Morgan Lenahan scored five consecutive points in the clutch time and Danguole Pupkevičiūte added nine more points for Šiauliai/Vilmers in a 74-68 win over Frankivsk Prykarpattya on Monday, December 19, at the Olympic Sports center in Rīga, Latvia.
Players of the game
Big moments require big time players.
Šiauliai guards were up for the job as they scored last 16 points for their team.
Morgan Lenahan amassed seven points during that stretch, including five points in the last two minutes.
A former Wagner player completed “and one” play after a steal by Brigita Rimkevičiūte.
Lenahan added two more points in the next possession to increase Šiauliai lead up to seven points 70-63.
She finished with a team high 21 points.
Lenahan contributed with nine rebounds, seven assists and four steals for a team high efficiency rating of 25.
Danguole Pupkevičiūte scored 9 of her 15 points during the clutch time.
It was the second time when she stepped up in such a big way – the first came on November 13 in against-the-odds win over TTT Rīga.
A 2022 European U18 champion scored a go-ahead basket 65-63 with 02:55 left.
Šiauliai stayed in front for the rest of the way but Pupkevičiūte added four more points in the final minute.
Pupkevičiūte finished the game with 15 points and four steals.
Brigita Rimkevičiūte, another European U18 champion, registered a crucial block against Oksana Mollova with 01:28 to go.
Young forward had 11 points, three assists and four steals.
Front court players Rūta Stiprā and Enrika Matiukaite scored 10 and nine points respectively.
Krystyna Filevich led all scorers with 32 points.
Ukraine international posted 16 points in the fourth quarter.
Prykarpattya captain added eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and six forced fouls for a game efficiency rating of 29.
Taisiia Udodenko posted five of her nine points during the final minutes.
Center struggled in scoring but grabbed 15 rebounds and tied the game at 63.
Udodenko had two assists, two steals and two blocks for a efficiency rating of 18.
Oksana Mollova finished 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
Bogdana Lapkhan provided a spark from the bench as she posted eight points and three steals.
Key stats
Šiauliai had a solid shooting night – all starters connected at least 42 per cent of their field goal attempts, while Pupkevičiūte reached the 50 per cent mark.
The Sun City starters outscored Prykarpattya 66-60.
Matiukaite had four valuable points early in the fourth quarter to maintain an eight point lead for Šiauliai.
Filevich and Udodenko went on a 16-10 shooting run to tie the game at 63.
The dynamic duo combined for 21 points in the fourth quarter but it wasn`t enough as Šiauliai guards took over.
Game notes
Šiauliai improved to 2-2 while Prykarpattya dropped to 1-1.
The standings remind of a log jam now.
SBŠ Ostrava hold a 1-1, +14 advantage in a three way tie against TTT Rīga (1-1, +3) and Šiauliai Vilmers (1-1, -17).
Four teams have a 50% winning percentage – SBŠ Ostrava, TTT Rīga, Šiauliai Vilmers and Frankivsk Prykarpattya.
Levharti Chomutov (40%) and Neptūnas (33%) are not far behind, while RSU (20%) are not out of contention yet.
SCHEDULE (local time, GMT+3h)
Saturday, December 17
Rīga Stradiņš University 62–68 BC Frankivsk Prykarpattya
Sunday, December 18
Šiauliai/Vilmers 59–92 Rīga Stradiņš University
Monday, December 19
BC Frankivsk Prykarpattya 68–74 Šiauliai Vilmers
Standings, as of December 19, 2022
SKK Polonia Warszawa 5-0 (+46) Qualified
Levharti Chomutov 2-3 (+16)
SBŠ Ostrava 2-2 (+3)
TTT Rīga 2-2 (+7)
Šiauliai Vilmers 2-2 (-44)
RSU 1-4 (-29)
Neptūnas Klaipeda 1-2 (+1)
Frankivsk Prykarpattya 1-1 (+0)
Tie-breaker: Ostrava 1-1, +14; TTT Rīga 1-1, +3; Šiauliai Vilmers 1-1, -17.
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