It’s a day she will surely remember. A day, in any case, which counts in the young career of Yohana Ewodo. Almost 24 years old (she will be on February 21), the winger of Basket Landes, where she is playing her second season, achieved against Bourges, on behalf of the 10e Euroleague day, a top performance, despite the defeat suffered by the Landaises (75-61).
With 18 points scored, including two out of two three-pointers, for an overall success rate of 72% in nearly 28 minutes on the floor, the Héraultaise finished top scorer of the match, a few hours after learning his selection in the French 3×3 team for the first training course of the year. She reacted quickly to this double news.
You have just experienced your second defeat in a few days at the Prado, but the content and lessons are not at all the same…
Saturday was really a non-match and a big disappointment. We were able to put things back in place and we are slowly starting to rebuild ourselves and find our identity, which we had lost a little recently. This is a first step towards, I hope, matches with victories.
Did Saturday's big defeat, in a way, free you up and free you to better approach tonight's match (Wednesday)?
She gave us a big blow, a big slap in the face because we realized that we were not at all up to our standards. We re-mobilized, both in training and among ourselves, as a team. We came here uninhibited because, in any case, we had a work motive and that's what we did this evening (Wednesday, Editor's note), we tried to put things in place and I think that We succeeded, at least in part.
On a personal level, there is no shortage of reasons for satisfaction with these 18 points recorded. How did you feel on the pitch?
I really committed 100% and settled my brain a bit. I simply put energy into building on the points we had set, and that allowed me to perform well. But collectively also, we see my stats but it's the team that brought all that (sic), it gave me open shots and I knew how to seize the opportunities so it's perfect.
Did the announcement of your call-up to the French 3×3 basketball team also give you a boost, if necessary?
It's always a source of pride to be called up to the French 3×3 team so, yes, it definitely gave me an extra boost of energy.
The week is not yet over with another big match to negotiate, Saturday, at Asvel, in the quarter-final of the Coupe de France…
We will learn from this match (against Bourges, Editor's note), we will take what we have to keep and we will try to correct the rest for Saturday's match. The Coupe de France is really a big goal for us so we are going there motivated and conquering.
Can this Bourges match help you cultivate confidence to seek qualification?
Exactly, it puts us on the right track to put in a performance against Lyon. Afterwards, nothing is decided, everything will depend on what we put on the pitch at that moment. But it bodes well.
