The second day matches of Dr. Suat Günsel Cup International Basketball Tournament, which was the scene of breathtaking games between the elite teams of women’s basketball, was completed.

For the second day games, in Group A Hatay BŞB defeated Galatasaray 80-63 and in Group B Near East University defeated the Belgian rival Castors Braine 79-70. Having been the winner of the first and second day’s games, the Near East University qualified as the first finalist of the tournament.

Hatay BŞB Outscored…..Hatay BŞB: 80-Galatasaray: 63

For the first match of the second day of the tournament, Hatay BŞB faced Galatasaray in Group A and won the game 80-63.

During the first half, the long range shooters and versatile players of Hatay BŞB drove to the basket with three and two point shots and won the first and second period by net scores of 25-19 and 41-29 respectively. During the third period, with its versatile players and long range shooters Hatay BŞB outscored up to 24 points and completed the third period by a net score of 6-39. Hatay BŞB kept dominating the match during the last period as well. With the final whistle and a net score of 80-63, Hatay BŞB left the court victoriously as the winner of the game.

Standouts:

Hatay BŞB:  Win Ben Abdelkader 20 pts, Merve Aydın 13 pts, Viktor Mircheva 11 pts, Katsiaryna Snytsina 13 pts, Seda Deniz 10 pts, Özge Yavaş 6 pts, Hülya Çoklar 3 pts, Bahar Öztürk 4 pts.

Galatasaray: Jelena Dubljevic 18 pts, Gizem Başaran 13 pts, İrem Naz Topuz 9 pts,  Işıl Alben 4 pts, Merve Uygül 7 pts, Olivia Epoupa 8 pts, Özge Kavurmacıoğlu 2 pts, Meltem Yıldızhan 2 pts.

Defeating its rival Castors Braine, Near East University qualified for the Final….

In the second game of the day, the tough fight between the Near East University and Belgian Castors Braine was the scene of breathtaking moments. Throughout the game, both teams kept their defenses tight and fought toe to toe to dominate the match. Tough zone defenses and rebound challenges were very striking. Near East University didn’t give way to its rival and left the basketball court victoriously by a net score of 78-70.

The Near East University started the game with a very high tempo and NEU’s versatile players Mestdagh and Eldebrink began to get inside the paint and drive to the basket. NEU outscored 15-9 in the first minutes of the first period and forced its rival for a time-out. Following the time-out, NEU’s guards and pivots continued to be effective in all zones and outscored its rival 27-19 with the baskets achieved by Wauters and Hollingsworth. The first period of the match ended with this score.

The Belgian Castors Braine started the second period with an effective defensive and offensive high tempo game and closed the gap and brought the score to 32-31 with the three point shots scored by the team’s long range shooters Merike and Olesia. The second period in which both teams experienced too many turnovers ended with the win of Castors Braine 41-42.

Both team started the third period with mutual baskets. This period was the scene of tough and toe to toe fights. Braine shooters Olesia and Marjorie were very effective and continued to score and brought the score to 49-53. NEU’s versatile players picked themselves up and began to fight back with tough defense and domination in rebounds. The team pointers such as Hollingsworth and Eldebrink began to get inside the paint and drive to the basket. Through a serial lead, the Near East University tied the score to 58-58 in the very last seconds of the third period. However, in the last attack, Merike got inside the paint and drove to basket and the third period ended with 58-60.

Near East University started the last period very effective. Through a serial lead, Hollingsworth and Wauters made the score 70-64 and forced the Belgian team for a time-out. Following the time out, the Near East University continued to play effectively and won the game 79-70.

With 22 points and 10 rebounds, NEU’s Quanitra Hollingsworth was the most scorer name of the game. With 5 assists, Olcay Çakır was another striking player of the Near East University.

Standouts:

Near East University: Quanitra Hollingsworth 22 pts, Ann  Wauters 15 pts, Elin Eldebrink 12 pts, Cansu Köksal 12 pts, Kim Mestdagh 10  pts, Olcay Çakır Turgut pts, Bahar Çağlar 2 pts.

Castors Braine: Celeste Trahan-Davis 13 pts, Marjorie Carpréaux 10 pts, Merike Anderson 13 pts, Maxuella Lisowa 4 pts, Olesia Malashenko 18 pts, Nikolina Milic 5 pts, Britney Jones 7 pts.

Third Day Program….
CB Avenida, Hatay BSB, ZWZ USK Prague and Castors Braine will fight on the third day of the tournament, which basketball fans follow closely. The first game on the third day will be played between CB Avenida and Hatay BSB at 17:15. For the second game of the day ZWZ USK Prague will face Castors Braine at 19:30.