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UMMC beat Samara twice to advance to the semifinals
The "Foxes" played the second game in the quarterfinals of the Fonbet Russian Premier League Championship. In Yekaterinburg, UMMC players faced Samara to reach the semifinals. The encounter ended with a convincing victory for the home team.
It is worth reminding that according to the rules of the quarterfinal playoffs, teams play until two wins. UMMC also won the first game in Samara with a score of 79:82.
UMMC (Yekaterinburg) – Samara (Samara) 72:53
Quarters' results: 17:12, 18:15, 16:19, 21:7
The guests opened the scoring. Then Maryia Papova made an accurate three-pointer and two successful mid-range shots. Thus, the home team took the lead. Olairi Kosu drove to the basket twice and was successful both times. In the final seconds, Elena Beglova hit from behind the arc – the score was 17:12 in favor of the Yekaterinburg team after the first quarter.
The second stretch continued in a similar rhythm. Three consecutive mid-range attacks by Sparkle Taylor are deserving notice. By the seventh minute, UMMC was ahead by 10 points. The athletes went for the halftime break with a score of 35:27 in favor of Dmitrii Donskov's team.
In the third ten-minute period, Samara won a local victory and even gained a one-point lead. However, the "Foxes" quickly leveled the gap and by the end of the quarter, they had a five-point advantage - 51:46.
There was no intrigue in the final quarter – UMMC dominated on the court. They began to build up the advantage from the start - mid-range shots from Megan Walker, three-pointers from Elena Beglova and Alex Bentley contributed to this. Breaking away from the opponents by 19 points, UMMC secured a victory with a score of 72:53. Thus, the "Foxes" advanced to the semifinals of the Fonbet Russian Championship.
Dmitrii Donskov, UMMC Head Coach:
- The most important thing is that we got through this stage in two games and we have time to prepare for the semifinals. Today's game was not very stable and only in the fourth quarter did we manage to play well and aggressively on defense. The coaching staff always wants to see such a game. For now, we are getting focused on the next stage - serious games lie ahead.
In the squad of UMMC, Tina Krajisnik became the top-scorer with 14 points and 6 rebounds. Megan Walker added 10 points and 8 rebounds. Olairi Kosu had 8 points and 11 rebounds, Elena Beglova accumulated 8 points and 3 rebounds.
In the squad of Samara, Lira Masedu became the scoring leader with 11 points and 8 rebounds. Alexandra Marchenkova harvested 10 points and 4 rebounds. Daria Kurilchuk finished with 7 points and 2 rebounds.
The next stage of the Fonbet Russian Championship will be held as part of the semi-finals, where UMMC will face MBA from Moscow. The game will take place on the home court of DIVS Arena on April 11 at 7:00 p.m.