Istanbul (EuroCup Women): With a stirring fourth-quarter comeback on the EuroCup Women Final return leg, Yakin Dogu Universitesi have been crowned EuroCup Women champions in their rookie season.
Competing in Europe’s second-tier women’s club competition Final against fellow Turkish side Bellona Agu, Yakin Dogu Universitesi stepped onto their homecourt for the return leg on Wednesday evening, carrying a four-point buffer from the away leg a week previous. (For more stories on Basketball, click here)
Appearing in their third EuroCup Women Final, Bellona Agu wasted little time in making up the four-point deficit, and would in fact lead by as much as 15, as they looked on track to finally win their maiden title, having previously missed out at the last step in 2012 and 2013.
However, a spirited comeback in the final quarter, led by international bigs Quanitra Hollingsworth and Yelena Leuchanka, saw the home team rally back into contention, seeing the sellout crowd rise to their feet and find their full voice as they stormed to a 63-58 victory, giving them a 136-127 win on aggregate score.
The European women’s club competition season draws to a close this coming weekend in Ekaterinburg, Russia, where home side UMMC Ekaterinburg will host Dynamo Kursk (RUS), Fenerbahce (TUR) and ZVVZ USK Prague (CZE) in the EuroLeague Women Final Four. The Semi-Finals will be played on Friday with the medal games taking place on Sunday.