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LFB match 4: Valenciennes - Reims
It was not an explosive start from either team as the floor was slippery after three matches. So first it was Emilie Gomis falling on her first attack and then moments later Anne Marie Parau slipped at the other end of the floor. Amélie Pochet then found time to chase back Parau and knocked away the ball from her before having to leave the field after taking an accidental knock to her face by Maria Frederique Ayissi. In between all of this some basketball was played and USVO took an early lead (9-4). The game became more physical which suited Nicole Ohlde but did not result in USVO gaining the upper hand. While USVO switched offensive options Reims continued to work around the perimeter with the occasional drive which saw them pick up points and bonuses from the charity stripes as they went in front (14-15). Laurie Koehn came back on and demonstrated her skill in shooting from the land of many with two consecutive treys to give USVO a first-period lead (20-15). The second period for Reims was difficult as they found it hard to get to the basket and poor shooting from the charity stripes did not help their cause as USVO hit 3-pointers after 3-pointers (29-18) to open up a significant gap. Reims continued to drop points at the free-throw line as they went into the break trailing by 12 points (39-27). Then Reims showed their good defence as USVO’s only points for the first five minutes in the 3rd period came from the free-throw line. Despite the dominance in defence Reims were not able to make head way offensively allowing USVO’s lead to reach 20 points. With the score now (51-31) and with only two minutes remaining Zuzana Klimova came to live and kick-started an 11-0 by Reims. Also Anne-Sophie Pagnier was then on fire with USVO looking uncomfortable (51-42) going into the final period. The 4th quarter was hot and furious with Reims still reducing their deficit and with just over five minutes left in the game USVO led by only 2 points (58-56). When Francesca Zara who has had a quiet game until this moment took control for USVO with some of her trademark moves and inspiring Ohlde to fight more in the paint USVO managed to survive the crisis and win the match (67-64).
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