Women's Basketball 24.7

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EuroBasket Qualifiers Round 6 November 23rd

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November 23, 2016

All groups concluded play on Wednesday with the remaining eight spots handed out.

Group A:

The task was simple for Latvia in Riga and they took care of business with a 77-66.  Sandra Pirsic and Slovenia still held the tiebreaker for the top spot so both teams will be participating next summer.

Latvia vs. Slovenia 77-66 LAT Basko-Melnbarde 13 Vitola 12/10r Steinberga 11/10r Putnina 11 Babkina 11/7a Jekabsone-Zogota 10 Krastina 6 Eibele 3 Rozenberga 0 Priede DNP Strautmane DNP Melnia DNP SLO Pirsic 20/9r Oblak 19/6r/6a, Erkic 10 Baric 8/6a Lisec 6/12r Ljubenovic 3 Abramovic 0 Zdolsek 0 Trebec 0 Jakovina 0 Rupnik DNP Prezelj DNP

Standings: Slovenia 3-1, Latvia 3-1, Lithuania 0-4

Group B:

The Netherlands kept their chances alive by beating Estonia 70-46 in Amsterdam.  Croatia still ended up in second place after losing 84-65 to France in Clermont, but the tiebreakers looked unfavorable to them after comparing them to other group runners up.

Netherlands vs. Estonia 70-46 NED Hof 14 J. Bettonvil 11/9r Van Den Adel 9 Cornelius 9 L. Bettonvil 6 S. Kuijt 6 K. Kuijt 5 Ndiba 4/6r Broring 4/8r De Jonge 2 Ligthart 0 Klein 0 EST Mesila-Kaarmann 19/6r Bratka 8 Piibur 7 Puu 5 Sokman 3 Rits 2 Lilleallik 1 Perv 1 Kasemagi 0 Laurimaa 0 Adelbert 0 Tael 0

France vs. Croatia 84-65 FRA Miyem 17 Michel 13/7a Tchatchouang 10 Ciak 8/6r Filip 8 Amant 8 Ayayi 7 Johannes 6 Gaye 3/6r Epoupa 2 Bouderra 2 Dumerc 0 CRO Lelas 13 Zellous 9 Packovski 7 Ivezic 7 Sandric 6 Buzov 5 Premasunac 5 Dzankic 5 Begic 3 Borovic 3 Tikvic 2/7r Dojkic DNP

Standings: France 6-0, Croatia 3-3, Netherlands 3-3, Estonia 0-6 [Read more…]

EuroBasket Qualifiers Round 5 November 19th

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November 19, 2016

With only one set of games after this one, the picture became more clear in the race for qualification on Saturday.

Group A:

Slovenia ended a massively disappointing campaign for Lithuania by beating them 75-54 in Celje. They now will travel to Latvia on Wednesday to try to hang on to the top spot in the group and get automatic qualification.

Slovenia vs. Lithuania 75-54 SLO Erkic 16 Oblak 16 Lisec 11 Pirsic 10/10r Baric 8/7a Prezelj 5 Ljubenovic 3 Abramovic 2 Zdolsek 2 Trebec 2 Jakovina 0 Rupnik 0 LTU Okocyte 16 Paugaite 13/8r Grigalauskyte 7 Svaryte 6/11r Skadaite 4 Meskonyte 4 Siksniute 2/8r Juskaite 2 Knyzaite 0 Sarauskaite 0 Druskyte 0

Standings: Slovenia 3-0, Latvia 2-1, Lithuania 0-4

Group B:

Croatia took care of business in Zagreb with an 86-45 win over Estonia.  France jumped on the Netherlands early in Chalon sur Saone to win 79-46, staying undefeated and clinching qualification.

Croatia vs. Estonia 86-45 CRO Premasunac 13/8r Ivezic 12 Sandric 10 Dojkic 9 Zellous 8 Tikvic 7/7r Lelas 7 Dzankic 7 Borovic 5 Begic 4/6r Packovski 2 Buzov 2 EST Puu 18/6r Mesila-Kaarmann 6 Piibur 5 Rits 5 Bratka 3/8r Lilleallik 3 Perv 3 Kasemagi 2 Sokman 0 Laurimaa 0 Tael 0 Adelbert 0

France vs. Netherlands 79-46 FRA Miyem 14 Dumerc 11/6s Johannes 9 Ciak 8/9r Epoupa 7 Tchatchouang 7 Ayayi 6/8r Amant 6 Filip 4/10r Chevaugeon 3 Michel 2 Kamba 2 NED Ndiba 9 Van Den Adel 8 L. Bettonvil 7 J. Bettonvil 5 Cornelius 5 Ligthart 4 De Jonge 3 Klein 2 Kuijt 2 Broring 1 Zappeij DNP Van Kleef DNP

Standings: France 5-0, Croatia 3-2, Netherlands 2-3, Estonia 0-5 [Read more…]

Turkish League Round 1 October 22nd-23rd

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The league started on Saturday as Marissa Coleman and Mersin beat Lindsey Harding and Besiktas 84-74.  Tilbe Senyurek and Botas had a surprisingly easy time with Hatay as they won 76-57.  Young Girne University was looking forward to joining the top division, but Sugar Rodgers and Rebekah Gardner led visiting Osmaniye to an 84-71 win over Marica Gajic and company.  Isil Alben, Kristine Vitola, and Galatasaray welcomed the up and coming investment of Dogus to the league by beating them 97-62 despite a solid effort from Olesia Malashenko.  Fenerbahce had a tough time with the post-merger Yakin Dogu University, but got the 58-62 win.  Istanbul University beat Adana 66-59.  On Sunday, Elina Babkina and Canik Belediye tried to take advantage of Abdullah Gul University being shorthanded from the WNBA finals, but Tanisha Wright and Aysegul Gunay picked up the slack to lead them to a 72-68 win.

