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UMMC begin their journey in the Russian Cup with a win
The first game of the quarter-finals of the Fonbet Russian Cup for the Yekaterinburg team took place in Krasnoyarsk against the local club Enisey. The result was a victory for UMMC, with a score of 83:93.
Scores by quarter: 26:26, 14:24, 16:28, 27:15
The first ten minutes began on a high note: the home team opened the scoring, but the “Foxes” were determined not to give up the initiative. Alex Bentley put on a real show, scoring two three-pointers and two mid-range shots, which gave her 10 personal points by the middle of the period. The team of Dmitrii Donskov fought for every possession, but the hosts didn’t allow the Yekaterinburg team to pull ahead. The result was a tie at 26:26, which promised a fierce contest.
In the second quarter, the pace of the game noticeably slowed down, but the guests managed to take advantage of this. Already in the third minute, the “Foxes” created a five-point lead, and a three-pointer from Anastasiia Shilova increased the gap to eight. The Krasnoyarsk team tried to hold their defense, but an accurate shot from Maryia Papova in the final seconds made the guests’ lead double-digit. The Ural team went into halftime with a confident advantage – 40:50.
After the break, players of Dmitrii Donskov demonstrated their true strength. Alex Bentley continued to rack up points, confidently attacking from all positions. The hosts began to make mistakes, losing possession of the ball, and the “Foxes” immediately capitalized on these opportunities. Shilova added another three-pointer, which marked the peak of their dominance in this period. Despite all the attempts by Enisey, the score before the final quarter looked impressive: 56:78 in favor of the guests.
The final quarter brought a new surge of emotions for the spectators. The team of Olga Shuneikina made a desperate attempt to reduce the gap, which was successful – the distance was cut to 10 points. Despite the pressure, UMMC maintained control over the game. Zhosselina Maiga particularly stood out, confidently pushing her opponents in the paint. The final score was 83:93 in favor of the Yekaterinburg team, who head home with their first win in the quarter-finals of the Fonbet Russian Cup. The teams will meet again on December 18 in Yekaterinburg, where the fate of the semifinalist will be decided.
Maria Klyundikova commented on the game:
“It was a good game, good defense, but unfortunately, we lost the final quarter. In my opinion, we were careless in the end. We’ll fix it at home and show a great game.”
In the squad of UMMC, Alex Bentley was the top scorer with 21 points and 4 rebounds. Zhosselina Maiga had 14 points and 4 rebounds. Anastasiia Shilova and Olairi Kosu each scored 11 points.
In the squad of Enisey, Natalia Gorbacheva excelled with 16 points and 2 rebounds. Daria Sidorova had 15 points, and Daria Levchenko added 13.