Dominant Perfumerías Avenida Crushes Spar Girona to Reach Copa de la Reina Semifinals (53-76)

In Tarragona, with José María Santiago courtside. Perfumerías Avenida is the final semifinalist of the Copa de la Reina, after dominating Spar Girona, who were outmatched throughout the contest. A decisive Salamanca victory 76-53, following a sensational performance from Anna Montañana's team. C.B. Jairis awaits them in the semifinals tomorrow.

The opening of the game did not disappoint, with two teams on the court at an enormous level, beginning at a breakneck pace. With a three-pointer from Shavonte Zellous for Avenida, the main course of this quarterfinal began.

Perfumerías' interior game dominated the opening stages of the contest with Cave (4 points) as the standard-bearer. A three-pointer from Spreafico gave the lead to the Salamanca side (7-12 at the 5-minute mark). The second foul in just two minutes for Iyana Martín seemed not to affect Anna Montañana's team.

Khadijiah Cave (8 points) continued scoring with ease and Perfumerías' advantage grew to nine (7-16 at the 6-minute mark). Roberto Iñiguez was forced to call a timeout. Spar Girona had not gotten off to a good start.

Girona remained in shock. Avenida's lead continued to grow, with the Catalan side stuck at seven points. Cave (10 points) had scored more points than the entire Uni team (7-21 at the 7-minute mark).

Just when Spar Girona was having their worst moment, Ainhoa López appeared to give the team a breath of fresh air. Her effort and fight were key for Roberto Iñiguez's side to close the gap on the scoreboard (13-21 at the 10-minute mark). Girona had stopped the initial onslaught.

In the second quarter, Lithuanian Juste Jocyte (8 points) appeared. The number 5 pick in the WNBA draft took the team on her shoulders and tightened the contest further (21-25 at the 13-minute mark). Now it was Anna Montañana who called timeout. She had not liked the run in this period at all.

The timeout had its effect. The return to the court of Iyana Martín got the Salamanca side flying again. Five consecutive points from the young point guard started a new run, this time in Avenida's favor, of seven to zero (23-34 at the 16-minute mark).

The gap continued to widen, with a knocked-out Spar Girona. Claudia Soriano (11 points) capped off an excellent first half for Perfumerías, who went into halftime with a commanding lead (25-40 at the 20-minute mark).

Perfumerías started the second half well with a three-pointer from Andrea Vilaró. Girona's attacks were very rushed and the defense of the Salamanca side was suffocating. Another three-pointer from Laura Spreafico left the Girona side mortally wounded (29-50 at the 26-minute mark). Roberto Iñiguez tried everything, but to no avail. Anna Montañana's game plan was working to perfection.

Claudia Soriano (17 points) had uncorked the bottle and after a jump shot, set the maximum difference (31-57 at the 28-minute mark). Barring a Salamanca collapse, the game was decided. Spar Girona scored just 11 points in this third quarter, completely absent. Ten minutes remained (36-57 at the 30-minute mark).

Right at the start of the final quarter, Claudia Soriano suffered an injury and had to leave the court. These final minutes were a faithful reflection of what had happened throughout the game. Spar Girona had collapsed on offense due to Perfumerías' suffocating defense. The lead approached thirty points (42-70 at the 35-minute mark).

The final moments of the game allowed Girona to reduce the scoreboard, leaving it at a final 53-76. Perfumerías Avenida decisively became the final semifinalist of the Copa.