Australian Opal Laura Hodges has helped her French team, Cercle Jean-Macé Bourges Basket, claim their first EuroCup title with a sweep of Villeneuve in the final.
The same team that Hodges defeated last year to win the Ligue Feminine championship, Bourges Basket proved too good for Villeneuve as they won the first leg 50-41 before backing up that performance with a narrow 54-53 victory early this morning.
Upsetting the hosts in Game 1, Bourges Basket found themselves trailing by ten points going into half-time following a 14-4 second period. They rallied in the second half though, grabbing the lead through the third quarter before accelerating away to record a significant win.
Needing to overcome that double-digit deficit, Villeneuve were held to 20% shooting in the first half of Game 2 and although they fought back in the second half, the damage had already been done.
Coming off the bench, Hodges averaged nine minutes per game in the finals and shot 1-4 for two points in Game 2.
Those numbers were down on her season averages for the French League regular season but she has now added a EuroCup title to the Ligue Feminine championship that she won last year.
Bourges Basket were the in-form team throughout the EuroCup finals, beating Spartak MR in the Quarter-Finals with a +11 advantage in two wins while a 13-point win over Abdullah Gul in Game 1 of the Semi-Finals proved enough even after they fell by seven points in Game 2.
With the Australian Opals currently in camp, Hodges will join the team when the French League culminates with four games still to be played in the regular season.
Watch the replay of Game 1 of the final below and keep an eye on the FIBA YouTube channel for a replay of Game 2.
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