Four teams from Lithuania battled against each other to start the year 2023 in the Women's Baltic Basketball League.
Player of the Game
In the first Sunday's match, Aistes Kaunas (9-4) welcomed Siauliai-Vilmers (4-9). Even though the hosts got off to a better start (13:7), the guests finished the quarter better and held a slim 2-point lead (22:20) after the first 10 minutes.
However, Aistes began to slowly take control of the match and won the second quarter by 11 (29:18) to hold a solid 9-point lead (47:38) going into the half.
The girls from Kaunas took over the game in the second half and comfortably defeated their opponents from Siauliai 90:60 (18:20, 29:18, 24:14, 19:14).
Audrone Zdaneviciute was the top-scorer of the match with 25 points on 7-for-11 shooting, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 8 drawn fouls for 34 PIR.
Tyra Marie Buss contributed with 24 points, 5 assists, and 5 steals, while Martyna Petrenaite added 21 points to the tally.
Only three players scored in double digits on the Siauliai-Vilmers team with Danguole Pupkeviciute leading the squad with 21 points and 5 assists.
Aistes: Audrone Zdaneviciute 25 (6/6 2PT, 1/5 3PT, 10/13 FT, 7 REB, 3 STL), Tyra Marie Buss 24 (5/11 2PT, 3/12 3PT, 5/8 FT, 5 AST, 5 STL), Martyna Petrenaite 21 (4/4 3PT).
Siauliai: Danguole Pupkeviciute 21 (3/6 2PT, 4/7 3PT, 3/4 FT, 5 AST, 8 TO), Ruta Stipra 12 (5/11 2PT, 5 REB), Enrika Matiukaite 11 (4/6 2PT, 8 REB).
In the second game of the day, Kibirkstis Vilnius (8-2) met against LCC Klaipeda (6-5). The club from the Lithuanian capital took control early, establishing a solid 15:6 lead with 5 minutes to go in the first quarter.
Kibirkstis were not phased by LCC's attempts to narrow the deficit and continued to win on every aspect of the game, and finished the first 10 minutes with a 17-point lead (32:15).
The guests didn't manage to bounce back after decisively losing the first quarter. A dominant third quarter from Kibirkstis (23:13) ended all hopes for the visiting team and handed LCC their 5th loss in the tournament, winning the matchup 91:63 (32:15, 17:16, 23:13, 19:19).
Gintare Petronyte once again dominated on the court. Leading the league in PIR, the Lithuanian center scored 16 points on 8-for-10 shooting, grabbed 7 rebounds, and recorded 3 assists and 2 blocks for a game-leading 25 PIR.
All twelve players that were registered for the game appeared on the court for Kibirkstis with all but one playing at least 12 minutes.
Maiara Pereira Dias was the top scorer on the LCC roster with 14 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists for 16 PIR.
Kibirkstis: Gintare Petronyte 16 (8/10 2PT, 7 REB), Justina Miknaite 12 (4/9 2PT, 3 STL), Rachel Elise Theriot 10 (5/6 2PT).
LCC: Maiara Pereira Dias 14 (6/8 2PT, 7 REB, 4 TO), Maisa Pereira Dias 13 (2/6 2PT, 6/7 FT, 6 REB), Laurinta Jurciute 12 (0/6 2PT, 3/7 3PT, 5 REB), Lina Loceniece 10 (1/6 3PT).
After the two matches, Aistes Kaunas moved to first place in the standings. However, the team has played the most games in the tournament with 13, and currently has more losses than the three teams below.
One of them is Kibirkstis Vilnius who rose to fourth place after today's win. Undefeated at home, the girls from Vilnius trail only Neptunas Klaipeda and Rigas Stradina University in the standings.
The two losing teams, on the other side, share 6th place in the standings at the moment. Siauliai-Vilmers have played 13 games as well and have 9 losses in their account with LCC Klaipeda losing 5 times in 11 matches.
