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.
