March 21, 2017

Both series started on Tuesday as the all-Turkish affair began.  Abdullah Gul University used a strong final quarter to win 71-65 at Hatay and give themselves and advantage for the home game.  Moriah Jefferson and Kayla McBride may soon be playing on the same team, but they were on opposite sides of a terrific battle with Quanitra Hollingsworth also helping push Yakin Dogu University to the 87-81 win despite Jefferson’s latest heroics for Galatasaray.  That leaves both university-sponsored teams with narrow leads, but both will host the next game on Friday.

Hatay vs. Bellona AGU 65-71 HATA Paris 18/11r Snytsina 13/7r Hurst 13 Stankovic 8 Turner 5 Tanacan 0 KAYS Dubljevic 13/6r/6a Wauters 12/7r Gray 12 Gunay 11 Sanders 9 Wright 8 Mazic 0

Galatasaray vs. Yakin Dogu Universitesi 81-87 GAL Jefferson 31/9a Papova 15 Vitola 13/6r Da Silva 5 Paris 0 YDU Hollingsworth 26 McBride 26 Vandersloot 11/15r Carson 6 Robinson 4 Cakir 2 Leuchanka 2

March 10, 2017

All four series finished on Friday in Turkey.  Galatasaray was the least likely host team to advance after results on Tuesday, but quickly got to work on the deficit.  Moriah Jefferson and Astou Traore helped them get the 82-66 win, which was enough to beat Good Angels Kosice 144-139 overall.  Wisla looked to spoil Hatay’s day by taking an early lead, but the hosts took care of business in the second half behind Barbara Turner to win 77-76, advancing by a 146-133 margin.  Abdullah Gul University had the biggest lead after the first game and they built on that at home before coasting to a 73-68 win with Saziye Ivegin leading the way for a comfortable 158-133 margin against Lattes Montpellier.  Courtney Vandersloot helped Yakin Dogu University widen the margin after a close first game, beating Villeneuve 73-61 to stretch the final tally to 141-128.

Galatasaray vs. Good Angels Kosice 82-66 GALA Jefferson 25 Traore 21 Papova 12 Vitola 9/7r Paris 5 Da Silva 2 KOSC Jurcenkova 15 Baugh 12/7r Zirkova 12 Oblak 10 Allen 8

Galatasaray advances 144-139

Hatay vs. Wisla Can-Pack 77-76 HATA Turner 20/6a Paris 17/11r Hurst 17/7r/7a Snytsina 15 Stankovic 0 Tanacan 0 WIS Morrison 18 Ygueravide 17/7a Ben Abdelkader 16/7a Gidden 11/6r Kobryn 11

Hatay advances 146-133

Bellona AGU vs. BLMA 73-68 KAYS Ivegin 20 Mazic 12/9r Gray 8 Dubljevic 6 Wright 4 Wauters 2 Sanders 2 BLMA Mann 15 Michel 14 Robert 14 Halman 11

Bellona AGU advances 158-133

Yakin Dogu Universitesi vs. ESBVA-LM 73-61 YDUB Vandersloot 21/12a McBride 14 Hollingsworth 13/8r Robinson 10/8r Carson 1 Leuchanka 0 Cakir 0 ESBV Iagupova 18 Sy 15/6r Amant 10 Ayayi 5/6r

Yakin Dogu Universitesi advances 141-128

The semifinals will be played on March 21st and 24th with the team listed first hosting the first game:
Hatay vs. Bellona AGU
Galatasaray vs. Yakin Dogu Universitesi

The Round of 8 series concluded this week.  On Wednesday, Abdullah Gul University quickly worked on overturning the deficit built up in Spain as Chelsea Gray helped them get the 85-54 win in Turkey to progress 148-125 overall.  On Thursday, Yakin Dogu quickly reversed the deficit from the game in Italy to win 66-45 in Turkey, advancing past Venezia 122-110 behind Kayla McBride and Courtney Vandersloot.  Galatasaray only needed to defend their lead in Turkey after a solid win in Italy and they did so with Moriah Jefferson leading the way in 68-66 win outright, pushing the margin to 145-133.  In Hungary, Cegled made progress early on cutting into the deficit built up in Slovakia, but Teja Oblak and the visitors got the 77-70 win, advancing past Nora Nagy-Bujdoso and the hosts 156-134.

