Photos: Mikus Kļaviņš
Rīga Stradiņš University survived to live another day as Matīss Rožlapa`s team prevailed over SBŠ Ostrava 78-61 on Saturday, January 21, at the Rimi Olympic Center in Rīga, Latvia.
Players of the game
RSU players had a good shooting day.
Māra Mote scored 18 of her 24 points in the first half for a 46-32 lead at the half.
A 2021 NCAA finalist with Arizona made 4-of-6 three point shots and 8-of-10 from the free throw line.
Shooting guard dished out five assists and stole the ball twice for a team high efficiency rating of 28.
Luīze Šepte shined in many ways.
Forward had 13 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and a team high four blocks for a efficiency rating of 24.
Evelīna Otto contributed with 13 points and 13 rebounds.
A 16 year old center won the MVP award at the 2023 Baltic Sea Basketball Cup for U18 teams.
Enija Vīksne had six points, six rebounds, nine assists and three steals.
Anacia Wilkinson scored 24 points on 9-of-19 shooting from the field and 6-of-8 from the charity stripe.
Tennessee Tech standout grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked four shots for a game high efficiency rating of 29.
Eliška Kubičkova had 11 points and three assists.
Tereza Motyčakova filled the stat sheet with three points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Ostrava captain didn`t finished the game as she was fouled out after 26:24 minutes of play.
Key stats
RSU outrebounded SBŠ Ostrava 56-40 (offensive rebounds 21-13).
The home team went on a run thanks to a smooth shooting from the deep.
RSU made 50% of three point attempts, 10-of-20, compared to 15% for SBŠ Ostrava.
Māra Mote scored quick 15 points to secure a 43-23 lead.
Ostrava rallied and replied with a 0-9 run to cut the gap to 11 points, 43-32.
The second half reminded of a déjà vu effect.
Ostrava cut RSU`s lead to 11-12 points several times but Matīss Rožlapa`s team regained composure like a T-robot in Terminator movies.
Game notes
SBŠ Ostrava loss secured a Final 4 spot for Levharti Chomutov.
Iveta Raškova`s team has entered a four way tie with RSU, TTT Rīga and Šiauliai.
SBŠ Ostrava can still improve its position with a win over Neptūnas Klaipeda on Sunday.
The waiting game starts for RSU as there will be two games in between before their clash against TTT Rīga.
SCHEDULE (local time, GMT+3h)
Saturday, January 21, Rīga
Rīga Stradiņš University 78–61 SBŠ Ostrava
Neptūnas Klaipeda 89–83 TTT Rīga
Sunday, January 22, Rīga
12:00 SBŠ Ostrava – Neptūnas Klaipeda
Friday, February 3, Klaipeda
18:00 Neptūnas Klaipeda – Šiauliai Vilmers
TBA
Sunday, Febryary 5, Rīga
19:30 Rīga Stradiņš University – TTT Rīga
Standings, as of January 21, 2023
SKK Polonia Warszawa 7-0 (+55) Qualified
Levharti Chomutov 4-3 (+63) Qualified
Frankivsk Prykarpattya 4-3 (+2) Qualified
RSU 2-4 (-12)
TTT Rīga 2-4 (-16)
SBŠ Ostrava 2-4 (-25)
Šiauliai Vilmers 2-4 (-66)
Neptūnas Klaipeda 2-3 (-1)
Tie-breaker (1): TTT Rīga 1-0, +8; Levharti Chomutov 0-1, -8.
Tie-breaker (2): SBŠ Ostrava 1-0, +21; Šiauliai Vilmers 0-1, -21.
Tie-breaker (3): TTT Rīga 2-0, +15; SBŠ Ostrava 1-1, -2; Levharti Chomutov 0-2, -13.
Tie-breaker (4): SBŠ Ostrava 1-1, +14; TTT Rīga 1-1, +3; Šiauliai Vilmers 1-1, -17.
Tie-breaker (5): TTT Rīga 1-0, +7; SBŠ Ostrava 0-1, -7.
Tie-breaker (6): Levharti Chomutov 1-0, +31; Frankivsk Prykarpattya 0-1, -31.
Tie-breaker (7): RSU 2-0, +50; TTT 1-1, +3, SBŠ Ostrava 1-2, -3; Šiauliai 1-2, -50.