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EuroLeague Qualifiers October 28th

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October 28, 2020

The two qualifying games for the last spots in EuroLeague were played on Wednesday with Izmit hosting and having a few fans in the stands for support.  Neither team in the first game had been at their best during their league seasons so far, but Clarissa Dos Santos and Erica Wheeler proved to be the right inside-outside combination for the hosts in an 85-68 win over Kristine Vitola and DVTK.  The other game matched a Girona team battle-hardened by a large number of domestic league games while Sepsi had an intriguing roster, but no competitive games yet.  Rebekah Gardner and company made a push after halftime, but Girona pulled away to seize the last spot 76-54.

Izmit joins a tough Group A with Dynamo Kursk, Nadezhda Orenburg, and Avenida.  Girona is in Group C with Ekaterinburg, Riga, and Schio.  Group B contains Fenerbahce, USK Praha, Lyon, and Arka Gdynia.  Group D consists of Sopron, Bourges, Galatasaray, and Landes.  DVTK and Sepsi now drop down to the EuroCup, which will also have qualifying games later in the year.

DVTK vs. Izmit 68-85 DVTK Vitola 20/7r Kanyasi 16 Medgyessy 14/6a Mokango 6/6r Aho 2 Montai-Vukov 0 IZM Dos Santos 20/17r Wheeler 20/6a Jovanovic 18/7r Emirtekin 10

Girona vs. Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe 76-54 GIRO Vasic 17 Eldebrink 15 Reisingerova 12 Gray 9 Elonu 8/6r Ferrari 2 SSIC Gardner 24/6a Tobin 17 Ruzickova 10 Pavlopoulou 0

2020-21 EuroLeague and EuroCup Draws

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The group draws for both competitions were conducted today although it will be two weeks before the next determination on whether everything can proceed on time according to the usual format.

Video:

EuroLeague:

http://www.fiba.basketball/euroleaguewomen/20-21/news/euroleague-women-regular-season-groups-confirmed-for-2020-21-campaign
Group A: Dynamo Kursk (Russia), USK Praha (Czech Republic), Fenerbahce (Turkey), Nadezhda Orenburg (Russia), Avenida (Spain), Lyon (France), Arka Gdynia (Poland), winner DVTK (Hungary) vs. Izmit (Turkey)
Group B: Ekaterinburg (Russia), Sopron (Hungary), Bourges (France), Schio (Italy), Riga (Latvia), Galatasaray (Turkey), Landes (France), winner Girona (Spain) vs. Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe (Romania)

The qualifiers were already determined when the teams were announced so only the groups were picked today.  The field could be quite deep this season, but Group A already looks like there will be fun battles to watch.  Dynamo Kursk is joined by fellow Russian club Nadezhda Orenburg and USK Praha and Fenerbahce bring plenty of history.  Avenida makes their return and will be looking to return to the continent’s elite while Lyon represents the number of teams that have increased their ambition recently.  Gdynia will carry the torch for Poland, which will not be sending as many teams to these competitions this season.  The qualifier between DVTK and Izmit should add another quality team to this group.

The cancellation of last season will have been the biggest disappointment for Ekaterinburg, which figured to be the overwhelming favorite.  They should roll in Group B, but will have their share of competition.  Sopron has been impressive in recent seasons while Schio and Bourges figure to be in a position to reach the levels that they have in the past.  Landes hopped into France’s third spot, which ended up being a direct place with a smaller field.  Galatasaray also benefited from chaos elsewhere to get their chance.  Riga will be looking to pull off an upset like last season while trying to advance to the next round as they did in the last full season.  Girona will be trying to grab the spot that they feel they could have earned had their domestic league finished while Sepsi will face them in the qualifier feeling like they have nothing to lose.

EuroCup:

http://www.fiba.basketball/eurocupwomen/20-21/news/eurocup-women-clubs-find-out-regular-season-opponents-qualifiers-matchups-drawn
A: Szekszard (Hungary), Gyor (Hungary), Kayseri (Turkey), Prometey (Ukraine)
B: loser DVTK (Hungary)-Izmit (Turkey), Orman (Turkey), Umea (Sweden), Elitzur Ramla (Israel)
C: Hatay (Turkey), Spartak Moscow (Russia), Cegled (Hungary), Adana (Turkey)
D: MBA Moscow (Russia), Gorzow (Poland), KP Brno (Czech Republic), Elazig (Turkey)
E: Fribourg (Switzerland), Boom (Belgium), Reyer Venezia (Italy), Landerneau (France)
F: Gernika (Spain), winner Clarinos (Spain)-Mechelen (Belgium), Carolo (France), Roche (France)
G: Villeneuve (France), winner Namur (Belgium)-Grengewald Hueschtert (Luxembourg), loser Girona (Spain)-Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe (Romania), Sedis (Spain)
H: Valencia (Spain), winner Hainaut (France)-Winterthur (Switzerland), Braine (Belgium), Sint-Katelijne-Waver (Belgium)