February 15, 2017

Bellona AGU vs. Spar Citylift Girona 85-54 KAYS Gray 23/7a Wauters 15/11r Gunay 12 Sanders 10/6r Dubljevic 9 Wright 6/9a Mazic 5 GIRO Alminaite 12/8r Ibekwe 9/7r Spanou 8/6r Rodriguez 8 Peters 3

Bellona AGU advances 148-125

February 16, 2017

Yakin Dogu Universitesi vs. Reyer Venezia 66-45 YDUB McBride 21/6r Vandersloot 21/6a Hollingsworth 9/9r Carson 5 Robinson 0 Cakir 0 REYE Ruzickova 12/7r Walker 12/6r Fontenette 2

Yakin Dogu Universitesi advances 122-110

Galatasaray vs. Virtus Eirene Ragusa 68-66 GALA Jefferson 24/6a Alben 14/6a Traore 12/6r Vitola 5/10r Da Silva 2 Paris 0 VIRT Larkins 19/18r Ndour 17 Nicholls 14

Galatasaray advances 145-133

VBW CEKK Cegled vs. Good Angels Kosice 70-77 CEGL Nagy-Bujdoso 25/7r Skoric 18 Serban 10 KOSC Oblak 22/6a Jurcenkova 14/6r Kupcikova 11/8r Allen 11 Baugh 11 Zirkova 0

Good Angels Kosice advances 156-134

After a week off, play resumed with the first game of each Round for all 8 series.  On Wednesday, Ify Ibekwe and Girona beat Ann Wauters and Abdullah Gul University 71-63 at home to take an advantage with them when the series moves to Turkey next week.  The home team also took the early advantage in Italy as Ashley Walker and Venezia beat Yakin Dogu University 65-56.  The other two series started on Thursday.  Good Angels Kosice dominated the second half in Slovakia, building a solid 79-64 lead for when they visit Cegled in Hungary next week.  Galatasaray will have the edge when they return to Turkey after going to Italy and beating Ragusa 77-67 with several additions to their roster.

February 8, 2017

Spar Citylift Girona vs. Bellona AGU 71-63 GIRO Ibekwe 21/9r Alminaite 15/11r Peters 13 Rodriguez 12 Spanou 7 KAYS Wauters 20/13r Wright 14 Dubljevic 12/6r Gray 6 Mazic 6 Sanders 2

Reyer Venezia vs. Yakin Dogu Universitesi 65-56 REYE Walker 21/12r Fontenette 16/6r Ruzickova 15/9r YDUB McBride 17 Hollingsworth 12/18r Carson 11/9r Vandersloot 11/8r/7a Robinson 4/11r Cakir 0

February 9, 2017

Good Angels Kosice vs. VBW CEKK Cegled 79-64 KOSC Oblak 17 Stehlikova 13 Baugh 12/14r Zirkova 11 Allen 9 CEGL Skoric 17/7r Nagy-Bujdoso 12/6r

Virtus Eirene Ragusa vs. Galatasaray 67-77 VIRT Vanloo 16 Ndour 15/10r Gorini 15 Consolini 11 Larkins 2/9r/6a GALA Jefferson 16/6a Vitola 14/7r Traore 14 Da Silva 8/7r Paris 0

The second game of each series was played this week, starting with five games on Wednesday.  Galatasaray had won narrowly in Hungary last week, but quickly expanded it in Turkey, beating Pecs 81-49 behind Moriah Jefferson and 152-116 overall win.

Abdullah Gul University brought back a big lead from the first game in France and coasted in Turkey with a 66-56 win over Nice to advance 144-106 overall.

The game in Spain ended up looking closer than it was as Ify Ibekwe and Girona built a huge lead early after a narrow win in Germany and then Wasserburg trimmed it to 79-71 in the game, still losing 145-133 overall.

