The final round of the group stage was played this week:
Group A:
On Wednesday, Bydgoszcz secured their spot in the next round with a 55-44 win at Spartak Moscow. On Thursday, Laura Juskaite and Gorzow were focused on improving their seed, dismantling winless Sodertalje 113-57 despite the best efforts of Deanna Weaver.
December 12, 2018
Spartak Moscow vs. Bydgoszcz 44-55 SPAR Nuritdinova 13 Abaiburova 11/6r O’Neill 9/8r Stallworth 4/6r ARTG Stankovic 14/12r Morrison 8/9r McBride 8/9a
December 13, 2018
Gorzow vs. Sodertalje 113-57 GORZ Juskaite 27 Papova 15 Linskens 12/6r Prezelj 11/8r Fikiel 11/6r Stelmach 10 Zoll-Norman 9/9a Atkins 7 SODT Weaver 23/11r Astrom 12 Gustafsson 2
Standings: Galatasaray 5-1, Torun 4-2, Spartak Moscow 3-3, Sodertalje 0-6
Group B:
Both games in this group were on Wednesday as Galatasaray took the top spot after a 59-45 win over Varvara Psareva and MBA. Torun grabbed second behind them after a 95-48 win over winless Niki Lefkada behind Angelika Stankiewicz.
December 12, 2018
Galatasaray vs. MBA Moscow 59-45 GALA Jefferson 18/6r Macaulay 15/11r Grigalauskyte 14/7r Abdi 6 MBA Psareva 21/7r Sapova 10
Torun vs. Niki Lefkada 95-48 TORU Stankiewicz 20 Sarauskaite 17/8r Kunek 12 Fields 12 Trzeciak 12 Svaryte 10/11r NIKI Papamichail 16 Tsineke 13 Knight 10
Standings: Galatasaray 5-1, Torun 4-2, MBA Moscow 3-3, Niki Lefkada 0-6
Group C:
On Wednesday, Leonor Rodriguez and Wisla beat Besiktas 78-49 in Krakow to secure the top spot in the group. On Thursday, Tsmoki-Minsk eliminated Inventa Kursk by beating them 72-55.
December 12, 2018
Wisla Krakow vs. Besiktas 78-49 WISL Rodriguez 22 Mujovic 15/11r/9a Araujo 12/12r Zietara 10 Aleksandravicius 9/9r Conde 8/7r BES Mitchell 17 Siyahdemir 12
December 13, 2018
Tsmoki-Minsk vs. Inventa Kursk 72-55 TSMO McCray 16/13r Hasper 15/14r Murauskaya 12/9r Bartakova 10 Theriot 5 INKUR Pachurina 15/8r E. Frolkina 10
Standings: Wisla Krakow 5-1, Besiktas 3-3, Tsmoki-Minsk 2-4, Inventa Kursk 2-4
Group D:
On Wednesday, Ashley Walker and Gintare Petronyte kept Mersin alive with a 90-77 win, knocking Stephanie Mavunga and Enisey out of the group of top seeds. On Thursday, Kahleah Copper and Orman took care of business with a 69-50 win over Sepsi.
December 12, 2018
Mersin vs. Enisey 90-77 MERS Walker 34/11r Petronyte 28/7r Yalcin 11/12a Mitchell 6 ENI Mavunga 30/16r Namok 15 Dorosheva 13 Hines-Allen 7
December 13, 2018
Sepsi vs. Orman 50-69 SSIC Parau 15/11r/6a Ghizila 10 Higgins 8 Whitted 2/6r Allen 0 ORMAN Copper 22/12r Gardner 17/9r Henry 16/11r
Standings: Enisey 4-2, Orman 4-2, Mersin 3-3, Sepsi 1-5
Group E:
Both games in this group were on Thursday with differing amounts at stake. Alina Iagupova and Cukurova beat winless Umea 84-58, putting themselves in position for one of the top seeds. Beroe knew that they needed a win at Botas to have any hopes of advancing and Ana Pocek and Saniya Chong were ready to score, but Jewell Loyd and Botas secured their advancement with a 90-79 win.
December 13, 2018
Cukurova vs. Umea 84-58 CUKU Iagupova 22/8r Bilgic 13 Ndour 12/8r Mestdagh 10/7r Ozelci 3 UMEA Brown 13 Degbeon 12/8r Asoro 11 Lawrence 10/8r
Botas vs. Beroe 90-79 BOTAS Loyd 20 Williams 16 Cakir 16/6a Cuic 12 Krivacevic 6 BEROE Pocek 21 Chong 20 Aleksic 14 Lewis 11/11r Dineva 11
Standings: Cukurova 6-0, Botas 4-2, Beroe 2-4, Umea 0-6
Group F:
Both games in this group were on Wednesday. Lexie Brown tried to carry Gyor herself, but they fell to Girona 78-56. Blake Dietrick and Gernika took care of their own business with an 84-66 win over Kankou Coulibaly and Uniao Sportiva.
