Lithuania internationals Egle Sulciute and Sandra Valuzyte were in impressive form for TEO Vilnius as they recovered from a slow start to power past USO Mondeville in EuroLeague Women Group D on Thursday.
Power forward Sulciute (18 points) and point guard Sandra Valuzyte (15 points and five rebounds), who both starred in the recent EuroBasket Women, laid the foundations for a deserved 75-70 victory for the hosts in the Lithuanian capital.
Lenae Williams (15 points and three assists) did her best in a losing cause for the French visitors, whose late flurry of baskets could not prevent a defeat in the pool opener.
TEO struggled to find their feet early on, Williams scoring 12 points in the first quarter to help USO to a 23-15 lead.
But the Lithuanians fought back, pouring in the first seven points of the second quarter and Gintare Petronyte's jumper with two seconds remaining gave them a three-point cushion (40-37) at half-time.
An 8-0 run put TEO 55-48 up midway through the third quarter, and the match was all but over by the opening moments of the fourth when last season's quarter-finalists went 67-56 ahead.
USO scored the game's last five points but TEO, for whom former Lithuania star Jurgita Streimikyte weighed in with 15 points and eight rebounds, were already celebrating by then.