Aisha Sheppard was the night’s standout player. The American shooting guard unleashed her full scoring arsenal to become the Basque side’s main nightmare, finishing with 31 points and putting on a luxurious display from beyond the arc (7/8 from three-point range). Her performance, along with those of Mariona, Bankolé, Nerea and Garzon, set the pace for a Casademont side that found its main key to opening up a gap in its outside shooting, going 17/34 from three-point range.
In this way, the Aragonese side, with as many as nine players posting double-figure efficiency ratings, ended its curse at Gernika’s home court to claim a second league win and move to the top of the standings. After the victory in the Basque Country, Cantero’s team will wrap up an intense league week next Sunday in Galicia against Celta.
THE GAME
After opening the season with a win, Casademont arrived at its cursed venue, where it had suffered four consecutive defeats, aiming to end its poor run at Maloste and stay on the right track. With Fingall available after enduring a serious viral illness at the beginning of the week, Carlos Cantero opted to start with Mariona Ortiz, Aisha Sheppard, Ornella Bankolé, Merritt Hempe and Nerea Hermosa.
With these players on court, the Aragonese club began to take control of the game from the outset, thanks to Sheppard scoring seven of the first 13 points for the red-and-blacks and Mariona once again acting as Cantero’s compass, finding her teammates in good shooting positions. Casademont’s defense, which recorded as many as four steals in the opening period, also prevented the Basque side from scoring easily and created an opportunity to open up a lead. However, that did not materialize, mainly because of the Aragonese club’s poor three-point shooting, with a 1/9 record in the opening 10 minutes (15-21).
Sheppard was the best red-and-black player of the game. Photo: Casademont Zaragoza
Back on court, Gernika, who were without their captain Ane Olaeta, opened the second quarter with a quick 5-0 run. Casademont responded forcefully, led by an inspired Sheppard, who was becoming the game’s main protagonist. The American shooting guard entered a wild streak, scoring 12 points in just a few moments to help the Aragonese club, backed by a solid defense, put together a resounding 0-16 run. Cantero’s team was enjoying its best minutes of the early season, allowing it to build a healthy lead before the halftime buzzer (31-49).
ROLLING OVER THE OPPOSITION
After the break, neither Casademont nor a supremely confident Sheppard eased off. The red-and-blacks, with the American shooting guard reaching 28 points after going 6/6 from three-point range, opened the second half with a 7-16 run. It was all made possible by a rampant and accurate offense that had put its first-quarter struggles from beyond the arc behind it and was shooting above 50%. Even so, a Basque surge angered Carlos Cantero, who stopped the game to speak to his players. After the timeout, the red-and-blacks once again became an unstoppable force and effectively settled the game (57-83).
So much so that the final 10 minutes began with three-pointers from Bankolé, Laia and Garzon, pushing the lead to 30 points and leaving Casademont on the verge of reaching 100. A new three-pointer from Brito then took Cantero’s team into three figures on the scoreboard, which eventually reached 108 points and represented the all-time scoring record for the red-and-black club, which also claimed its second official win of the season (72-108).
TECHNICAL DETAILS
Inversus Gernika (72): Bosgana (2), Salvadores (16), Puiggros (-), Vonleh (13) and Ridard (11) — starting five. Matarranz (3), Galanopoulos (12), Mcspadden (11) and Brown (4).
Casademont Zaragoza (108): Mariona Ortiz (4), Aisha Sheppard (31), Ornella Bankolé (8), Nerea Hermosa (10) and Merritt Hempe (9) — starting five. Helena Oma (4), Veronika Vorackova (6), Laia Flores (6), Yarden Garzon (12), Kristine Vitola (2), Nadia Fingall (6) and Carla Brito (10).
Quarter scores: 15-21 / 16-28 / 26-34 / 15-25.
Officials: Asier Quintas, Sergio Del Val and Juan Alberto Pinela.
Details: Match corresponding to Matchday 2 of the Liga Femenina Endesa, played at the Maloste Sports Centre in Gernika.
