Niehues and Robinson deliver 22 apiece as Kriva Palanka claim first North Macedonian women's title

Kriva Palanka won the Sparkasse Prva Liga Zeni championship on Saturday, holding off a furious Badel 1862 rally to edge the Skopje side 75-73 in Game 4 and clinch the best-of-five finals 3-1 before 700 fans at Nezavisna Makedonija Arena.
After falling in last season's final to Basket Kam 2011, coach V. Petrovski's side made sure there would be no repeat disappointment though Badel made them sweat until the very last possession in a contest decided by just two points.
Abby Niehues (186-PF-1999, college: S.Nazarene) and Dyani Robinson (170-G-2001, college: N.Texas) both scored 22 to lead the champions. Niehues was dominant inside with 7-of-13 from two-point range, a game-high 17 rebounds (10 defensive), and 8-of-10 from the free-throw line for a monstrous 32 efficiency. Robinson attacked from everywhere with 6-of-16 shooting, converting 8-of-12 from the line, and added three steals. Da'Ja Green (169-PG-1999, college: ECU) stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points, nine rebounds, and an extraordinary 11 assists, while Glorija Gruevska (173-SG-2009) contributed 10 points and captain Mihaela Aleksovska (175-G/F-2005) had nine with six rebounds and three assists.
Kriva Palanka seized early control with a 30-16 first quarter that appeared to put the game out of reach. But Badel who had staved off elimination in Game 3 to cut the series to 2-1 fought back ferociously. They outscored Kriva Palanka in each of the final three quarters (12-16, 13-23, 20-18) and closed to within two points in the dying seconds, but the deficit from that devastating opening period proved just too much to overcome.
For Badel, Arin Freeman (170-G, college: UIC) was magnificent with 28 points on 10-of-20 shooting, nine rebounds, and four assists in 40 exhausting minutes. Lindsey Cleary (183-F-1997, college: CMS) posted a double-double of 16 points and 17 rebounds (12 defensive) with seven assists and three blocks. Iva Cholakoska (180-SF-2003) added 12 points and Ljubica Boshkova (176-F/G-2005) had 13 off the bench. But Badel shot just 33 percent from the field (27-of-80) and could not dig out of the first-quarter hole despite their courageous second-half comeback.
The title is the first in Kriva Palanka's history, ending Basket Kam's three-year grip on the championship and bringing the trophy to the small northeastern city near the Serbian border for the first time.