Beşiktaş Cola Turka closed out the Week 12 of the Turkish basketball season with a hard-earned 65-58 win over the visiting Samsun Basket at the Arena on Sunday.

Playing with a starting five composed of Nilay Kartaltepe, Iziane Castro Marquez, Yasemin Horasan, Nykesha Sales and Kelly Silva Santos, the Lady Eagles faced stiff resistance early on and were tied at 7-7 midway through the opening quarter. The close affair continued until the end of first with Beşiktaş Cola Turka clinging to a narrow 14-13 edge.

The visitors made a better start into the second as they pulled ahead, 18-14, after two minutes. But back-to-back jumpers by Marquez, Santos and Yasemin Horasan lifted Beşiktaş Cola Turka to a 23-20 lead at the halfway point on its way to a five-point, 32-27, first-half advantage.

Samsun Basket opened the second half on a Kristi Toliver layup but could not find a way to contain hot-shooters Marquez and Salkauske as the margin grew to as much as 8 points, entering the closing stages. Then, the Lady Eagles suddenly found themselves in a scoring drought while the visitors found their stride and managed to tie the score at 40-40, heading into the final quarter of play.

The fourth quarter turnout to be a cliffhanger for both sides with the lead being tossed back and forth, sparking roars of enthusiasm from the crowd. With a minute to play, only two points separated the two teams. Samsun Basket tried every trick in the book to gain the lead, but Beşiktaş Cola Turka held on to win 65-58.

Marques finished with a game-high 27 points, followed by Iveta Salkauske (12), Nilay Kartaltepe (12), Kelly Silva Santos (6), Nykesha Sales (4) and Yasemin Horasan (4).