The first four groups are the Eastern Conference and are complete pending the result of the EuroLeague qualifier.  Prometey gives Ukraine representation and they face a group with a Hungarian flavor in A.  The loser of the qualifier drops into Group B, which has the biggest travel potential with trips to Umea and Ramla possible.  With so many teams from the same countries, Group C will have two Turkish teams.  Group D is the only one that at this point has teams from four different countries.  While Turkey has a number of teams as usual, Russia, Poland, and the Czech Republic will not have the number of teams involved that they have had in recent seasons.

The four groups in the Western Conference are far less settled at this point.  Group E is the only one that is set with a good mix of familiar names and upstarts.  Group F is awaiting a qualifying winner, but already looks quite tough with a pair of French teams and the possibility of two Spanish clubs as well.  Villeneuve and Sedis are awaiting the identity of two remaining teams in Group G.  Grengewald Hueschtert has to feel that they got the most favorable possible draw to give Luxembourg a team in the regular season even though Namur will be experienced in this situation.  The loser of the EuroLeague qualifier also drops into this group and either one will be considered the early favorite here.  The last qualifier winner will be in Group H alongside upstarts Valencia and two Belgian teams, including a Braine team with plenty of recent EuroLeague experience.

2020-21 EuroLeague and EuroCup Teams

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The last season was not able to be completed and the dates for the upcoming season are not set in stone yet, but the teams who applied for continental competition were revealed on Monday.  4 teams will be in the EuroLeague qualifiers to join the 14 teams that have already advanced to the regular season.  6 teams will contest EuroCup qualifiers to join the 30 teams directly playing in the regular season and 2 teams that lose EuroLeague qualifiers.  Draws will be conducted on August 17th, but the final format will likely not be decided until next month.

Announcement

EuroLeague:

Since there are four qualifiers, the matchups were already drawn to fit the regional groups format of EuroCup.  Izmit of Turkey will face DVTK of Hungary with the loser joining EuroCup’s Eastern Conference.  Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe looks to provide Romanian representation to the competition, but will face a tough task in avoiding EuroCup’s Western Conference against Girona of Spain.

There are plenty of familiar names in the regular season already.  Russian powerhouses Ekaterinburg, Dynamo Kursk, and Nadezhda Orenburg are back.  France was also able to secure three direct places with Bourges, Lyon, and Landes.  Turkey will need qualifiers to join those two countries with three teams, but Istanbul rivals Fenerbahce and Galatasaray will be there.  Avenida of Spain is back in the picture as they and Sopron of Hungary will wait to see if their domestic rivals will join them.  Arka Gdynia of Poland, USK Praha of the Czech Republic, Schio of Italy, and Riga of Latvia will be the sole representatives from their countries.

EuroCup:

There will be no need for qualifiers in the Eastern Conference with 15 direct spots awarded and the last place reserved for the team dropping from EuroLeague qualification.  There will definitely be a group with multiple Turkish teams as Orman, Kayseri, Elazig, Adana, and Hatay will be participating.  There will also be plenty of Hungarian representation with Szekszard, Gyor, and Cegled.  Moscow based Spartak and MBA will be the Russian contingent, meaning that teams will not need to plan for some of the long journeys to the east of past seasons.  Gorzow of Poland, KP Brno of the Czech Republic, Umea of Sweden, and Elitzur Ramla of Israel will return to the competition and be the only teams from their countries.  Prometey joins to give Ukraine a representative.

All the necessary qualifying series will be in the Western Conference and the teams have already been split for draw purposes.  Hainaut of France, Clarinos of Spain, and Namur of Belgium will be in a pot while the other will consist Mechelen of Belgium, Winterthur of Switzerland, and Grengewald Hueschtert, which will try to give the competition a representative from Luxembourg.

Reyer Venezia of Italy and Fribourg of Switzerland have direct spots while most of the others will be claimed by the same three countries.  Landerneau, Carolo, Roche, and Villeneuve give France the lead in teams in this half right now.  Gernika, Valencia, and Sedis are the teams from Spain while Braine, Sint-Katelijne-Waver, and Boom are from Belgium.

