Basketball: Spartak easily beat Italians

17 October, 2008, 10:46

Women's basketball Euroleague champions Spartak Moscow Region are off to a winning start in the new season, beating Italian Champions Famila Schio in their home opener.

Schio won both the Italian league and the Eurocup last season, so the opponents were also playing for the European Supercup.

The visitors got off to a strong start, with Kathrin Ress hooping for a three-point lead.

Spartak's new signing Sylvia Fowles, however, got injured on the play. Second pick in this year's WNBA draft, she was also injured for most of the season with the Chicago Sky.

But she managed a truly stellar performance at the Olympics, where she led the USA in scoring and rebounding.

She did come back on the court later on, but it’s not known if she’ll recover in time for the next game.

In Sylvia's absence her Team USA teammate Diana Taurasi kept the team in it, driving baseline for the reverse lay-up, tying the game at 9.

In the second quarter, Spartak started pulling ahead, Kelly Miller stuck the three and got fouled for a four-point play to make it +10.

And then Sue Bird splashed another three-ball to give the red-whites a 50-39 lead going into halftime.

The visitors were still hanging on in the third, but in the final quarter, it was all Spartak. Fowles went inside for a 19-point lead, totaling 6 points and 7 rebounds in her debut.

Marina Karpunina’s three-pointer made it +26. Karpunina poured in 17 points and Spartak rolled to an easy 88-63 win.

Meanwhile, Team Australia’s centre Lauren Jackson, who only arrived a couple of days ago, didn't play, and will probably make her debut for Spartak next week at TEO-Vilnius.