Charleville had a big deficit to make up in France after a loss in Slovakia, and Kim Mestdagh and company appeared to be on track early before only managing the 72-58 win, losing 141-136 on aggregate to extend the difficulties for the teams that finished as top seeds after the group stage.

The day ended with Ragusa expanding their margin from the Czech Republic with a 71-57 win over Nymburk in Italy, pushing the total to 128-110.  Games continued on Thursday as Yakin Dogu University kept on building on the lead established in Germany by beating Keltern 85-58 in Turkey and getting an overall margin of 161-120.  Maccabi Ashdod was expected to be competitive in Israel after a narrow defeat in Italy, but a good game from Shay Doron was not enough against Reyer Venezia, losing outright 72-51 and 130-103 overall.

A back and forth game in Latvia ended with a 61-57 win for TTT Riga, but Cegled’s win in Hungary held as they advanced by a 130-127 margin.  After a week’s break, the remaining teams will face off in the same format. [Read more…]

This week marked the start of the knockout phase of the competition as the remaining teams were ranked by performance in the group phase and then seeded for the bracket with the lower ranked teams hosting this first game.  Galatasaray left Pecs with a 71-67 win.  Ify Ibekwe and Girona also escaped with a narrow win after beating Wasserburg 66-62.  The trend continued for away teams as Ragusa left the Czech Republic with a 57-53 win over Nymburk.  One home team did win as Venezia beat Maccabi Ashdod 58-52.  On Thursday, Good Angels Kosice had a nice start, but nearly gave it away before recovering for a 83-64 win behind Rebecca Allen as they will head to Charleville with some confidence next week.  A back and forth game in Cegled went to the hosts 73-66 as TTT Riga will have a deficit to overturn when they went home.  Abdullah Gul University wasted no time in France and beat up on Nice 78-50.  Yakin Dogu University also had a wire to wire win on the road, beating Keltern 76-62 in Germany.

January 18, 2017

PEAC Pecs vs. Galatasaray 67-71 PEAC Kuster 17 Juhasz 13/8r Mandic 13 Siksniute 10/11r GALA Traore 18 Jefferson 16 Vitola 12 Demirok 11/6r

TSV 1880 vs. Spar Citylift Girona 62-66 WASS Tobin 14/9r Lucet 13 Fontaine 10/7r Peddy 5/8r GIRO Ibekwe 20/11r Peters 15/6r Rodriguez 15 Spanou 9/7r Da Silva 7

Nymburk vs. Virtus Eirene Ragusa 53-57 NYMB Khomenchuk 11/12r Pavel 10 VIRT Larkins 15 Spreafico 14 Gorini 11/7r Nicholls 11/7r Ndour 2

Reyer Venezia vs. Maccabi Bnot 58-52 REYE Carangelo 14/8r Ruzickova 12/14r Fontenette 10 ASHD Levitsky 12/9r Graves 11/11r Wheeler 9 Abdi 8/8r Doron 5/6r Shafir 0 Presley 0

January 19, 2017

Good Angels Kosice vs. Carolo 83-64 KOSC Allen 27/7r Zirkova 14 Oblak 13/6a Baugh 8/10r CARO Bouderra 16 Mestdagh 12 Mosqueda-Lewis 12 Berezhnyska 11 DeVaughn 4 Djaldi-Tabdi 4

VBW CEKK Cegled vs. TTT Riga 73-66 CEGL Nagy-Bujdoso 18 Katona 18 Maksimovic 16/13r Skoric 13/9r RIGA Carter 18 Eibele 12 Sutherland 7/9r Strautmane 5 Basko-Melnbarde 4/6r Eglite 2 Priede 0

Cavignal Nice vs. Bellona AGU 50-78 NICE Anderson 11 Cornelie-Sigmundova 10 Macaulay 10 BELL Gray 19/7r/6a Mazic 13 Ivegin 11 Wright 10/8a Dubljevic 10 Wauters 7/9r

Rutronik Stars Keltern vs. Yakin Dogu Universitesi 62-76 KELT Thomas 16 Pokk 16 Vucurovic 10 Davis 7/6r YDUB Vandersloot 18/8a Hollingsworth 17/9r Carson 17 McBride 10 Robinson 9/7r Cakir 0

Group A:

Both games in this group were on Thursday as a meaningless game between eliminated teams in Russia went to Spartak Moscow 78-59 over Sirenos.  The more important game was in Hungary for the top spot in the group as Shay Doron helped Maccabi Ashdod leave Cegled with an 82-81 win over Maja Skoric and company.

