No dream finish for gutsy Melia and BAXI Ferrol in superb EuroCup campaign

THE dream of lifting the 2024/25 FIBA Women’s EuroCup unravelled for former Kestrels and Portlaoise Panthers player, Claire Melia and her BAXI Ferrol team mates after they suffered an 84-70 defeat (162-145 on aggregate) to Villeneuve d’Ascq LM in the second leg of this season’s final in France on Wednesday night.

Melia, who had played such a huge part in Ferrol’s stunning debut season in the EuroCup, found the going tough on Villeneuve’s home court, the Monasterevin woman’s night not being made any easier by her picking up a third foul prior to the half-time recess.

She carded six points, three rebounds and four assists in a tough return game, from which Julie Pospisilova emerged Ferrol’s most prolific scorer with 19 on the scoreboard.

But Villeneuve were determined to quickly build on the narrow three-point advantage they carried over from last week’s opening leg victory in Spain, Shavonte Zellous helping them do just that as she drained five of her six efforts from downtown on her way to a game-high 23 points.

Finals MVP, Carla Leite and Marie-Paule Foppossi combined for a further 30 as the French side secured the European title for a second time in their club history, 10 years on from the first time they raised the coveted prize.

While being stopped one round short of European glory will, no doubt, hurt for Melia and her team mates, they can certainly draw comfort from what has been a phenomenal debut season in the competition that started out in the qualifiers way back in September.

They fought their way through the pool stages and knock-out rounds, taking some big scalps along the way, most notably that of 2023 winners LDLC ASVEL Feminin in the semi-finals.

Yet the signs were ominous for the Spanish newcomers from early on in Wednesday night’s second leg as the hosts served up the opening seven points, including an early three from captain, Caroline Heriaud.

And when the road team did get off the mark by way of an equally impressive triple by Moira Joiner, it was answered by back-to-back threes from Zellous that pushed their game lead out to ten points (13 overall).

It forced a Ferrol timeout, after which they hit back with Blanca Millan and Joiner efforts off the three-point arc, setting the stage for a tit-for-tat tussle over the remainder of the first quarter which finished 23-18 in Villeneuve’s favour.

Ferrol opened the second quarter with a Gala Mestres layup, but that was met by a nine-point run for the homeside that featured back-to-back layups by Kadiatou Sissoko and a sideline three by Marie-Eve Paget.

The visitors did get their side of the scoreboard ticking again with a Pospisilova deuce and a Joiner jump shot, but Villeneuve continued to keep them at arm’s length by way of buckets from Leite, Haley Peters and a three-point jump shot right on the half-time buzzer by Zellous.

It meant Ferrol were facing 42-30 deficit on the night, leaving them 15 points in arrears on aggregate, and with the added concern of having Melia on three fouls by that stage.

Villeneuve kept their foot on the gas when play resumed, Peters’ three-pointer being followed up with an ‘and one’ by Leite.

And while Ferrol managed to cancel out that early second-half barrage with scores from beyond and inside the D by Gala Mestres and Pospisilova, the homeside refused to buckle, despite Melia twisting and turning in the paint for another two buckets.

Aminata Gueye, Sissoko, Leite, Foppossi and Zellous all put the ball through the string, and while Pospisilova nailed a three for Ferrol, the Spanish side saw the deficit on the night enlarged to 66-50 and 19 points overall by the close of the third.

Zellous and Foppossi piled on more trouble for Ferrol early in the fourth, but the visitors kept on fighting, putting up a six-point run through Angela Mataix, Mestres and Pospisilova.

The hosts, however, continued to remain well clear, helped by three from three off the free-throw line by Leite.

And, while the Spanish outfit did manage another six unanswered points, they just had too much ground to make up and not enough time to do it, Gueye and Peters getting in for late layups to help ensure the EuroCup was heading back to Villeneuve for the first time in a decade.