Jolly JBS Shoot Down ZVVZ Prague

Anyone looking for a team that could be a dark horse in the race to the EuroLeague women Final Four might want to look to Croatia where Jolly JBS Sibenik prevailed over ZVVZ USK Prague for their second win in three games.

Constance Jinks had a season-high 26 points and six rebounds as the Croatian outfit knocked off Lubor Blazek's team 76-70.

Jinks came into the game averaging 15.5 points.

Prague were on top 66-62 with 5:19 remaining but weren't able to press home the advantage.

Jinks made them pay. She buried a jump shot with 3:32 to go to cut and shortly after drilled a three-pointer to put Jolly JBS into a 67-66 lead.

After Kerri Gardin split a pair of free throws, Lindsay Whalen went in for a lay-up to knot the game at 68-68.

Jinx again put her team in front with a lay-up and Gardin followed with a basket down low for a four-point lead.

Evi Maltsi reduced the deficit to 72-70 with 35 seconds to go, only for Jinks and Monika Veselovski to each make a pair of free throws to ice the win.

Gardin finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Whalen had 21 points and Michaela Feranciková scored 12 and grabbed 12 rebounds.

"We understood the risk of not marking Lindsay Whalen, one of the best WNBA players, and it paid off in the end," said Stipe Bralić, the coach of Jolly JBS.

"We got a lot of help from Monika Veselovski, who played her first match for Jolly JBS."

Prague out-rebounded the hosts 44-34 while the home side benefitted from making more trips to the free throw line, sinking 17 of 23 (73.9%) compared to eight of 11 (72.7%).

Just one week ago, the Czech team got a strong performance from their own Croatian, center Sonja Kireta, in a mild upset of Ros Casares.

Jolly JBS held Kireta to just two points on one of 11 shooting on Wednesday while Maltsi also cooled off, making just three of nine from the floor, including one of nine from behind the arc.

Maltsi had killed her former team Ros with 29 points.

Quotes Jolly JBS Sibenik vs. ZVVZ USK Prague

Stipe Bralić (coach Jolly JBS Sibenik):

"We won a match against a great opponent. We understood the risk of not marking Lindsay Whalen, one of the best WNBA players, and it paid off in the end. We got a lot of help from Monika Veselovski, who played her first match for Jolly JBS. I congratulate my players on another great victory."

Lubor Blazek (coach ZVVZ USK Prague):

"We wanted a fast game, but we couldn't play one. The home team fouled us much more than we did them. But still, there were more fouls awarded to them than to us, especially in the last part of the game. Jolly JBS is a good team, they showed it tonight and I congratulate them."