Today was not the day. Spar Girona lost in Galicia in a game where they were always chasing the game. Baxi’s dominance in the paint, with a standout performance from Melia, who scored 21 points, and the Uni’s shooting struggles were key factors in the defeat. Despite these factors, a timeout by Roberto Íñiguez with 4 minutes left reinvigorated the team, and they went from 69-58 to 72-70. With 19 seconds left, Spar sought victory with a three-pointer from Touré. The shot fell short, and Canella’s follow-up attempt after an offensive rebound also missed, with the final score at 72-70 in favor of Ferrol.
Without Pierre-Louis or Ivana Jakubcova, Baxi Ferrol made its objective clear from the start: attack the paint through Melia. The Irish player dominated under the basket, scoring the first ten points for Ferrol, while Uni stayed in the game thanks to the first points from Laura Peña Guerrero and six consecutive points from Hristova (10-8). Shortly after, Bibby tied the game with a three-pointer (11-11), but Joiner quickly responded with two key plays: first, a three-pointer, then a drive to the basket (16-11). Despite Roberto Íñiguez’s adjustments, the hoop seemed small for Uni, which only managed to score two more baskets (Bobi and Canella). This scoring drought was exploited by Ferrol, who extended their lead thanks to Melia, Mataix, and Joiner’s contributions (22-15).
At the start of the second quarter, Ferrol took advantage of Uni’s struggles, pushing their lead to 12 points (triple by Gala and a basket by Mataix, 27-15). Despite the negative momentum, the Girona team responded by working defensively to get back into the game, with Touré standing out with five consecutive points (29-20). However, a basket from Morro halted Uni’s momentum and put more distance on the scoreboard (31-20). From then on, Spar changed its style, adopting a more vertical game, and scored a 2-9 run (with points from Lundquist and Touré, 33-29), forcing Lino López to call a timeout. Despite Girona’s response, Ferrol answered with a three-pointer from Sánchez and two free throws from Melia. Spar, meanwhile, added two points from the free-throw line by Touré and a basket by Maya, ending the quarter at 38-33.
In the second half, Spar Girona increased the tempo to try and cut the deficit, with points from Hristova, Touré, and Klara (42-40). Despite the positive momentum for Girona, Ferrol maintained their game level, delivering a 9-0 run led by Melia, Mestres, and Pospísilová, increasing their lead to 51-40. Roberto Íñiguez stopped the game at 4:07 left in the third quarter, but Ferrol kept up their rhythm with a basket from Mataix and a three-pointer from Pospísilová, putting them up by +16 (56-40). Facing the largest lead of the game, Uni worked hard to overturn the situation, scoring through fast transitions by Touré and Caldwell, cutting the gap to just 11 points (59-48).
Touré’s three-pointer and Guerrero’s basket brought Spar Girona back to within 7 points (60-53), but Ferrol’s second-chance opportunities, thanks to their offensive rebounding, extended the lead again (67-55). Bibby hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to 9 points (67-58), but another basket from Melia forced the Girona team to find solutions with only 4 minutes remaining (69-58). Uni’s response came quickly, scoring from the free-throw line thanks to Ferrol’s bonus foul situation (69-65). Shortly after, Bibby made one free throw out of three attempts, and on the second opportunity, she hit both, bringing the score to 71-70. Uni fouled Joiner, but the player missed her second free throw. In the final possession, Touré had the winning three-pointer, but the shot came up short, and Canella’s offensive rebound attempt also missed, with the final score 72-70 in favor of Ferrol.
