Studio Zagreb Women saw off Rijeka Women 80:59 in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon. The hosts ran out comfortable winners at home, extending their recent winning momentum with a result that told its own story. By then the gap between the sides was already clear.
Rijeka sit seventh in the table after twenty-two matches, with twelve wins and ten defeats to their name. They have no drawn games this season, which says something about how they approach every contest. The visitors came to Zagreb knowing they needed to find a response to their recent form.
It was not the first time these sides had met this season. Rijeka's last outing ended 60:78 against Šibenik, while Studio Zagreb had taken 75:70 against Rilski Sportnist Samokov a week earlier. The hosts have been playing more regularly, which often shows in the final scoreline.
We had backed the home side to win with seventy-one per cent confidence, and the match played out as expected. Studio Zagreb took control early and never looked back. And here's the thing — the twenty-one-point margin was the real story, not the score itself.
Rijeka found no answer to the pace the hosts set from the opening tip-off. They lost the second quarter battle and never recovered. The visitors were left flat-footed when the home team went for the jugular in the third period.
The result keeps Studio Zagreb in contention for a higher finish, while Rijeka remain in the lower half of the standings. Twenty-two games down, the visitors still have work to do if they want to move up. To be fair, they will need more than just effort to close the gap.
