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French Ligue Feminine de Basket (LFB) was the first of the European major leagues to tip off it’s action this weekend with the annual Open LFB. Open LFB means all 14 teams open the season at one venue - Stade Pierre de Coubertin – playing out the first round over two days.
None of the first round games provided any major upsets. In the opening game Nantes Reze defeated Aix-en-Provence in a close low scoring match, despite Aix having 3 players in double digits. Marianna Tolo had 16 points for Aix while Sarah Michel led Nantes with 15. Lyon dominated EuroLeague Women bound Arras from start to finish. Mame-Marie Sy-Diop led Lyon with 17 points.
Basket Landes overcame a slow start which saw them trail Tarbes by 13 in the first quarter. Landes led by as much as 11. Tarbes were able to cut the deficit in the final quarter, but they were unable to get the necessary stops in the final minutes. Main event of the night was Bourges Basket, led by French Olympic celebrity Celine Dumerc, taking on newly promoted Perpignan. While it never seemed in doubt that Bourges would win, Perpignan offered a valiant effort while not allowing the game to become a blowout. Celine Dumerc led all scorers with 20 points, Stephany Skrba picked up 14 rebounds for Bourges. Abby Bishop led Perpignan with 18 points.
The second day started with a Mondeville rout of Hainaut Basket who really struggled even to get to 40 points. KB Sharp led Mondeville with 20 points with 4 from 6 shooting behind the arc (4/5 inside it). One of the league favorites Montpellier started strong with against Toulouse. Gaelle Skrela led 3 other Montpellier players in double digits with 14 points. Temporary signed Geraldine Robert picked up a double-double 13 points and 10 rebounds. Final game between Villeneuve d’Ascq and Charleville-Mezieres was close in the first half. Charleville started extending their in the second half when it reached double digits. A run in the fourth reduced it to four points, but Charleville responded to it with a 7-0 run to put the game out of reach. Charleville were led by 13 points from guard Amel Bouderra. Aurelie Bonnan picked up 12 rebounds.
Results and top scorers
Nantes Reze – Aix-en-Provence 55-51
Nantes: Michel 15, Troina 8, N’Goyisa 8
Aix: Tolo 16, Thorburn 10, Murphy 10 (11 reb), Francis 9 (10 reb)
Lyon – Arras 75-63
Lyon: Sy-Diop 17, Podrug 15, Bar 12 (10 reb), Page 10
Arras: Bade 17, Carmona 10, Evans 10
Basket Landes – Tarbes 68-64
Landes: Abalde 16, Le Gluher 16, Ayayi 11
Tarbes: Salagnac 16, Ocete 10, Rad 9, Robinson 9
Bourges Basket – Perpignan 66-55
Bourges: Dumerc 20, Eldebrink 14, Ndongue 12
Perpignan: Bishop 18, Tchatchouang 12, Dieng 7
Hainaut Basket – USO Mondeville 40-71
Hainaut: Murphy 14, Perostiyska 8, Garcia 6
Mondeville: Sharp 20, Kamba 15, Paugaite 11, Coulibaly 10
Lattes Montpellier – Toulouse 65-45
Montpellier: Skrela 15, Robert 13 (10 reb), Lelas 12, Lawson-Wade 10
Toulouse: Degorces 11, Gay 10, Medenou 6, Knezevic 6
Villeneuve d’Ascq – Charleville-Mezieres 48-59
Villeneuve: Dieme 12, Pochet 9, Nayo 7
Charleville: Bouderra 13, Diawara 12, Sene 11, Pagnier 11
Standings
| Team | GP | W | L | PF | PA | +/- | Points |
| USO Mondeville | 1 | 1 | 0 | 71 | 40 | 31 | 2 |
| Lattes Montpellier | 1 | 1 | 0 | 65 | 45 | 20 | 2 |
| Lyon | 1 | 1 | 0 | 75 | 63 | 12 | 2 |
| Bourges | 1 | 1 | 0 | 66 | 55 | 11 | 2 |
| Charleville-Mezieres | 1 | 1 | 0 | 59 | 48 | 11 | 2 |
| Basket Landes | 1 | 1 | 0 | 68 | 64 | 4 | 2 |
| Nantes Reze | 1 | 1 | 0 | 55 | 51 | 4 | 2 |
| Tarbes | 1 | 0 | 1 | 64 | 68 | -4 | 1 |
| Aix-en-Provence | 1 | 0 | 1 | 51 | 55 | -4 | 1 |
| Perpignan | 1 | 0 | 1 | 55 | 66 | -11 | 1 |
| Villeneuve d’Ascq | 1 | 0 | 1 | 48 | 59 | -11 | 1 |
| Arras | 1 | 0 | 1 | 63 | 75 | -12 | 1 |
| Toulouse | 1 | 0 | 1 | 45 | 65 | -20 | 1 |
| Hainaut Basket | 1 | 0 | 1 | 40 | 71 | -31 | 1 |
