Banská Bystrica remains without a loss, KAŽL won its duel on Sunday

ŽKD Maribor – Slávia Banská Bystrica  60:87 (10:25, 18:14, 19:23, 13:25)

Referees: Mjeda, Strikić, Pepur (all Croatia)

Attendance: 50

Scorers – Maribor: Tomšić 20, Dedić 15, Brečelj 11, Trantura 6, Stojko and Vilfan each 4, Meglić Steharnik, Petrović, Grujić, Čvar, Kaučić and Setor 0

Scorers – Banská Bystrica: Pulliam 14, Mujović and Bogičević each 12, Brabencová 11, Neuschlová 9, Bura and Martišková each 8, Da Cruz 6, Holíková 5, Striešová 2

Despite playing a later game on the first day, Slávia came out the gate with energy and a 7:0 start and were up 13:4 halfway through the first quarter when Maribor coach Alen Ploj called a timeout. A good first quarter with a lot of energy from both sides ended at 25:10 for Banská Bystrica. Maribor entered the second quarter much more focused and with more energy. They played better defense and managed to cut Slávia’s lead to 10 points. This was definitely a Maribor quarter, and the score was 28:39 for Slávia at halftime.

Slávia brought their intensity to the third quarter. Their defensive energy forced several turnovers, combined with some unfortunate misses from Maribor and Slávia, which extended their lead to 15 in this period. Maribor 47, Slávia 62 at the end of the third quarter. This was a very good game for both teams. The very slow start to the final quarter by both teams was quickly forgotten once the baskets started falling. Points were scored on both sides of the court, and it was an interesting game to watch for all spectators. However, Slávia never let Maribor come in under 13 points. The final score of the game was 60-87.

Post-game quotes:

Alen Ploj, coach of Maribor: „Today we played much better than yesterday, we played the way that we could for about 20 minutes. But Slávia was obviously a lot better, and I would like to congratulate them on the win.“

Merisa Dedić, player of Maribor: „We started the game really well on defense and offense, unlike yesterday. Unfortunately, they have a lot more tempo than we do, which was hard to follow, but I think we played a good game overall and we gained a lot of experience that we can use for our domestic competition.“

Zuzana Žirková, coach of Banská Bystrica: „We played three games in four days with lots of traveling after a Eurocup game, and this showed on the court. We played a young team with a lot of energy, and it was hard to stop them at times. We managed to win and stay healthy, which is also a good thing in this type of rhythm.“

Lindsey Pulliam, player of Banská Bystrica: „I think we had good moments where we played team defense and were able to convert their turnovers into easy points, which helped us win this game.“

BK Duchess Klosterneuburg – KAŽL Split 65:71 (18-21, 4:20, 22:13, 21:17)

Referees: Hajduk, Pepur, Koharević (all Croatia)

Attendance: 100

Scorers – Klosterneuburg: Hoellerl 19, Schicher 18, L. Zderadicka 10, A. Zderadicka and P. Zderadicka each 5, Winkler and Vamvaka each 4, Binder, Polygalova and Matzka 0

Scorers – Split: Božan 22, Buckner 19, Pirjak 12, Langhi 10, Rimarčuk 5, Mayara 3, Pavić, Dominović, Turčinov, Sokanović, Bilić and Pogorelić 0

In a very important game in group B, KAŽL started the game with 9-0 before Duchess responded with 8 of their own to keep the game close. Schicher was great for the Duchess with 8 points in the first 10 minutes, but KAŽL never gave up the lead and finished the quarter with a 21-18 lead. Buckner scored the first 4 points for KAŽL in the second quarter, and Božan added 2 for a 7-point KAŽL lead, which forced Duchess coach Zderadicka to call his first timeout today. KAŽL kept rolling after the Duchess timeout on the back of Dynnah Buckner, who added 4 more points and an assist for 3 points by Pirjak. Their lead extended to 11 points, and coach Zderadicka had to call another timeout for the Duchess with 3 minutes left in the second quarter. Duchess did not make a basket for 8 minutes in the second quarter, and it was hard to expect a good ending of the half for them. The halftime score was Duchess 22, KAŽL 41.

Both teams entered the second half nervously, which reflected on the execution on offense. low-scoring third quarter in which we saw only 11 points total in the first 5 minutes. Nobody shined, but KAŽL kept their comfortable lead. In the second half of the third quarter, good defense and smart offensive creation, with 11 points from Hoellerl, helped Duchess cut KAŽL’s lead to 54-44 after 30 minutes. Duchess carried their good momentum into the final quarter; consecutive 3-pointers by Lisa and Anja Zderadicka cut KAŽL’s lead to 4 with 7:17 left in the game. This was a signal for KAŽL’s coach Lokica to call a timeout. Hoellerl continued her teammates’ footsteps, her two 3-pointers gave Duchess their first lead of the game with 3 minutes left on the clock. It was Duchess 62, KAŽL 60. But KAŽL kept their cool and finished the game with an 11:3 run.

Post-game quotes: 

Franz Zderadicka, coach of Klosterneuburg: „This was our second game against KAŽL, and we knew we had to win by 8 points, so we wanted to play very aggressively the whole game. The first half was a waste, but in the second, we showed that we can play on this level. I am proud of my team for the comeback they made. I congratulate KAŽL for the win.“

Sarah Schicher, player of Klosterneuburg: „It was a tough game, both teams competed really hard, we just struggled to make shots in the first half. We made a good attempt to come back in the second half and even took the lead, but it was the first half that decided this game.“

Vjekoslav Lokica, coach of KAŽL: „Today we almost lost a game in which we were up by 21 points. We cannot be happy with the way that we played because Duchess came back from such a deficit and even took the lead in the final three minutes. We didn’t stick to the game plan, maybe we are tired, but so is the other team. In the end, we were lucky and found our focus again to win the game and secure a spot in the Final Four.“