This Saturday at the Leyrit hall, Nice was up against Lyon. The Niss’Angels had just secured an impressive first victory in Angers (67-73), a way to erase the disappointment of the Final Four this spring.
With Jeanne Senghor-Sy still absent, Nice could rely on the return of Anna Montanana and Alexandra Tchangoué and the contribution of Katerina Zohnova, the new Czech recruit.
So far, Lyon had a brilliant run, sitting in 4th place in the standings (3 wins, 1 loss), particularly with a clear victory in Montpellier (55-70) but a more narrow win against Basket Landes last Wednesday, 72-67.
After a poor start, 14-23 in the 1st quarter, the Niss’Angels faced halftime with a 10-point lag behind the Lyonnaises (deprived of Sara Chevaugeon, who had a knee injury), 23-33.
This didn’t dampen the spirits of the Niçoises who, after a hesitant 3rd quarter (31-40), closed in on the score to come within 3 points with 2 minutes 30 seconds left before the final buzzer, 41-44!
Unfortunately, the experience of the visitors, led by Mistie Bass and Bintou Dieme, got the better of our players (special mention to Margaux Galliou-Loko, 20 points including a 4/5 from 3-point range), resulting in a close final score of 45-50.
Philippe Jaïs
