"There is no offseason"
FIBA/DYNAMO KURSK
Epiphanny Prince suffered a devastating knee injury during Dynamo Kursk’s fifth round loss to Villeneuve d’Ascq. Prince has already returned to the U.S. to have the injury evaluated. This could be a devastating loss to Dynamo Kursk in both their domestic and Euroleague play if she is out for the remainder of the season. [Read more…]
Group A
Most of the games in this group were on Wednesday as Schio went to Slovakia and beat Good Angels Kosice 69-56. Villeneuve started and ended their game strong at home to beat Dynamo Kursk 78-70 despite a strong performance from Seimone Augustus. The day ended in Spain, where Fenerbahce came back late to beat Avenida 75-70. There was one game on Thursday, as Galatasaray went to Hungary and beat Sopron 76-60.
Good Angels Kosice vs. Famila Schio 56-69 GAK Oblak 12 Johnson 10 Langhorne 9/11r Hruscakova 8 Zirkova 6/6a SCH Yacoubou 13/6r Walker 12/15r Sottana 12 Anderson 11/7r Macchi 10 Masciadri 3 Ress 1/6r
ESBVA-LM vs. Dynamo Kursk 78-70 ESB Sacko 14/7r Amant 14 Gaye 13 Kaltsidou 12 Mahoney 9 KUR Augustus 25/7a Ogwumike 13/12r Jekabsone-Zogota 12 Osipova 11/7 Prince 5
Perfumerias Avenida vs. Fenerbahce 70-75 AVE Marginean 20 Rodriguez 14 Ndour 11/11r Dominguez 11/9a Vitola 6/7r Gidden 4 Liston 4 Gemelos 0 FEN Quigley 19/9r Coleman 15 Kobryn 10/7r Verameyenka 10 Cakir 8 Lavender 7/13r Hollingsworth 0 Canitez 0
Uniqa Sopron vs. Galatasaray 60-76 SOP Crvendakic 12/8r Krnjic 10/6r GAL Dubljevic 19/6r Yilmaz 17 Loyd 16 Caglar 14
There weren’t any “upsets” in round four of EuroLeague play. The most interesting game was probably Castors Braine playing UMMC close on their floor and losing only by 5. Also in Group B, Girona and Bourges are still in search of that elusive second win while Wisla is still on the hunt for their first. Orenburg continues to keep pace as their only loss is to undefeated UMMC. AGU Spor and USK Praha both had convincing wins against their opponents. In Group A Dynamo Kursk, Fenerbahce, familia Schio and Galatasaray all had dominant performances in their wins this round.
Looking ahead to round 5 which will be played on the 11th and 12th of November in group A Good Angels Kosice will look to get back in the win column against Familia Schio. After losing to dynamo Kursk by 20 points last round their work will be cut out for them against the Italian club who dominated Avenida. Luckily for Kosice they will be playing on their home court which is always a tough venue to play. This will be a true test to where they stand in the midst of this group where they currently sit in the middle of the pack. Will Good Angels pull off the upset? [Read more…]
Group A games started in Russia on Wednesday as Dynamo Kursk eventually built a lead on visiting Good Angels Kosice to win 70-49. Fenerbahce used a solid second half to beat Sopron 86-69 cancelling out a strong effort from Aleksandra Crvendakic. Galatasaray had a sluggish start in the other game in Istanbul, but toughened up on defense to only allow Villeneuve to score 15 points in the final quarter after allowing 20 points in the first quarter for a 59-35 win. Jewell Loyd led the way in the victory, but the team was also glad to see Nevriye Yilmaz return to the court. Schio closed the round on Thursday in Italy with an 88-70 win over Avenida as Jolene Anderson put in one of the strongest individual performances of the week.
Group B started the action on Wednesday as Abdullah Gul University welcomed Girona to Turkey and won 79-69 despite the best efforts of Chelsea Gray. Defending champions USK Praha pulled away from Wisla Krakow in the second half to win 64-40 in the Czech Republic. They got immediate help from the return of Sonja Petrovic to the lineup as their Polish visitors remain the only winless team. The day closed with Nadezhda winning 71-61 in France over Bourges as the duo of DeWanna Bonner and Kayla McBride led the way. On Thursday, Castors Braine put in a creditable effort in Russia against UMMC Ekaterinburg, but the Phoenix Mercury duo of Brittney Griner and Diana Taurasi kept their team undefeated with a 75-70 win.
FIBA/Castors Braine
Euro League Round 4 begins on November 4th with most teams playing on this day. The only undefeated team UMMC will take on Castors Braine in Russia. After a triumphant and historic win at home against newcomers Girona in the last round CAS will be up against a different beast in round 4. Will Ann Wauters be able to lead her Belgium squad to another memorable win against a loaded and determined Russian team? UMMC coasted to an easy victory against winless Wilsa last round. Unless something incredible happens I don’t expect them to lose this game at home.
Good Angels Kosice will travel to Russia to take on Dynamo Kursk this round. This will be [Read more…]
Games this week got a rare Tuesday start as Castors Braine built a big lead on their Spanish visitors in Belgium on their way to a 73-60 win. Defending champions USK Praha are still trying to get their healthy full strength roster together as they were unable to win in Orenburg in Russia as Nadezhda held on by a 58-54 margin. The team they beat in the final, UMMC Ekaterinburg, remains the only unbeaten team after they dominated the second half in Poland to win 88-52 over Wisla Krakow, which stays winless. An exciting game in France closed Wednesday Group B action as Bourges needed overtime to overcome their visitors from Abdullah Gul University 63-57, earning their first win of the season and handing the Turkish team their first loss.
All of the Group A games were on Wednesday, starting in Russia, where an overwhelming performance by Nneka Ogwumike powered Dynamo Kursk past their Italian visitors 63-58. It was also close in Slovakia as Good Angels Kosice welcomed Turkey’s Galatasaray and won 54-59. Sopron built an early lead in Hungary, but Spain’s Avenida fought back and nearly completed a comeback before losing 73-67. Fenerbahce made the trip from Turkey to France and trailed heading into the final quarter at Villeneuve before a huge run helped them to a 69-55 win to close out another exciting week of EuroLeague action as teams continue to fight for quarterfinal spots.
Round 2 *Please click on the links to see full box scores and game summary*
Beretta Famila Schio vs Sopron 97-61: Schio Anderson 20pts/4reb/9ast/2stl Walker 17pts/4reb Sopron Krnjc 14pts/6reb/1ast/2stl Simon 11pts/3reb/3stl
UMMC vs. Nadezhda 64-54 : Nadezhda McBride 16p/6reb/1as/4stl Kirillova 16pts/3reb UMMC Gruda 18pts/7reb/3ast/1st Taurasi 12pts/9reb/7ast
Avenida vs. Villeneuve d’Ascq 72-49 Avenida Margineean 24pts/4reb/2ast Gidden 13pts/6reb Villeneuve Mahoney 11pts/6reb/2ast/4stl
Spar Citylift Girona vs. Wisla Can-Pack 62-60 Girona Spanou 11pts/12reb/2ast Kuktiene 12pts/5reb Wisla Ouvina 11pts/10reb/9ast/5stl Zohnova 18pts/9reb [Read more…]