Jack Animam is now two out of two since she transferred to USO Mondeville Basket in the Ligue Feminine 2 de Basketball, the French women’s second division.
Mondeville blasted home team Montbrison on Saturday (Sunday morning, Philippine time), 76-58, at the Gymnase Jean-Pierre Cherblanc in Rue de Beauregard, Montbrison, France.
Mondeville entered the game with a 7-10 slate, good enough for 10th place among .12 teams in the standings, while Montbrison was tied with three other teams at fourth place with a 9-8 record. In their last encounter last December 3, Mondeville dropped a heartbreaker on their home floor to Montbrison, 57-59.
This time around, Mondeville made sure there would not be a repeat of the previous result. Mondeville employed an unforgiving and suffocating defense that resulted in 21 steals and forced Montbrison to commit 28 turnovers.
Montbrison’s 6-foot-3 import Nukiya Mayo erupted for 26 points, but Mondeville shut down her teammates. No other player scored in double digits for Montbrison.
Animam once again came off the bench and delivered the goods for Mondeville. In just 14 minutes of play, the 6-foot-3 Gilas women’s star center produced efficient numbers with eight points, five rebounds, and two steals.
Five-foot-eight shooting guard Vaciana Gomis, who played for the French national squad in the 2022 FIBA U20 Women’s European Championship, was one of four Mondeville players to score in double figures with 19 points.
Mondeville has now won five of its last seven games and is just a game behind Montbrison and Monaco for the last two playoff spots with still four more games to go. Animam and her squad will host third-ranked Feytiat in an all-important match on March 18.
The first time the two squads met last December 10, Mondeville escaped with a 62-61 triumph over Feytiat.
