Cras Basket Taranto are closer to collecting silverware this season after beating Galatasaray 67-55 in the opening leg of the EuroCup Women Final.

Spurred on by their home fans, Taranto got a solid effort from Australia international Suzy Batkovic who poured in 15 points and hauled in nine rebounds.

Cras Basket Taranto warmed up for their EuroCup Women showdown with Galatasaray by thrashing Liomatic Umbertide 76-57 over the weekend.

Winning coach Roberto Ricchini is hoping his players carry the form into the two-legged showdown with Gala, which tips off on Thursday night in Italy.

Suzy Batkovic and Megan Mahoney provided Cras Basket Taranto with an irresistible one-two punch on Thursday as the Italian club won 85-75 at Dynamo Moscow to storm into the EuroCup Women Final.

Seven days after a 76-71 victory over Dynamo back in Italy, Roberto Ricchini's side prevailed with Australia international center Batkovic pouring in 24 points and Mahoney contributing 19.

Seimone Augustus poured in a season-high 38 points - one less than Dynamo Kursk scored as a team on Thursday - to lead Galatasaray to a resounding victory in Istanbul and into the EuroCup Women Final.

Needing to overcome a 14-point deficit from the first leg, the great Augustus fired the Turkish giants to a 62-39 win - good enough for a nine-point triumph on aggregate.

Cras Basket Taranto took care of business at home against Dynamo Moscow last week. Now the Italians will look to finish the job in Russia on Thursday in the second leg of the EuroCup Women Semi-Final.

Cras go into the game on the back of a 76-71 first-leg triumph and Taranto coach Roberto Ricchini, who won the EuroCup in 2005 with Phard Napoli, urged his players to go all out for victory against Dynamo.

Cras Basket Taranto prevailed over visiting Dynamo Moscow in a humdinger of a EuroCup Women clash on Thursday.

The Italians won the first leg of the Semi-Final 76-71, with Megan Mahoney, Suzy Batkovic, Elodie Godin and Michelle Greco excelling on the night.

Dynamo Kursk appear to have put one foot in the EuroCup Women final on Thursday by winning decisively at home against Galatasaray.

The Russian team led by as many as 18 points before settling for a 61-47 triumph.

The two sides will meet in Italy for the first leg of their EuroCup Women Semi-Final and Taranto are in good form with 10 wins in their last 12 games, although they did fall to Lavezzini Parma 66-63 at the weekend to narrowly miss out on a place in the Coppa final.

Athinaikos threw a major scare into Dynamo Kursk in the EuroCup Women Quarter-Finals on Thursday night but came up just short of overturning a 25-point first-leg deficit.

Athinaikos won 89-69, but Kursk will now meet Galatasaray in the last four.