December 15, 2016

Sparta&k M.R. Vidnoje vs. Hoptrans Sirenos 78-59 SPAR Dojkic 17 Knight 14 Razheva 13 Ogun 10/8r Davydova 9/8r SIRE Knyzaite 14 Zemantauskaite 14 Jarosz 6

VBW CEKK Cegled vs. Maccabi Bnot 81-82 CEGL Skoric 21/7r Maksimovic 16/11r Medgyessy 15/7a Ruttner 11 Schlemer 0 ASHD Doron 36 Jackson-Jones 17/10r Abdi 13 Johnson 10/6a Paris 4 Levitsky 2 Shafir 0

Standings: Maccabi Bnot 5-1, VBW CEKK Cegled 4-2, Sparta&k M.R. Vidnoje 2-4, Hoptrans Sirenos 1-5

Group B:

Both games in the group were on Wednesday, starting in Turkey, where Abdullah Gul University did not help out MBA Moscow by beating them 81-69 as the hosts still had seeding concerns for the next round to worry about.  That opened the door for Pecs to take the last qualification spot and they did that with a 71-48 win over struggling Pecsi in a battle of Hungarian teams.

December 14, 2016

Bellona AGU vs. MBA Moscow 81-69 KAYS Wauters 14/9r Gray 14/8a Mazic 13/8r Sezer 12 Wright 8 MOSC Gorbacheva 16 Sytnyak 9

PEAC Pecs vs. Pinkk Pecsi 424 71-48 PEAC Kuster 17/9r Siksniute 15 Juhasz 12 PINK Ristic 15 Bozoki 10/6r Markovic 0

Standings: Bellona AGU 6-0, PEAC Pecs 3-3, MBA 3-3, Pinkk Pecsi 424 0-6

Group C:

On Wednesday, Galatasaray was able to rest some players and let Kristine Vitola pick up the slack and still beat Dynamo Novosibirsk 75-52 at home.  Ieva Krastina and TTT Riga tried to improve their seeding for the next round as they went to Samsun and won 94-35.

December 14, 2016

Galatasaray vs. Dynamo Novosibirsk 75-52 GALA Vitola 21/10r Traore 15 Papova 12 Demirok 10/7r NOVO Williams 17/11r Abayburova 10 Tatham 9

December 15, 2016

Samsun Canik vs. TTT Riga 35-94 SAMS Coulibaly 11/10r Babkina 2 Murphy 0 RIGA Krastina 20 Basko-Melnbarde 16/8r Sutherland 15/9r Eglite 10 Priede 7 Carter 7

Standings: Galatasaray 6-0, TTT Riga 4-2, Dynamo Novosibirsk 1-5, Samsun Canik 1-5

Group D:

Both games in this group were on Thursday as undefeated Yakin Dogu University crushed winless Miskolc 93-46 to try to finish well in the tiebreakers for the top seeds.  The more important game was in Slovakia, where Teja Oblak and Good Angels Kosice beat Lynetta Kizer and Olimpiacos 72-59 to shift the tiebreaker in their favor to advance, leaving the Greek side disappointed after all of their efforts to put together a strong roster.

