Caffe Moak Luxol drew first blood in the long, best-of-seven final series after beating Electrofix Hibernians 55-42 in the opening game at the Ta’ Qali pavilion on Sunday.

As is the norm when these two teams meet, the match was a tight affair with episodes having a massive bearing on the outcome.

The foul that led to the exclusion of Hibs’ towering player Eleanor Cassar favoured Luxol who regained control and secured victory in the final minutes.

In a low-scoring first quarter, it was Luxol who held a slight edge to lead 11-7.

The level of play improved in the second as the two teams found their shooting touch underneath the boards.

Luxol got off to a flying start to increase their lead to 20-9.

A time-out and substitutions worked for Hibernians as they gradually reduced the deficit to 23-17 by half-time.

Hibs continued were they left off after the interval, levelling matters at 35-all after hitting eight consecutive points.

Luxol surpassed this difficult moment to go on a 10-2 break which gave them an eight-point lead, 35-27.

During this break, Hibs’ Cassar was sent off for a foul on Steffi DeMartino.

A three-pointer helped Hibs to start the last 10 minutes five points behind, 35-30.

The Paolites were only a point behind as the last quarter ticked off, 35-34, but Luxol came back to establish a six-point lead, 45-39.

Here, Hibs suffered another blow after losing pivot Maria Said who committed her fifth foul.

As the Paola team lost composure, Luxol capitalised on their opponents’ mistakes and hurried shots to pull further away for a 55-42 victory.

Best-Of-Seven Final (Second Game)

Tomorrow: 19.00 Luxol vs Hibernians.