Avenida Back In The Mix

Monique Currie had an immediate impact on the Avenida outfit

There was EuroLeague Women debut delight for new Perfumerias Avenida head coach Victor Lapena as his players delivered the goods with a sparkling 82-54 win against visiting USO Mondeville to keep their play-off dreams alive in Group C.

With their prospects fading badly ahead of the mid-season break, the Spanish club used the down-time to make some fundamental changes, including both the installation of Lapena and cutting their losses on last summers' marquee signing Nicole Powell.

And, those decisions paid instant dividends as a great start to the game set the tone for a vibrant and energetic display.

Avenida powered their way into a decisive early lead as a basket by Lithuanian forward Egle Sulciute put them 17-5 in front.

Whilst a 10-2 run by USO Mondeville in the second quarter briefly threatened to get them back into the contest when they reduced the arrears to eight points but it was to be as good as it would get.

Already 39-28 to the good at the midway point of the game, the confidence was flooding through Avenida and they stepped on the accelerator even more with a 22-8 third period and a 6-0 start to the last quarter to really cement the victory.

Monique Currie justified the decision to draft her in as a replacement for Powell with an excellent 22 points to get the Salamanca faithful on their feet - as did 11 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists from Le'Coe Willingham.

However it was a thoroughly forgettable night for the visitors, since despite the arrival of Noel Kuin and the return of Naignouma Coulibay from injury, USO Mondeville managed to register their worst night of the season so far.

Ingrid Tanqueray and Laetitia Kamba did perform reasonably well, combining for 27 points and 13 rebounds.

Quotes Perfumerias Avenida vs USO Mondeville

Laetitia Kamba, USO Mondeville:

"I am very upset, they have been more aggressive than us and that was the key of the game. It has been a similar game with the last that we lost, and we have to work on this problems. We still have  a lot of chances to qualify, and we will work to get it."

Hervé Coudray, USO Mondeville coach:

"Congratulations to Perfumerías Avenida, they had a fantastic game tonight. Their agressivity level was amazing, we couldn´t do anything against it. During some minutes it was almost impossible to get the ball up front. It was not the same game as the one we played in France."

Monique Currie, Perfumerías Avenida:

"It is very nice starting the year like this, with this fantastic game. I am here for only five days, I'm trying to get the chemistry with the rest of the team, tonight I did a few good things, but I can do better."

Víctor Lapeña, Perfumerías Avenida coach:

"I am very happy with this victory, but I am upset because of Isa Sanchez's injury, it was a pitty. I expect from my players to play at this agressivity level, we knew that we couldn´t win in their physical level, so we played with intelligence. We don´t want to think about going into the nex round, we just want to work day by day."

Quotes Perfumerias Avenida vs USO Mondeville

Laetitia Kamba, USO Mondeville:

"I am very upset, they have been more aggressive than us and that was the key of the game. It has been a similar game with the last that we lost, and we have to work on this problems. We still have  a lot of chances to qualify, and we will work to get it."

Hervé Coudray, USO Mondeville coach:

"Congratulations to Perfumerías Avenida, they had a fantastic game tonight. Their agressivity level was amazing, we couldn´t do anything against it. During some minutes it was almost impossible to get the ball up front. It was not the same game as the one we played in France."

Monique Currie, Perfumerías Avenida:

"It is very nice starting the year like this, with this fantastic game. I am here for only five days, I'm trying to get the chemistry with the rest of the team, tonight I did a few good things, but I can do better."

Víctor Lapeña, Perfumerías Avenida coach:

"I am very happy with this victory, but I am upset because of Isa Sanchez's injury, it was a pitty. I expect from my players to play at this agressivity level, we knew that we couldn´t win in their physical level, so we played with intelligence. We don´t want to think about going into the nex round, we just want to work day by day."