Jones collected 12 points and seven rebounds in the first ten minutes.
“We expected (Jones) to take over the game. We were prepared for the pivots to excel today,” stated Hejková.< /p>
The 27-year-old American continued her excellent performance and already achieved a double double at the beginning of the second half. At that moment, she had 14 points and 10 rebounds. Jones and Thomas were joined by Valériane Vukosavljevičová, and the lead of the home players increased to 17 points (45:28) at the break. After the first half, USK had a sixty-six percent shooting success rate for two points, on the other hand, the players of the Spanish team converted only nine of the total 33 shooting attempts (27%).
After the break, the women from Prague controlled a comfortable lead and the opponent could not resist. Before the final part, USK increased the lead to a difference of twenty points (65:45) and Hejková could afford to rotate the lineup more often. Barbora Wrzesiņská and Veronika Šípová returned to the field after injury.
“That was great. The second match is coming soon and our supports could rest. The most important thing was for Thomas, who has an injured ankle. It was nice that she didn't have to play more than 25 minutes,” Hejková pointed out.
The Czech champions also won the last quarter (12:11) and beat Salamanca at home for the fourth time in a row. “However, the opponent will play even harder at home, with more heart, and they will be driven by the spectators, who are very uncomfortable there,” added Hejková. USK will travel to Salamanca on Wednesday.
Quarterfinals of the European Women's Basketball League playoffs – first match:
USK Prague – Salamanca 77:56 (25:19, 45:28, 65:45)
Most points: Jones 18, Vukosavljevic 16, Thomas and Conde 13 each – Cazorla 12, Reisinger and Rodriguez 11 each. Fouls: 19:16. Free throws: 14/12 – 16/11. Triples: 5:5. Rebounds: 48:29.
Next matches:
Fenerbahce Istanbul – Soproň 82:62 (40:35), Mersin – Bourges 84:56 (42:34), Schio – Valencia 75:63 (40:33).