December 15, 2016

Yakin Dogu Universitesi vs. Aluinvent Miskolc 93-46 YDUB Hollingsworth 19/12r Caglar 19 Carson 16 Vandersloot 11/12a Cakir 5/10a Robinson 6/6r DVTK Rasheed 12 Jovanovic 10/8r Robertson-Warren 7/9r Szecsi 7 Tomlinson 5

Good Angels Kosice vs. Olympiacos 72-59 KOSC Oblak 22 Baugh 10/7r Allen 7 Zirkova 7 OLYM Kizer 22 Kaltsidou 11/7r Maltsi 8 Dimitrakou 6 Johnson 3/8r Hodges 0

Standings: Yakin Dogu Universitesi 6-0, Good Angels Kosice 3-3, Olimpiacos 3-3, Aluinvent Miskolc 0-6

Group E:

On Wednesday, Katherine Plouffe and Nantes went to Belgium and beat Namur 77-52 with both teams already eliminated.  The game for the top spot in the group was played on Thursday in the Czech Republic as Ragusa escaped with a 58-53 win over Nymburk thanks to Astou Ndour providing 27 points on only 11 field goal attempts.

December 14, 2016

Namur vs. Nantes Reze 52-77 NAMU Gomez 13/7a Linskens 12/8r NANT Plouffe 23/13r Thorburn 13/11r Chaney 13 Clanet 10 Arrondo 10

December 15, 2016

Nymburk vs. Virtus Eirene Ragusa 53-58 NYMB Bartakova 12/6r Ursu 8/7r VIRT Ndour 27/10r Formica 8/8r

Standings: Virtus Eirene Ragusa 5-1, Nymburk 4-2, Nantes Reze 3-3, Namur 0-6

Group F:

Both games in this group were on Wednesday with the critical one taking place in Germany.  Julie Allemand and Castors Braine were able to beat Keltern 69-68 to tie them in the standings, but the margin was not big enough to overturn the tiebreakers and left them out of the competition.  Haley Peters and Girona made sure that they would have a good seed in the next round after an 89-67 win over Uniao Sportiva as Jasmine Crew had one more strong game before the visitors departed the competition.

December 14, 2016

Rutronik Stars Keltern vs. Castors Braine 68-69 KELT Vucurovic 15/6r Mayombo 13 Markovic 13 Thomas 12 Davis 6 CAST Allemand 20 Copper 15/12r Trahan-Davis 13/10r Delaere 12

Spar Citylift Girona vs. Uniao Sportiva 89-67 GIRO Peters 22/6r Ibekwe 16/7r Buch 15 Rodriguez 13 Spanou 5 Da Silva 2/7r UNIA Crew 23/6a Jones 13/13r Olkhovyk 12 Djassi 9

Standings: Spar Citylift Girona 6-0, Rutronik Stars Keltern 3-3, Castors Braine 3-3, Uniao Sportiva 0-6

Group G:

Both games in the group were on Wednesday as Fribourg ended any chances of Landes advancing by going to France and winning 64-62.  In Italy, Reyer Venezia was able to jump up to the top spot by beating Nice 65-42, which will affect seeding for the next round.

December 14, 2016

Landes vs. Elfic Fribourg 62-64 LAND Ayim 17/7r Jovanovic 12/6r Barennes 11 Dumerc 8/6a FRIB Rol 16 Davis 15 Tarakchian 14/14r Fora 10 Doolittle 4/6r

Reyer Venezia vs. Cavignal Nice 65-42 REYE Fontenette 19/6r Ruzickova 15/9r Walker 9/11r NICE Anderson 9/9r Macaulay 7/11r

Standings: Reyer Venezia 4-2, Cavignal Nice 4-2, Fribourg 2-4, Landes 2-4

Group H:

Both games in this group were on Thursday as Santa Okockyte and Umea beat Anna Barthold and Lulea 73-71 in a battle of Swedish teams, but they would need a miracle in Germany to advance.  That never came as Wasserburg lost 70-51 to Kim Mestdagh and undefeated Charleville, but still had done enough to advance.

December 15, 2016

Udominate Umea vs. Lulea 73-71 UDOM Okockyte 24/11a Melnika 14/12r Staalvant 14 Kabengano 5/6r LULE Barthold 24/16r Bussey 17 Antic 12/8r

TSV 1880 vs. Carolo 51-70 WASS Lucet 12/6r Agunbiade 11/6r Fontaine 5 Peddy 4/8r CARO Mestdagh 26 DeVaughn 16/13r Minte 10/8r Mosqueda-Lewis 7 Berezhynska 2

Standings: Carolo 6-0, TSV 1880 3-3, Udominate Umea 3-3, Lulea 0-6

After all of the games were complete, the bracket for the next rounds were set for when play resumes in January.  Teams were ranked by record in the group stage and then point differential.  The teams listed first host the second game of the two games series.  The winner will be determined by the combined points totals of the two games, with overtime played after the second game if necessary.  Either game can end in a tie.

