Beşiktaş Cola Turka Women’s Basketball Team suffered a 65-58 loss to Fenerbahçe in the final of 15th Presidency Cup.

Our ladies started the game at Atatürk Stadium in Ankara with a first five consisting of Nilay Yiğit, Sariye Gökçe, Corona Longin Zanze, Stacey Lovelace and Venessa Hayden. While the game was tied at 4-4 in the 3rd minute of the game, Venessa Hayden received her 3rd foul and limited Beşiktaş's scoring punch seriously. Stacey Lovelace’s hot hand lifted Black and White team to a brief 9-5 lead but Fenerbahçe kept it close with consecutive points from Pondexter and Nevriye. Nevertheless, a last second running jump shot by hot-shooting Sariye Gökçe put Beşiktaş Cola Turka 13-12 on top at the end of a hard-fought first quarter.
Despite Corona Zanze’s back-to back baskets which made it 19-16 for Beşiktaş after 4 minutes into second, Black and Whites could not find a way to prevent Nevriye from scoring. Both teams battled back and forth to take the lead but they ended up going into their locker rooms in a 32-32 tie at the half.
Unable to answer a late run sparked by Birsel and Pondexter’s points, Beşiktaş Cola Turka Ladies fell behind 48-38 and found themselves in a deep hole. Black and Whites quickly turned to a zone defense to keep the score in check but they trailed 50-42 after three quarters of play.
The final quarter turned out to be a real thriller for both teams as Beşiktaş Cola Turka started to cut the deficit down with a succession of unanswered points from Nilay and Lovelace. After Nilay nailed a long 3-pointer, last year’s Champions managed to crawl back within 4 points with 2:17 to play. However, a string of late free throws carried Fenerbahçe to a 65-58 victory and helped them win the Presidency Cup.