Elitzur Ramla hammered Levoni Taranto 78-51 to all but clinch a place in the semi-finals of the EuroCup Women.

In a most unexpected capitulation by the Italian outfit, the Israeli club extended a 19-18 lead by the end of the first quarter to 41-28 by half-time and any hope Taranto had of getting back into the game disappeared quickly after the third period got underway.

By the end of that quarter, Elitzur Ramla had outscored the visitors 28-11 in the quarter for a 69-39 lead and they ended up winning by 28.

The hosts got a terrific game out of Jaclyn Johnson, who finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds.

Elitzur Ramla did damage from all over the court on offense, drilling 23 of 48 shots inside the arc, five of 10 beyond it while at the free throw line, they sank an impressive 17 of 19.

Taranto, who have the talented Linda Frohlich in their squad, got just three points in 10 minutes from the Germany national team star.

The wheels began to come off in the final 20 seconds of the first quarter for Taranto when Laine Selwyn made a pair of free throws for a 19-18 advantage for the home side.

After Anna Zimerle missed from long range to conclude the period for Taranto, the Israeli club scored the first eight points of the second quarter to go ahead, 27-18.

Selwyn had a lay-up and a jump shot in that 8-0 spurt to begin the third quarter.

A 6-0 run to finish the first half had the home side in front by 13, and a Johnson three-ball to start the second half lit the touchpaper for the route.

Selwyn followed with a three-point play to make it 47-28 in favour of Elitzur Ramla, and they went on to blow the game wide open.

Taranto finished just three of 16 from three-point range, while inside the arc they were a woeful 16 of 48.

Rebekkah Brunson finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds in defeat.

It's hard to see Taranto clawing their way back from 28 points down in the second leg, which will be played in Taranto on February 28.