Another home victory for the Niçoises who dominated Nantes with a score of 71-60. After their defeat on Bourges’ court, it was important to win to maintain confidence and preserve their strong momentum for the second half of the season. The Angels will begin the second phase as the leader.
Niçoises’ individual talents highlighted
At the start of the match, the Angels quickly scored two baskets, thanks to Djéné Diawara. In defense, Rachid Méziane’s team is aggressive and grants no easy baskets to the Nantes players.
However, five minutes into the game, the Niçoises committed three turnovers in a row. The Nantes players took advantage to tie the score (6-4). Fortunately, Nice could rely on their individual talents to bounce back. First Ambrosia Anderson, then Isabelle Strunc with two deadly 3-pointers, allowed Nice to lead at the end of the first quarter. 20-16.
Nice started the second quarter with a bang. 7-0 for the Niçoises in the first 3 minutes, notably thanks to Isabelle Strunc (a three-pointer and a lay-up).
Then began the Courtney Hurt show. Whether driving or mid-range, the Nantes team had no answer for the American forward. She scored basket after basket. Out of the 19 points Nice scored during the quarter, she contributed 9. And defensively, the players from the Côte d’Azur remained solid. 39-26 for the Niss’Angels at the end of the second quarter.
A controlled second half
Returning from the locker room, Rachid Méziane’s players continued with the same strategies from the first two periods to dominate Nantes. Namely, a solid defense and an unstoppable Courtney Hurt. She scored 21 points by the end of the third quarter. And 54-42 for Nice before the final period.
In the last quarter, Djéné Diawara decided to make her mark. She took charge by scoring 8 points (16 points in total for her). Then Laetitia Guapo, with a 3-pointer from the corner, allowed the Angels to stretch their lead to 16 points with 3 minutes left in the game.
A heavy blow for the Nantes team who would not recover. The players from the Côte d’Azur ultimately won with little difficulty. Nearly 51% shooting success and total domination on rebounds (44 rebounds for Nice compared to 27 for Nantes). The only downside of this game was the turnovers, 15 in total.
The next meeting for Rachid Méziane and his team will be in Arras next Saturday.
by Désiré Teivao