EuroLeague Quarterfinals Game 1 March 11th

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March 11, 2020

Only two of Wednesday’s scheduled games were played.  Avenida declined to travel to Ekaterinburg.  USK Praha and Schio were prepared to play, but the Czech government stepped in and halted it.  Elizabeth Williams was dominant for Fenerbahce as they beat Ana Dabovic and Bourges 84-75.  A late rally from Marine Johannes was not enough for upstarts Lyon as Nadezhda left with an 80-78 win.  The next games are planned for Wednesday pending any changes due to coronavirus.

Fenerbahce vs. Bourges 84-75 FENE Williams 30/14r Iagupova 18/8a Zandalasini 12 Gray 7 Stokes 5/8r Cakir 4 Canitez 2 BOUR Dabovic 20 Eldebrink 13 Coleman 12/10r Rupert 10

Lyon vs. Nadezhda 78-80 LYON Johannes 24 Clark 18/8r Tanqueray 12 Allemand 10 Plouffe 4 Berezhynska 0 NAD Raincock-Ekunwe 19/11r Shilova 19 Namok 11 Wheeler 10/6r/7a

EuroLeague Round 14 February 26th

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Group A:

The game between Ekaterinburg and Cukurova went pretty much exactly how it was expected to with the hosts rolling to a 112-37 win.  Daria Namok and Nadezhda won 74-65 in Orenburg to climb above Bourges in the standings.  Brionna Jones and USK Praha did not extend a helping hand to Braine, leaving with an 89-65 win.  Reyer’s game against TTT Riga was initially moved to Thursday and shifted from Italy to Slovenia, but the visitors declined to travel and it was ultimately ruled a forfeit.  Braine benefited by getting the other parachute spot down to the EuroCup quarterfinals.

February 26, 2020

Ekaterinburg vs. Cukurova 112-37 UMMC Musina 18/9r Stewart 16/8r Jones 15/8r Quigley 12 Griner 11/7r Meesseman 11 Vandersloot 10/7a Belyakova 9 Torrens 2 CUKU Bentley 9 Marginean 8

Nadezhda vs. Bourges 74-65 NAD Namok 20 Nizamova 17 Verameyenka 10/10r Wheeler 7 Raincock-Ekunwe 6/9r BOUR Michel 12 Achonwa 10 Eldebrink 10 Dabovic 6 Coleman 4

Braine vs. USK Praha 65-89 CAST Siksniute 13 Trahan-Davis 12/7r Wallace 8 Handy 5 USK Jones 21/13r Elhotova 17 Oblak 15 Thomas 14/8r/7a Vukosavljevic 11 Vorackova 5

Standings:

  1. Ekaterinburg 3-11
  2. USK Praha 12-2
  3. Nadezhda 9-5
  4. Bourges 8-6
  5. Reyer Venezia 5-9
  6. Braine 3-11
  7. Cukurova 3-11
  8. TTT Riga 3-11

Group B:

Dynamo Kursk avoided what would have been an embarrassing elimination at home against Maryia Papova and a Gdynia team with nothing to play for, getting help from DeWanna Bonner to come back and win 64-58.  Lyon advanced by beating a Fenerbahce team that was firm in its position 78-65.  Lattes Montpellier missed their own chance to clinch a spot, losing to Girona 57-45.  Schio’s game against Sopron was initially moved to Thursday and shifted from Italy to Slovenia, but the visitors declined to travel and it was ultimately ruled a forfeit.  That allowed Schio to advance and Lattes Montpellier joined them with the tiebreaker.  Dynamo Kursk still ended up getting dumped down to EuroCup and Girona was able to get the other spot without having the risk of losing it after the last game.

February 26, 2020

Dynamo Kursk vs. Arka Gdynia 64-58 DYNK Bonner 24/7r Ndour 11 Anoikina 10 Prince 8/7a Baric 5/6a Breland 4/7r McCoughtry 2 GDY Papova 20 Allen 16/7r Alexander 6/11r Kastanek 2 Gulich 2

Lyon vs. Fenerbahce 78-65 LYON Badiane 17/8r Clark 14 Johannes 13/6r/6a Plouffe 13 Allemand 7/8a FENE Zandalasini 16 Williams 12 Cakir 8 Canitez 7 Gray 4 Stokes 3/11r

Lattes Montpellier vs. Girona 45-57 BLMA Williams 14/10r Whitcomb 12/6r Milapie 10/9r Peddy 0 Tchatchouang 0 UNI Elonu 11/9r Bishop 11/7r Xargay 10 Vasic 8 Martinez 0

Standings:

  1. Fenerbahce 11-3
  2. Lyon 8-6
  3. Schio 8-6
  4. Lattes Montpellier 7-7
  5. Dynamo Kursk 7-7
  6. Girona 6-8
  7. Sopron 6-8
  8. Arka Gdynia 3-11

Watch Last Games of EuroLeague Regular Season Here!

