Magec Tías "Against Gender Violence" visited the court of CB Arxil, one of the favorite teams to fight for promotion, and did so with all players available except Yaiza García.
From the first moment, Jesús García's players tried to fight face to face against the Pontevedra team, maintaining a very even score during the first quarter, with opportunities for both teams to impose differences, but without being able to do so. The strong defenses of both teams led the shooters to fail in many shots, which meant that the scoring was very low. With one minute to go, and after a quick counterattack, Magec Tías "Against Gender Violence" took the lead on the scoreboard, 10-12, maintaining that advantage until the end of the first quarter.
Although the dynamics were similar on the return to the court, the Lanzarote team was being more effective in capturing rebounds, but it didn't give many options to show off either, as the Galicians had improved their success rate, even managing to score their first three-pointer two minutes into the second quarter. Even so, the score moved in a slight difference for one or the other. After a series of defensive errors, Arxil managed to take the lead, 24 to 22, with 4:37 remaining, which led Jesús García to call a time-out to readjust the lines.
After returning to the court, Magec Tías "Against Gender Violence" took advantage of their rival's mistakes again and, with a very good defense, took over the game, turning the score around. In the last minute, a Galician triple and a free throw put the score back to a tie, 28 to 28.
At the beginning of the second half, the Lanzarote team came out again with great intensity, not allowing the Galicians to have clarity of ideas in their attack and finding a solution from the three-point line that until now has been denied to Magec Tías "Against Gender Violence" with a triple by Imani Robinson and another by Romina Rodríguez, to put the local team against the ropes, who opted to call a time-out.
After returning to the court, the fight became fierce for the victory, with many effective defenses on both sides, which resulted in few points scored. A triple by Carolina Mateo, with 3 minutes left to finish the quarter, put her team ahead with a difference of 9 points, the largest so far for either of the two squads. Then Arxil strengthened the defense throughout the court, preventing a clean ball exit for the Lanzarote team and cutting the difference, until reaching the end of the quarter with the score of 36 to 41.
The intensity did not wane in the last quarter on either team and the 5-point difference was maintained as the minutes passed. Fatigue could play against the islanders, with fewer rotations than the locals, while in the personal fouls section, Heather Forster's four and Imani Robinson's and Romina Rodríguez's three put important players from both teams in trouble. The two teams were not going to give their arm to twist and although the visitors were still ahead, the locals had the support of their fans, who did not stop cheering at all times. And so they entered the last 5 minutes of the game, with the score at 44 to 49 for Magec Tías "Against Gender Violence".
Arxil could not find a way to win. They already suffered to achieve it in Lanzarote and it was costing them now on their court. Time passed, Magec also failed to extend the differences, which harbored hopes in the locals, while giving, in each defense won, some air to the Canary Islanders. Both teams had entered the free throw bonus, which was going to give an extra opportunity to score baskets. They responded well to each other in the pressure that this Russian roulette meant at this point in the game.
With 44 seconds left, the difference was still 5 points for Magec Tías "Against Gender Violence", with Arxil opting to stop the game with a time-out and look for a solution that would allow them to score, steal and score again. A technical foul, for stepping on the line on the serve, left Romina Rodríguez out of the game, but the Galicians did not score, so the situation was the same, but without the Bolivian international on the court. Arxil cut the difference and, after some free throws, extended it, now to 4, Magec Tías, leaving 30 seconds and the host team calling time-out.
On the return to the court, another setback for the Lanzarote team. Imani Robinson committed a personal foul with 21 seconds left and is eliminated by completing the quota. Arxil scores the two shots and puts the score at 52 to 54, with Jesús García calling a time-out to prevent the victory from slipping out of their hands.
Magec attacked and failed, leaving 11 seconds for the locals, who sought the tie, but did not succeed and, although the Lanzarote victory was already being chewed, a new Galician foul gave Tatiana Tenorio, who debuted today with the team, the opportunity to extend the difference to 52 to 56.
Third victory for Magec Tías "Against Gender Violence", all away from home, which keeps them with firm hopes of achieving permanence, since they have two postponed matches.
Technical Sheet
CB Arxil (52): Ruth Adams (13), Miriam García (2), Heather Forster (8), Nerea Liste (14) and Dunja Buzadzin (4). Also played: Adriana Aparicio (8), Cristina Díaz, Aldara Vázquez and Margarita Moreira (3)
Magec Tías "Against Gender Violence" (56): Imani Robinson (14), Tatiana Tenorio (6), Iranzu Drake (12), Carolina Mateo (9) and Romina Rodríguez (7). Also played: Rosario de León (6) and Noelia Lago (2)
Referees: Iván Escariz Torres and Anxo Severo Méndez Insúa. Imani Robinson and Romina Rodríguez eliminated for the visitors
Partial scores for each quarter: 10-12 / 28-28 (halftime) 36-41 / 52-56 (final)