Round of 16:

• (1) Carolo vs. (16) Good Angels Kosice
• (2) Yakin Dogu Universitesi vs. (15) Rutronik Stars Keltern
• (3) Galatasaray vs. (14) PEAC Pecs
• (4) Spar Citylift Girona vs. (13) TSV 1880
• (5) Bellona AGU vs. (12) Cavignal Nice
• (6) Virtus Eirene Ragusa vs. (11) Nymburk
• (7) Maccabi Bnot vs. (10) Reyer Venezia
• (8) TTT Riga vs. (9) VBW CEKK Cegled

Group A:

Both games in the group were on Thursday as Nora Nagy-Bujdoso and Cegled advanced to the next round by going to Russia and beating Spartak Moscow 79-64.  Tiffany Jackson-Jones and Maccabi Ashdod already knew that they were advancing, but still disappointingly gave Sirenos their first win 74-71, which will affect the bracket in the next round.

December 8, 2016

Sparta&k M.R. Vidnoje vs. VBW CEKK Cegled 64-79 SPAR Kolosovskaya 14 Razheva 12/7r Knight 6 Davydova 3 CEGL Nagy-Bujdoso 24 Katona 19/9r/6a Skoric 15/8r Schlemer 2

Hoptrans Sirenos vs. Maccabi Bnot 74-71 SIRE Zemantauskaite 17/6r Jarosz 10/8r ASHD Jackson-Jones 23/12r/6s Abdi 15/6r Doron 11 Johnson 7/6a Shafir 7 Levitsky 2 Paris 2

Standings: Maccabi Bnot 4-1, VBW CEKK Cegled 4-1, Sparta&k M.R. Vidnoje 1-4, Hoptrans Sirenos 1-4

Group B:

On Wednesday, Chelsea Gray and Abdullah Gul University sealed the top spot in the group with a 74-73 win over Pecs at home.  On Thursday, MBA Moscow kept Pecsi winless 67-63 and boosted their own chances of advancing as Karina Nizamova led the hosts while Katarina Ristic led the visitors.

December 7, 2016

Bellona AGU vs. PEAC-Pecs 74-73 KAYS Gray 20/6a Wright 14/6r Gunay 10/6a Mazic 9/7r Wauters 8 Dubljevic 7/13r PEAC Mandic 18/6a Licskai 16/8r Kuster 15/6r Zele 12 [Read more…]

Group A:

Both games in this group were on Thursday as Shay Doron led Maccabi Ashdod past Spartak Moscow 63-50 at home.  Cegled sits behind them also in strong shape as they kept Sirenos winless after a 68-60 win in Hungary.

December 1, 2016

Maccabi Bnot vs. Sparta&k M.R. Vidnoje 63-50 ASHD Doron 22 Jackson-Jones 15/13r Levitsky 10/8r Johnson 7/6r Abdi 5 Paris 2 Shafir 0 SPAR Kolosovskaya 11 Dojkic 11 Knight 6 Davydova 3/10r

VBW CEKK Cegled vs. Hoptrans-Sirenos 68-50 CEGL Nagy-Bujdoso 15/6r Maksimovic 14/6r Schlemer 10/11r Skoric 10 SIRE Ziuzkova 18 Knyzaite 12 Jarosz 11/10r

Standings: Maccabi Bnot 4-0, VBW CEKK Cegled 3-1, Sparta&k M.R. Vidnoje 1-3, Hoptrans-Sirenos 0-4

Group B:

Both of the games in this group were on Wednesday, as Pecs turned the race for second place back in their favor with an 87-61 win over MBA Moscow.  The other game was also in Hungary, as Abdullah Gul University continues to lead the group after Jelena Dubljevic led them past Katarina Ristic and Pecsi 84-62. [Read more…]