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Times listed are Central European, then Eastern Standard:

Ekaterinburg vs. Cukurova, Wednesday 3:00pm/9:00am:

Nadezhda vs. Bourges, Wednesday 3:00pm/9:00am:

Dynamo Kursk vs. Arka Gdynia, Wednesday 5:00pm/11:00am:

Braine vs. USK Praha, Wednesday 8:00pm/2:00pm:

Lyon vs. Fenerbahce, Wednesday 8:00pm/2:00pm:

Lattes Montpellier vs. Girona, Wednesday 8:00pm/2:00pm:

Reyer Venezia vs. TTT Riga, Thursday 5:30pm/11:30am:

Schio vs. Sopron, Thursday 8:00pm/2:00pm:

EuroLeague Round 13 February 19th-20th

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Group A:

All the games in this group were played on Wednesday, starting with Cukurova surprisingly decide to start competing again, handing Braine a 70-60 loss and a blow to their hopes of dropping down to EuroCup despite the return of Celeste Trahan-Davis.  TTT Riga was looking to take advantage, but Nadezhda came back to win 65-55.  Brionna Jones and Alyssa Thomas led USK Praha past Reyer 89-57.  The even more superteam version of Ekaterinburg took the court in Bourges and stormed to an 87-51 win.

February 19, 2020

Cukurova vs. Braine 70-60 CUKU Bentley 18/7a Sanders 16/6r Fitik 10 Marginean 10 CAST Trahan-Davis 23/10r Lisowa 10/6r Handy 8 Wallace 4

TTT Riga vs. Nadezhda 55-65 TTT Mabrey 19 Drammeh 16/8r Kreslina 5 Strautmane 5 Huff 3/7r/6s Laksa 0 NAD Wheeler 11 Verameyenka 10/12r Raincock-Ekunwe 9/11r

USK Praha vs. Reyer Venezia 89-57 USK Jones 24/10r Thomas 21/7r Elhotova 13 Rezan 10/10r Vukosavljevic 9/7r/7a Vorackova 4 VEN Steinberga 17 Petronyte 16 Penna 9 Anderson 3 Macchi 1

Bourges vs. Ekaterinburg 51-87 BOUR Chartereau 15 Dabovic 15 Achonwa 4 Coleman 0 UMMC Jones 14/7r Vandersloot 12/6a Torrens 12 Meesseman 11/6a Vadeeva 9/10r Griner 8/9r Quigley 6 Belyakova 4 Stewart 4 Musina 4

Standings:

  1. Ekaterinburg 12-1
  2. USK Praha 11-2
  3. Bourges 8-5
  4. Nadezhda 8-5
  5. Reyer Venezia 4-9
  6. TTT Riga 3-10
  7. Braine 3-10
  8. Cukurova 3-10

Group B:

Only one game in this group was played on Wednesday as Cecilia Zandalasini fired Fenerbahce past Lattes Montpellier 74-58.  On Thursday, Michelle Plouffe and Alysha Clark teamed up to lead Lyon past Gdynia 92-82.  Sopron had the lead at halftime, but Epiphanny Prince and DeWanner Bonner helped Dynamo Kursk rally and avoid elimination with a 74-61 win.  Schio missed a chance to clinch before the last game, losing to Girona 65-53.

February 19, 2020

Fenerbahce vs. Lattes Montpellier 74-58 FENE Zandalasini 30 E. Williams 14/7r Canitez 7 Cakir 6 Stokes 2/9r BLMA Bankole 13 Milapie 10/6r Tchatchouang 10 Whitcomb 9 G. Williams 5/7r Peddy 2

February 20, 2020

Arka Gdynia vs. Lyon 82-92 GDY Slamova 11 Balintova 11 Kastanek 11 Gulich 9/8r Allen 8 Alexander 8 LYON Plouffe 25 Clark 21/7r Johannes 17/7a Allemand 13/7r/9a Ciak 11

Sopron vs. Dynamo Kursk 61-74 SOP Brooks 19 Crvendakic 13/7r January 12 Dupree 9 Hatar 4 DYNK Prince 23 Bonner 20/6r Ndour 11/6r Breland 8 McCoughtry 7 Baric 0

Girona vs. Schio 65-53 UNI Mendy 16 Xargay 11 Elonu 8 Vasic 6/6r Bishop 5 Martinez 0 SCH Rodriguez 14 Dotto 11 Gruda 9/10r Harmon 8/8r

