Kosice Finish Strong To Top Rivas

Good Angels Kosice got off the mark and kept Rivas Ecopolis winless with an 81-63 victory in Euroleague Women Group B.

Kosice outscored their visitors 19-9 to put a gloss on the final scoreline, although they had rarely felt threatened after taking a first quarter lead.

They began the second period with a jump-shot from Natalia Vieru that made it 23-16, and when Kayla Pedersen's three-pointer moments later made it a 10-point lead, 26-16.

The lead reached 15, 43-28, on Danielle McCray's three-pointer before Rivas finished the period with an 8-0 run to close to 43-36 at the break.

Rivas continued to close the gap in the third period, scoring the first four points through Essence Carson and Anna Cruz to move to within three points, 43-40.

But Kosice made sure they got no closer and began to pull clear again, going 53-44 up on a pair of free throws from Vieru.

Kosice then scored the opening eight points of the fourth quarter, including another three from McCray to go 70-54 clear and put the game beyond the reach of Rivas.

McCray finished with 20 points, making four of eight from three-point range, while Miljana Bojovic had 18 points and Vieru 15.

Lucia Kupcikova also reached doubled figures with 10 points.

Ashja Jones led all scorers with 24 points, also adding nine rebounds, for Rivas, while Elisa Aguilar had 12.

Quotes Good Angels Kosice vs. Rivas Ecopolis

Rivas Ecópolis Head Coach Miguel Martinez Mendéz:
"We had a lot of problems with the roster before the match, because Amaya Valdemoro is out for two months. After eight minutes we also lost Iva Sliskovic and we had only seven players to play. We were during the entire game two meters behind the ball and we spent too much energy to play."

Good Angels Košice Head Coach Štefan Svitek:
"I am enjoying this victory. Our players played with heart and I thank them for it. We played on defense exactly by the tactical instructions, on offense we could rely on the shots from outside. We were a little hot between the end of the first and the start of the second half, but we were able to defuse the crisis, because we had very good defensive rebounds and therefore we managed to keep winning."

Rivas Ecópolis player Asjha Jones:
"Today we played what we know. We tried zone defense and made good offense, but it was not enough. We are very disappointed that we lost also our second game in this season. It is not a good start to the season for us but I hope that in the next match we will change everything and it will be better."

Good Angels Košice player Miljana Musovič:
"We played a very good match and first of all we made a very good job on defense. I am very happy because we played together as one team. This win is very important for us, because after the match in Krakow we needed a good atmosphere in our team and this win brings it to us. We feel much better after this game, but we know that this is only the second match of the season and a long way awaits us."