Toulouse Stumbles Late as Angers Secures Away Victory in Wonderligue Action
Angers built a fourteen-point first-half lead before holding off a surging Toulouse side to claim a 75-70 victory on October 24, at the Toulouse Métropole Basket arena, Ouest-France reported. The visiting side weathered a hostile environment in front of 900 spectators to secure their second win of the season, bouncing back from a defeat against ASVEL the previous week.
The match marked the debut of Canadian point guard Shaina Pellington for Toulouse, who joined the squad to bolster their backcourt. While Pellington contributed nine points in her first appearance, head coach Xavier Noguera pointed to unforced errors and defensive lapses as decisive factors in the defeat. Toulouse struggled from beyond the arc, converting just six of 28 three-point attempts over the course of the evening.
Muadi Bulabula Leads Angers to Early Control
Angers established control early through physical play in the paint, led by Mariana Muadi Bulabula, who posted 20 points and 10 rebounds. Postup.fr noted that Muadi Bulabula established an early presence with six points in the opening ten minutes as the visitors built an 19-33 advantage by the fifteenth minute. Toulouse countered with a brief 17-14 run in the first quarter sparked by Laëtitia Guapo and Dominique Toussaint, but defensive breakdowns allowed Angers to dictate the interior pace.
Toulouse mounted a significant recovery before halftime, stringing together a scoring run anchored by aggressive drives and 10-of-11 shooting from the free-throw line over a five-minute span. That surge narrowed the gap to just two points at the break, with Angers leading 40-38. Toussaint finished the night with 18 points and six assists, while Guapo led the hosts with 19 points.
Fouls Complicate Toulouse Rotation in Fourth Quarter
Momentum swung back and forth through the third quarter as Toulouse briefly claimed a 45-44 advantage. However, accumulating personal fouls complicated the hosts’ rotation, as Toussaint and Taya Reimer each picked up their fourth fouls late in the period. Angers capitalized on the defensive adjustments, stretching their lead back to eight points at 57-49 before Toulouse responded again to tie the game at 57-56 heading into the final frame.
Guapo opened the fourth quarter with a basket to put Toulouse ahead 58-57, but a disputed offensive foul against Lindstrom stalled the hosts’ momentum. Angers used a late defensive push to rebuild a 68-62 lead with three minutes remaining, holding off subsequent scores from Reimer, who finished with 13 points and seven rebounds.
Coach Noguera Criticizes Toulouse Execution and Discipline
Following the final whistle, Toulouse head coach Xavier Noguera expressed frustration over his team’s execution. I am disgusted,
Noguera told reporters, pointing to excessive dribbling and a lack of interior distribution. We were once again very undisciplined in too many moments of the game where we use the dribble instead of using space. We don’t serve our interiors enough. And defensively I found us lax in our aggressiveness.
In the Angers camp, assistant coach Marius Blanchard emphasized the mental resolve required to weather the fourth-quarter comeback. We are relieved given the scenario of this match during which our main merit was not to fall apart,
Blanchard said in the post-match press conference. During the pre-match briefing, we insisted on that, and the extra soul tipped the balance.
Guard “Day” Harris, who added 13 points and nine assists for Angers, pointed to the team’s high-pressure defensive scheme as their defining trait, noting that the squad’s established high-pressure defense remains central to their identity.
Worth a look
