Red Star women beat Mechelen 89-56 in EuroLeague opener
Red Star beat Belgium's Mechelen by 33 points in round one of Group B, the club's first EuroLeague Women game since 1990.
Mechelen led 14-12 at one point in the Ranko Zeravica Sports Hall, and that was the last time the visitors were ahead. From then on Red Star never trailed, and the club’s first EuroLeague Women game in 36 years ended in an 89-56 win.
The round-one Group B game was played on October 14 in New Belgrade. For the red-and-whites’ women’s team it is the first appearance among Europe’s elite since 1990, and the side is coached by Marina Maljkovic.
Red Star came in as clear favorites, and the game bore that out: Mechelen stayed in it for only the first few minutes, after which the gap kept growing.
How did Red Star pull away from Mechelen quarter by quarter?
Red Star won all four quarters: 25-16, 13-11, 28-14 and 23-15. After trailing 14-12, the hosts closed the first quarter at 25-16, which means a 13-2 run and a nine-point cushion.
The second quarter was the closest. Red Star took it by just two points, so the halftime score was 38-27, an 11-point lead. The game turned after the break. The third quarter ended 28-14 for the hosts, and heading into the last ten minutes Red Star led 66-41, by 25 points. They won the fourth by another eight, 23-15, and the final margin grew to 33. Quarter by quarter, the lead went up by nine, two, fourteen and eight points, and Mechelen did not win a single one of the four.
Who carried Red Star, and who carried Mechelen?
The top scorer for the hosts was Destani Henderson with 18 points. Andjela Dugalic followed with 15 and Dorijan Dahan Sujic with 14. Artemis Spanu finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Those four players combined for 59 of Red Star’s 89 points.
For Mechelen, Hind Ben Abdelkader was the best with 18 points, and Mud Hujbens added 13. The two of them scored 31 of the visitors’ 56 points, while the rest of the roster contributed 25.
What comes next in Group B?
Besides Red Star and Mechelen, the group includes Galatasaray and Italy’s Scio, the two teams regarded as the favorites. Red Star now have two road games in a row:
- October 22 in Italy against Scio
- October 29 in Istanbul against Galatasaray
Red Star passed their first home test without a hitch, and the next measure of their strength against one of the group’s favorites comes on October 22 in Italy.