Standings:

  1. Fenerbahce 11-2
  2. Schio 7-6
  3. Lyon 7-6
  4. Lattes Montpellier 7-6
  5. Dynamo Kursk 6-7
  6. Sopron 6-7
  7. Girona 5-8
  8. Arka Gdynia 3-10

EuroLeague Round 12 January 28th

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January 28, 2020

Group A:

All of the games in both groups were played on Tuesday in order to create a longer international break.  In Orenburg, Erica Wheeler and Nadezhda kept it close for a while, but Brionna Jones bested her former team and USK Praha left with an 86-67 win.  Ekaterinburg was certainly wary of the threat of TTT Riga, but this time avoided an upset even though the visitors kept it respectable in an 87-67 loss.  Cukurova employed their plan to tank continental games to save energy for domestic league play, providing little resistance to the post players of Bourges, letting Natalie Achonwa and young Iliana Rupert thrive in the paint.  With the quarterfinalists in this group already decided, teams in the other half of the standings were fighting for the two parachute places and Reyer used a fast start to leave Braine with a 61-58 win and the edge on one of those spots.

Nadezhda vs. USK Praha 67-86 NAD Wheeler 22/8a Verameyenka 11 Turner 8 Raincock-Ekunwe 6 USK Jones 21/6r Vukosavljevic 19/8r/9a Thomas 18/19r/6a Ouvina 12/9r Rezan 12/7r Vorackova 2

Ekaterinburg vs. TTT Riga 87-67 UMMC Griner 19/10r Vandersloot 13/7a Quigley 13 Vadeeva 10 Torrens 9 Jones 7 Meesseman 6 Belyakova 6/6a Musina 2 TTT Drammeh 15/7r Huff 14 Kreslina 12 Mabrey 10 Strautmane 7 Laksa 5/8r

Cukurova vs. Bourges 50-88 CUKU Guner 13/8r Akalan 10 Marginean 4 Bentley 2 Sanders 0 BOUR Achonwa 25 Rupert 23/6r Chartereau 12/8r Dabovic 11/6a Coleman 4

Braine vs. Reyer Venezia 58-61 CAST Siksniute 16 Tobin 12/16r Wallace 10 Handy 3/7r VEN Steinberga 14/7r Carangelo 12 Anderson 10/7r Penna 3 Macchi 1

Standings:

  1. Ekaterinburg 11-2
  2. USK Praha 10-2
  3. Bourges 8-4
  4. Nadezhda 7-5
  5. Reyer Venezia 4-8
  6. TTT Riga 3-9
  7. Braine 3-9
  8. Cukurova 2-10

Group B:

This group started playing in Kursk, where Dynamo bounced back from tough losses with a 76-64 win over Girona.  Sopron won 77-67 at Gdynia as they also look to rally to reach the heights of the last few seasons.  The two French teams met and Shey Peddy nearly got Lattes Montpellier the win, but Helena Ciak and Lyon did just enough to win 78-77.  Fenerbahce clinched the top spot in the group with a 75-54 win over Sandrine Gruda and Schio to end the day as their dynamic duo of Alina Iagupova and Cecilia Zandalasini nearly supplied all the necessary points between them.

Dynamo Kursk vs. Girona 76-64 DYNK Prince 18/8r/8a Kirillova 18 McCoughtry 13 Bonner 7 Ndour 6 Breland 4 UNI Xargay 14 Palau 12 Elonu 10/10r Mendy 10 Vasic 4

Arka Gdynia vs. Sopron 67-77 GDY Balintova 19/10a Allen 14 Rembiszewska 12 Slamova 11 Greinacher 6/8r Kastanek 5 SOP Dupree 18/6r Brooks 17/7r Crvendakic 12/6r Fegyverneky 10/11a January 4/7a

Lyon vs. Lattes Montpellier 78-77 LYON Ciak 22/8r Tanqueray 11 Johannes 10/6r/6a Allemand 10/8a Plouffe 9 Clark 7/6r BLMA Peddy 30 Whitcomb 18 Williams 14/12r Tchatchouang 3

Schio vs. Fenerbahce 54-75 SCH Gruda 24/6r Harmon 6 Rodriguez 4 FENE Iagupova 29 Zandalasini 22 Williams 5/12r Stokes 5 Cakir 2/8a Canitez 2

Standings:

  1. Fenerbahce 10-2
  2. Schio 7-5
  3. Lattes Montpellier 7-5
  4. Sopron 6-6
  5. Lyon 6-6
  6. Dynamo Kursk 5-7
  7. Girona 4-8
  8. Arka Gdynia 3-9