December 12, 2018
Gyor vs. Girona 56-78 GYOR Brown 22 Czank 12 Spanou 7 Krnjic 5 Gray 4 GIRO Murphy 19/12r Gomes Colhado 16 Hampton 12 Martinez 7 Reisingerova 6
Gernika vs. Uniao Sportiva 84-66 LOIN Dietrick 22 Vanderwal 17/6r Berezhynska 13/8r Roundtree 13 Christinaki 8 Mazionyte 4 UNIA Coulibaly 25 Monteiro 16/8r Seilund 8 Djassi 6 Soeiro 4/6a
Standings: Girona 6-0, Gernika 3-3, Gyor 2-4, Uniao Sportiva 1-5
Group G:
Both games in this group were on Wednesday, starting in Miskolc as DVTK took the top spot with a 63-61 win over Reyer. The day ended with two overtimes in Nantes as the hosts got good games from Ana Suarez and Shaqwedia Wallace to beat KP Brno 93-84.
December 12, 2018
DVTK vs. Reyer Venezia 63-61 DVTK Skoric 17/7r Medgyessy 12/6r/10a Walker-Kimbrough 10 Mokango 8/13r Szabo 2 REYE De Pretto 16/6r Steinberga 11/6r Anderson 6/6r Goree 4/6r Ciabattoni 0
Nantes vs. KP Brno 93-84(2OT) NRB Suarez 27 Wallace 25 Medenou 14/17r Michaud 11 KBPR Sujanova 17 Gill 16 Stara 14/8a Kopecka 11/10r Orozsova 8
Standings: DVTK 5-1, Reyer Venezia 3-3, Nantes 3-3, KP Brno 1-5
Group H:
Both games in this group were on Thursday with plenty still on the line. Celje was looking to play spoiler, picking up their first win over Ruzomberok 70-67, leaving the visitors waiting on the other game for their fate. Nymburk could secure a spot with a win or else try to lose by a small enough margin as they ended up falling to Frida Eldebrink and Szekszard 49-72
December 13, 2018
Celje vs. Ruzomberok 70-67 CELJE Bessard 16/7r White 11/7r Ocvirk 10 Radovic 10 RUZO Ellenberg-Wiley 19/6r Siksniute 15/15r Yatskovets 13 Jeffery 7
Nymburk vs. Szekszard 49-72 NYMB Wells 17 Hoskova 10 Paris 5 KSC Eldebrink 22 McCall 19/6r Bishop 16/11r
Standings: Szekszard 5-1, Ruzomberok 3-3, Nymburk 3-3, Celje 1-5
Group I:
Both games in this group were on Thursday with teams still fighting for the next round. Lattes Montpelier finished a perfect run with the best margin of victory keeping Jovana Popovic and Cegled winless behind Sami Whitcomb’s impressive display beyond the arc in a 96-66 win. Lyon quickly slammed the door on any hopes Keltern had of advancing with a comprehensive 109-63 win led by Clarissa Dos Santos.
December 13, 2018
Cegled vs. Lattes Montpellier 66-96 CEKK Popovic 22 Gorjanacz 11 Hamilton-Carter 10/6r Swanier 9 BLMA Whitcomb 40 Malashenko 13/8r Wurtz 13/6r Tchatchouang 10 Duchet 10
Lyon vs. Keltern 109-63 LYON Dos Santos 23/11r Clark 17 Tanqueray 12 Plouffe 11/6a Allemand 11 Salagnac 11/6a RUTR Stach 15 Rakovic 13 Thomas 11 Pudlakova 11 Pierre-Louis 2/6r
Standings: Lattes Montpellier 6-0, Lyon 4-2, Keltern 2-4, Cegled 0-6
Group J:
On Wednesday, Landes did everything they could on their end by beating Fribourg 85-70. They ended up safe because Sint-Katelijne-Waver could not pull off an upset at home as Alexis Prince and Tarbes remained perfect with a 61-51 win.
December 12, 2018
Fribourg vs. Landes 70-85 FRIB Ivanovic 18 Giroud 17 Ostarello 16/12r/7a Mayombo 14/7r/6a BLAN Toure 18 Gatling 14 Ayim 14 Pokk 12 Dumerc 8
December 13, 2018
Sint-Katelijne-Waver vs. Tarbes 51-61 SKW Resimont 14 Bi. Massey 10/7r TARB Prince 21/11r Bravard 9 Moss 8 Cornelie-Sigmundova 4
Standings: Tarbes 6-0, Landes 3-3, Sint-Katelijne-Waver 3-3, Fribourg 0/6r
Bracket:
Once all the group stage games were played, the final four teams to advance could be determined among the third place teams. Both the eastern and western halves of the competition had multiple third place teams with 3-3 records so those teams were ranked to determine who would advance as Spartak and MBA made sure Moscow would be represented while Nymburk and Nantes came from the other side of the draw.
Once all 24 teams were determined, they were all ranked regardless of group placement and then the bracket was created. The top eight seeds have a bye in the first round while the other teams will begin play in two games series shortly after the new year.
(1) Lattes Montpellier vs. winner (16) Reyer Venezia vs. (17) Landes
(8) DVTK vs. winner (9) Galatasaray vs. (24) Gernika
(5) Gorzow vs. winner (12) Lyon vs. (21) Spartak Moscow
(4) Tarbes vs. winner (13) Enisey vs. (20) Ruzomberok
(3) Girona vs. winner (14) Botas vs. (19) MBA Moscow
(6) Szekszard vs. winner (11) Bydgoszcz vs. (22) Nymburk
(7) Wisla Krakow vs. winner (10) Torun vs. (23) Nantes
(2) Cukurova vs. winner (15) Orman vs. (18) Besiktas