Bourges Basket eased clear in the final quarter to secure an ultimately comfortable home win over Jolly JBS Sibenik in their EuroLeague Women Group B opener on Wednesday.

Sonja Kireta (18 points and eight rebounds) stood out for the French side, who struggled to shrug off their opponents until the final few minutes.

Bourges - who reached the Final Four last season - always had their noses in front against the Croatians, the hosts leading 23-19 at the end of thefirst quarter and 46-38 at the end of the second period.

By that time, Kireta and Sonja Petrovic had drained 21 points between them but they had been usurped by Tihana Juric, who had already poured in 16 points.

It remained nip and tuck, and going into the final 10 minutes, Bourges were leading by just five points (66-61).

But in the closing stages, the hosts went on an 8-0 run that put the game to bed.

Belinda Snell impressed with 18 points for Bourges while Juric finished with a game-high 21 points.