Sparta&K Scores Eighth Win, Beretta-Famila Clobbers CCC Polkowice

Sparta&K Moscow stayed sizzling despite a long break as they scored their eighth win of the season, while Beretta-Famila Schio clobbered their opponent on Thursday night.

Russian perennial powerhouse Sparta&K Moscow solidified their grip on the second spot in Group C after hammering out a convincing 79-60 win over Gospic Croatia in front of a hostile crowd in Gospic.

Candice Dupree had a spectacular performance as she finished with 24 points and eight rebounds, while Becky Hammon also did a lot of damage, finishing with 17 points for Sparta&K, who improved to 8-3 this season.

Expecting their opponent to live and die with their three-point shooting, Sparta&K leaned on their tough defense and close outs to take full control for the entire game, limiting Gospic to just 4-for-31 shooting from the field.

“We knew that the game against Gospic CO would be difficult, for this is a team that likes to play offense and has a lot of pick-and-rolls, but are also dependent on their 3-point shots,” said Sparta&K coach Pokey Chatman. “In the first part of the game, Gospic CO played well. Later on, they made our job easier by missing a lot of their 3-pt shots.”

Julie McBride was the lone bright spot for Gospic, finishing with 21 points and six rebounds, which was not enough to stand against the tough Russian squad.

Meanwhile, on the other game of the day, Beretta-Famila improved to 5-5 after routing CCC Polkowice, 85-67, to stay in contention for a playoff spot in Group B.

Cheryl Ford had a huge night, racking up 17 points and 15 rebounds, Laura Macchi added 16 points, while Maja Erkic chipped in 14 points and five rebounds.

“Great game from my players against the Polish team that won in the away game,” said Schio coach Maurizio Lasi. “We needed to win to continue our EuroLeague Women season and tonight's performance will also help us in the next Italian championship game, against Cras Taranto Basket.”

Evanthia Maltsi led CCC Polkowice with 15 points, while Iva Perovanovic added 13 points and seven boards.