One of those days when nothing goes right. Spar Girona suffered a heavy defeat in the second leg of the EuroCup Women quarter-finals against ASVEL, with a final score of 72-51. The Girona side struggled to find their rhythm in attack and accumulated errors that the French team took advantage of to build an early lead. Despite attempts to react, ASVEL controlled the pace and sealed Uni’s elimination.
Lack of accuracy
The French side started strong, with an inspired Jocyte leading Lyon with eight early points, putting ASVEL ahead in the tie (10-4). Malonga extended the lead with another three-pointer, but a long-range shot from Bibby and a mid-range effort from Mack brought Uni closer (13-9). The Girona team tried to close the gap, but the basket seemed smaller, missing easy shots—something the home team capitalized on to extend their advantage (20-11). After Roberto’s adjustments, Guerrero scored in transition, Harris dominated inside, and Bibby closed the quarter with a buzzer-beating three-pointer (22-16).
18 to 10
With the start of the second quarter, Uni’s struggles continued, and a 9-0 run allowed ASVEL to widen the gap even further (Quevedo entered, two plays from Wojta, and a three-pointer from Harris, 31-16). Roberto called a timeout, and Mack broke the run (31-19), but a three-pointer from Pasa and another from Harris pushed the lead to +18. Bibby responded with a fadeaway shot (37-19), forcing the home coach to stop the game. Ygueravide hit from long range, but a fast-break score from Malonga made it 39-24. Shortly after, Sandra converted two free throws, but a last-second foul by Spar sent Quevedo to the line, where she made one of three free throws, setting the score at 40-26.
A heavy blow on the scoreboard
Ygueravide opened the second half with a strong drive, but Lyon quickly regained control, scoring three-pointers in succession to reach their biggest lead of the night (Wojta’s three-pointer, Harris’ and-one, Jocyte’s three-pointer, Pasa’s three-pointer, and a free throw from Wojta, 53-32). Uni finally found an answer by attacking inside, with Bibby and Lundquist converting their chances (53-36). With little time to react, Jocyte punished again from the free-throw line, and the last possessions of both teams ended scoreless (55-36).
With ten minutes to go, Malonga scored two consecutive baskets to put the game out of reach once and for all (59-36). Bibby and Mack managed to cut the deficit slightly (59-41), but the game turned into a back-and-forth exchange where Lyon emerged victorious, securing a 72-51 win.
