UMMC-Junior played their final game in the regular season of the Fonbet Russian Super League Championship. On March 7, in Ivanovo the Yekaterinburg team faced the local Energia. The game was tense, and the winner was determined in the last minute.
Quarters’ results: 11:21, 21:14, 15:22, 22:16.
From the first minutes, the UMMC-Junior basketball players imposed their rhythm of play and quite quickly built up a 10-point advantage. The home team tried to fight back, however, the distance remained the same. By the end of the quarter, the juniors were leading 11:21.
The second period was competitive. The opponents from Ivanovo managed to close the gap to just one successful long-range shot. In spite of the local victory for Energia, the Yekaterinburg team took the lead with a 3-point advantage. The athletes went for the halftime break with a score of 32:35 in favor of Tatyana Fefilova’s team.
UMMC-Junior won the third quarter. The scoreboard showed 47:57 in favor of the Yekaterinburg team before the final period.
In the final quarter, as has happened several times this season, an intrigue arose. Halfway through the encounter, the hosts tied the score with the “Foxes”. Then a “back-and-forth” scoring took place on the court. An accurate three-pointer from Nina Ulchenkova, free throws by Polina Kuznetsova and successful mid-range shots by Maria Sedyakina finally settled the question of the winner in the last minute. That was another victory for UMMC-Junior with a score of 69:73.
In the squad of the juniors, Polina Kuznetsova became the top-scorer, reaching a double-double with 17 points and 15 rebounds. Margarita Kuziakina added 17 points and 3 rebounds. Nina Ulchenkova and Maria Sedyakina earned 11 points apiece.
In the squad of Energia, Ekaterina Zhigiliy became the scoring leader, logging a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Ekaterina Kuznetsova had 14 points and 3 rebounds. Mariam Banna and Sofia Butorina scored 11 points apiece.
Let us remind you that UMMC-Junior finished the first round of the 23/24 Super League in first place. The second round of the Fonbet Russian Championship starts on March 15. The “Foxes” will play in the top three, where the final positions will be determined before the playoffs.