Superb Claire Melia performance gives Baxi Ferrol hope in EuroCup final

Melia, the first Irish woman to play in a final at this level, finished with 12 points, six assists, and four rebounds in a losing effort.

Fans had begun gathering outside A Malata a full three hours before opening tip. Many of them were bedecked in Irish flags and others with red wigs for Monasterevin’s Melia. The Kildare woman’s performances and personality has won her a strong following in the Galician town.

A powerful start by Villeneuve d’Ascq rattled the hosts in the early going. A barrage of three pointers with two from Shavonte Zellous and one from Carla Leite put the French side into a nine-point lead by the midpoint of the opening quarter.

Claire Melia brought the capacity crowd to their feet with a three pointer to narrow the gap. Still, Baxi Ferrol were clearly struggling to contain the abundance of offensive talent the visitors had to offer. At the end of the first quarter, Melia’s side trailed 33-25.

After sitting out the backside of the first quarter, the Melia re-entered the fray early in the second. Her return brought some much needed physicality to Ferrol’s defence as they managed to stifle the French attack for a spell.

Some unselfish play by Melia on a fast break finally got things going for her side as they cut to gap to six points by the middle of the quarter. Melia followed that up with a three pointer to fuel the rally further. An assist by Melia for a Julie Pospisilova three meant her side went in up 44-42 at the half.

Leite got the visitors rolling after the break with a couple of nice finishes inside but Ferrol answered with authority, with Gala Mestres nailing two early threes. Still the momentum was with the French side and they retook the lead at the mid point of the third through another Leite finish inside.

Ferrol went back to the grind and Melia switched with regularity between outside passer and inside shooter to help her side’s cause. That ensured they kept pace but the French side looked eager to jack up the pace. With 10 minutes to play, Melia’s side trailed 63-60.

Lino Lopez, the Baxi Ferrol coach, sat Melia early in the fourth but Villeneuve d’Ascq made good use of the extra space. They pushed the lead to seven points, forcing a timeout from Lopez. With little progress from his side over the next couple of possessions, he pulled the trigger to reinsert Melia with six minutes to play.

Business picked up immediately as she assisted on a Mataix score before a Moira Joiner three cut the gap to two points in the middle of the final quarter. The game became a bruising encounter mostly in the paint to finish.

The French had the better of the closing exchanges but Melia and her team will travel to Lille with plenty of confidence that they can pull an upset in next week’s second leg.