Basketball: BLMA defeats Toulouse for its last friendly match before the resumption of the championship
Less than a week before the start of the Eurocup, the Gazelles won 68-59 against Toulouse who did not give up until the end.
They were around 200 to fill the bays of the Lattes sports hall, this Wednesday evening to attend the last test round of the BLMA girls, before the start of the season, Eurocup and LFB.
It was coach Valéry Demory’s proteges who started the match the best with a good address and an effective defense (11-1). But the Toulousaines, promoted this season in the Elite, have shown that they have the resource to get closer to the score (11-10). Finally, the first quarter ends in a tie (17-17).
Led by its pair of explosive backs, with Romane Berniès and Belgian rookie Julie Vanloo (14 pts), BLMA stood out in scoring during this period. Despite an average success against the circle, the Latto-Montpellieran abnegation is to be noted as in this action one minute from half-time, where despite the three-point failures of Vanloo then Peters, two offensive rebounds are recovered to give a another chance for Vanloo, to sanction this time (43-30).
The start of the second half was catastrophic for the locals, who confused speed with haste and lost countless balls. Balloons operated by the Haut-Garonne duo Loyd-Lambert, who, when he does not score from a distance, serve Gueye and his large size in the paint, to call back at 47-45. Lattes-Montpellier does not succeed offensively and relies only on the exploits of Haley Peters (15 pts in the meeting), to keep the lead (52-50 at the end of 3QT).
In the last ten minutes, the international Marième Badiane, recently arrived from ASVEL, showed her advantage (17 pts in the match), as in the Eurocup play-off return match against Pozega. Her sure hands and her skill in the racket allow the Gazelles to keep Toulouse Métropole Basket at a distance, in particular three minutes from time, when the interior intercepts a ball and goes alone to the basket, before being irregularly stopped by the opposing leader … unsportsmanlike foul, two throws, which Badiane registered, and possession for the Héraultaises who definitely took shelter (62-55, then 68-59).
Before traveling to Zabiny Brno, next Tuesday (6 p.m.), for the debut of Eurocup, and to Angers, Saturday October 29, in Angers for the first day of LFB, Valéry Demory was able to see the strengths, and the points of improvements from his team, which was without pivot Kyara Linskens.