Spartak Moscow head Natalia Hejkova was quick to praise her’s side team defense following their 90-76 victory over CSKA Volgaburmash in the EuroLeague Women semi-finals.

True, particular emphasis could have been given to Spartak’s post players who limited CSKA star Maria Stepanova to just seven points.

But it was the collective effort that particularly impressed Hejkova.

“We had no special plan going up against Stepanova,” said Hejkova.

“When you have a team with so many stars like CSKA, you can’t just key in on one player. It was a complete team defensive effort.”

Hejkova's point is be evidenced by the 27 turnovers that Spartak Moscow forced.

“We committed a lot of turnovers and they turned those turnovers into points,” said CSKA Volgaburmash forward Amaya Valdemoro.

“All year long, the knock against our team was that we were too individualistic and had too many stars,” said Spartak’s Diana Taurasi.

“Today we showed that we can win as a team.”