Cup winner Panathinaikos with Carter as the heroine

We almost had a huge surprise in the final of the Women’s Cup. Against all odds, Eleftheria Moschatos came within a breath of the title against Panathinaikos in Zofria, but the “greens” managed to have the last smile and win the trophy with 66-61 for the second time in their history and the first since 2000.

The team of Giorgos Simos was in control of the game from the beginning reaching +9 in the third quarter (40-49) and in the fourth quarter (43-52). The Greens, who had won twice in the regular season, 58-84 and 79-48, went ahead on a 3-pointer by Carter (58-57) with 1:42 left, but saw their opponents overtake again, 58-61. But the last word belonged to Arika Carter who with a three-pointer and a foul at 52” overturned the facts (62-61).

The star player of Panathinaikos had 19 points with 4/9 three-pointers and 7 assists. Leading for the losers was Lilia-Anna Karakasidou with 21 points and 8 assists, while Nefeli Stoupa had 16.

The match:

Good start for Panathinaikos in the match, with the “green” hitting the “drawing board” with Potter and Christinaki for 6-3 in 4′. Somewhere there, Eleftheria Moschato revved up and with 3-pointers by Brewer, Calloway and Stoupa ran a 12-2 run to overtake and 15-8 in 8′. All Panathinaikos was able to do in the last two minutes was to reduce to 15-10 of the quarter.

The typical visitors continued to connect with the opponent’s basket from a distance, with Stoupa’s three-pointer sending the difference to +7 for on 19-12 at 12′. The reaction of Panathinaikos came, with the “greens” answering with the same… currency and thanks to the three-pointers of Carter and Theodoromanolakis, they went ahead with 20-19 in the 14th minute. The executive ability of Calloway and Karakasidou, however, behind the 6.75m. (6/13tr. in the first half Moschato), brought Eleftheria back into the driver’s seat, going to the locker room with the pro of 33-27.

More in a while

The quarters: 10-15, 27-33, 43-49, 66-61.