In what was to be an exciting match that would come down to the wire, Dynamo hosted Bourges Basket in Group B action of the FIBA Euroleague Women. Top-ranked Dynamo got off to a sluggish start as the Bourges players seemed more focused and disciplined in their game.

Throughout the first quarter the home team struggled offensively as they were unable to get any good looks at the basket, and was forced into taking off-balanced, rushed shots. The French team came out controlled, and with their organized style of play took a 14-21 advantage into the second quarter.

		Elena Karpova

At the start of the second quarter Dynamo temporarily found their rhythm and got within three points of Bourges. However at the seven-and-a-half minute mark, both teams went scoreless for over three minutes. Elena Karpova finally broke the drought with a free throw, and in the last couple of minutes the two teams exchanged baskets. Bourges still had a narrow 27-32 lead at the half.

In the third quarter Dynamo once again found their rhythm on offense and began to control their defensive boards. Sue Bird started to play confidently at the point and got her teammates involved and as a result, Dynamo leveled the score at 42-42 at the end of the third.

Throughout the fourth quarter the home team was led by Natalia Vodopyanova and Elen Shakirova. Both were a force on the boards, and helped their team to a 51-39 rebounding advantage. Despites Bourges' elegant style of basketball, MVP Bird and Dynamo went on to capture a 58-50 home victory. 

Tatiana Ovechkina, Head Coach of Dynamo Moscow:

“We didn’t play a confident game from the very beginning, that is why we put ourselves in the underdog position and had to make up 10 points. It was very hard to do. It would be easier for us to play if we had better percentage of shots from underneath the basket. But thanks to the persistance of our leaders in offense and good job on the glass (both offensive and defensively), we managed to cut the deficit and win tonight.”

Pierre Vincent, Head Coach of Bourges Basket:

“No comments. It is hard to do anything when we don’t rebound well. We tried to use our speed advantage on fast breaks, but with the rebounding problems we were unable to run our fast breaks."