Unitiva Napoli Women Basketball suffered a home defeat against Sicily by Car Alcamo, losing 75-78 in the sixth-round fixture of Group B of the Serie A2 Championship.
The Azzurre, still without Kosla and Leghissa, remain on six points in the standings, with three wins and two defeats.
The game got off to a lively start, with Chiovato opening the scoring with a three-pointer, followed by another three from Grande. Alcamo responded through Cupido to level the score midway through the first quarter. Nikolic and Ovner then exchanged three-pointers, making it 17-13 to Napoli. Botteghi also made a strong contribution as Napoli took control, ending the first quarter with a 22-15 lead. Alcamo made a better start to the second quarter, putting together a 6-0 run with three-pointers from Prete and Cupido to cut the deficit to 22-21, prompting a timeout from Braidotti. The Sicilian side then took the lead through Ndiaye, while three-pointers from Schena and Russo extended Alcamo's advantage. Despite efforts from Grande and Berrad, Napoli were unable to close the gap. The teams went into halftime with Alcamo leading 38-31.
Both teams found their scoring touch from the start of the third quarter, with Botteghi hitting from long range for Napoli and Vella responding for Alcamo. Ovner brought Unitiva back within three points, but Sicily by Car immediately responded with a 5-0 run, led by Cupido, to build a ten-point advantage. Botteghi scored again in the closing stages, but Sylla found the basket to make it 65-53 at the end of the quarter. Unitiva refused to give up. In the fourth quarter, the ever-reliable Ovner, who finished with 22 points, helped Napoli close the gap to just four points. However, Russo and Vella pushed the visitors back with two important shots from beyond the arc. Berrad was forced to leave the court after being injured in a collision with an opposing screen. Nikolic then hit a three-pointer that seemed to put the game beyond Napoli's reach. But the Azzurre showed tremendous heart and came agonisingly close to completing the comeback. Chiovato and Grattini both scored, before Ofner's three-point attempt bounced off the rim. The game ended 78-75 in favour of the Sicilian side.
Coach Braidotti:
“It was the tough game we expected against a team that has quality and depth in every position. The game was decided by the little details and the individual quality of certain players. We tried to play aggressively, and the girls never gave up despite the difficult circumstances. Now we hope to get our injured players back. It was a good performance, and we came very close to winning.”
Unitiva Napoli Women Basket will return to action on Saturday, November 21, at 7:00 p.m., away against San Raffaele Basket in Rome, for the seventh round of the Championship.