Kahleah Copper gives Avenida the victory in the first game of the Women's League final

Copper shoots a basket against Allen.

FEB

Perfumerías Avenida scored the victory in the first game of the Endesa Women's League final against Valencia Basket.

First and second of the regular season (at an average of 74 and 72 points per game, respectively) they collided in a rough and dense duel, with 47 fouls (three players eliminated) and 27 turnovers, resolved with a flat score (55 -44), and with only six points from Valencia in the last quarter, with no arguments for a comeback.

Kahleah Copper rose from the thicket and grabbed the award for the team from Salamanca.

The star of Perfumerías melted with 20 points a rival dry and obfuscated in attack (13 of 59 in field goals and 0 of 14 in triples).

On Thursday the 12th, at 8:30 p.m. at La Fonteta, the second episode of the best-of-three series.

And, in the event of a Valencia match,

Statistics.

Avenue, 55-Valencia Basket, 44.

The two most powerful teams in Spanish women's basketball were measured, with the permission of Uni Girona, in search of the League title and the game responded to the poster more for tension than for quality.

The Würzburg sports center was hosting the reissue of last season's final: the duel between a timeless classic and a modern one.

The pulse between Avenida —which has played in 47 of the 62 possible finals in national competition (the last 16 in the League consecutively) in the last 20 years and now has 28 titles (7 Leagues, 10 Queen's Cups, 9 Super Cups of Spain, and the continental double, Euroleague and European Super Cup in 2011)—and Valencia Basket, heirs to the historic Ros Casares (eight times League champion and seven Cup winners between 2001 and 2012)—who rose to the elite in April of 2018 and already has three titles (Eurocup,

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El Avenida, for its eighth League to reach the top of the tournament list of winners to the aforementioned Ros Casares;

and Valencia, for their first league crown to shore up their powerful bet.

And, without conceding scoring minutes, Perfumerías launched to mark territory at home so as not to lose home court advantage, as happened last year.

A vigorous staging led by the Samuelson sisters, Karlie and Katie Lou, and by Kahleah Copper, WNBA champion and Finals

with Chicago Sky and

also Euroleague

A shortlist on which the Salamanca team cemented a 22-12 partial in the first 12 minutes, with 3 of 4 triples for the locals and 0 of 4 and seven losses for the

in that stretch.

An onslaught that set a trend and placed Valencia Basket on the wrong foot, but which they barely tried to contain between Cristina Ouviña and Queralt Casas.

In the absence of points and fluency in attack (only eight baskets in the first half), the Valencian team grabbed the defense to stay in the fight.

And with that spirit they lowered Perfumerías from 20 points in the first quarter to 11 in the second, but the offensive collapse prevented them from closing the gap (41-26, m. 25).

A partial of 10-3 of the Avenue in the resumption definitively unraveled the marker.

By then, the weak statistics of Valencia Basket reflected a 9 of 38 in field goals and Avenida dominated with more solvency than points.

A difference that, however, did not reduce the tension on the track.

Two techniques cost Roberto Íñiguez expulsion and his assistant, Raquel Romo, remained in command of the Salamanca bench.

Romo was on her day the first woman to direct the Avenida after the dismissal of Lino López at the beginning of the 2018-2019 academic year and until the arrival of Miguel Ángel Ortega in his second stage in Salamanca.

And in the first game of the final she rolled up her sleeves to grab the win for her team.

Íñiguez's exit came with the score at 44-29 and Valencia closed the gap to 44-38.

But the lack of points from the perimeter hampered his comeback attempt.

The first assault was for Perfumerías Avenida,

to win the league title.

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