October 22, 2016

Mersin vs. Besiktas 84-74 MER Coleman 26/7r Hayes 19/11r Kartaltepe 12/8a Parker 12 Newlin 8/6r Eldebrink 7/6a BES Harding 25 Perovanovic 19/10r Zellous 14/8r Gatling 8/11r

Botas vs. Hatay 76-57 BOT Senyurek 23/7r Lacy 12/6r Ajavon 14 Tongar 11 HAT Bas 15/6r Turner 13 Paris 9/12r Tanacan 0

Girne Universitesi vs. Osmaniye 71-84 GIU Gajic 23/15r Williams 17 Hollivay 12/6r Knezevic 10 OSM Rodgers 25/7r/8a Gardner 21 Henry 18 Van Grinsven 10/12r

Galatasaray vs. MBK Dogus Hastanesi 97-62 GAL Alben 23/6r/10a Vitola 20/13r Jefferson 15 Colakoglu 10 DOG Malashenko 23/9r Ivezic 15 Faulkner 14/7a Snow 6 [Read more…]

Will The Olympics Slow Down Returning WNBA Players?

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olympics

August 21, 2016

The United States Women’s National Basketball team won their 6th consecutive olympic basketball gold medal last night in Rio de Janeiro. Capping off a dominating performance where no team was able to give the women a real challenge. In the eight games played during the olympic tournament, the average margin of victory for the American women was an astounding 37.2 points! A true testament to the elite level that women’s basketball is played in United States. When questioned by the media concerning America’s dominance and the lack of mainstream coverage of such talent, four-time olympic gold medalist Diana Taurasi didn’t feed into that narrative, instead, she expressed her excitement and appreciation for the game and what the women have accomplished.

“I mean you guys are here now,” Taurasi, who moved into second place all-time in total Olympic points for the U.S. Women’s National Team, said to a mass of media. “We’re doing something, and basketball is really important to a lot of people in the U.S., and no one takes it more serious than women. We play year round. We sacrifice a lot of things to make sure that we bring this home. And you know what? It’s ok. We’re happy.”

But how big is the sacrifice the women make for the National Team to their WNBA teams? During an olympic year the WNBA goes on a month long hiatus as its top stars join together to compete for gold on the world stage. This leaves several teams without their star player or players as was the case for the Minnesota Lynx this summer as four of their five starters were on the olympic team, or the Phoenix Mercury who had five players playing on four different national teams. Teams are left with the challenge of finding ways to keep team chemistry, to keep players conditioned, and to not lose the momentum they may have had heading into the olympic break. [Read more…]

Olympic Semifinals Preview

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Rio2

August 18, 2016

The quarterfinals did not disappoint! Those were easily the best games of the entire tournament. It began with the upset of Australia by Serbia. Although very capable, Serbia had not reached their potential up until this point. Serbia took down the 2nd ranked Opals 73-71 who will fail to medal; the first time Australia will have failed to earn a medal since the 1992 Olympic Games. This game was followed by an even more exciting game as Spain defeated Turkey 64-62 on a buzzer beating shot by Anna Cruz. The excitement didn’t end there. France defeated Canada 68-63 in a game that saw Canada take an early 13 point lead. However, their offense dried up and France was able to claw their way back into the game to set up a meeting with the United States on Thursday. The United States were the only team that didn’t see much competition this round as they cruised to a 110-64 win over Japan. The semifinals are set, the first game will be the United States vs. France, followed by Spain vs. Serbia. [Read more…]

Olympic QuarterFinals Preview

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Rio2

Women’s Basketball has completed group play and the top four teams from Group A and Group B have advanced to the quarterfinals which begin today. The top-seeded team from Group A faces the fourth-seeded team from Group B, and vice versa. Second-seeded teams face the third seed from the other group. The winners move on to the semifinals, which determine the finalists and the teams that battle for the bronze medal. Australia and the United States are the only two teams that completed Group play without any losses. Most disappointing were the Brazilian hosts who failed to win a single game in front of their home fans. They finished Group play with an awful 0-5 mark and have been eliminated from the tournament.

The most interesting matchup of the day should be France vs. Canada. Both enter the semi-finals having lost two games in Group play. Canada losing to the U.S. and Spain while France lost to both Australia and Japan. Canada has played some really good basketball thus far and look to be a team that has a real shot at taking home a medal at the end of the games. Tamara Tatham and Kia Nurse have played well for Team Canada and helped them to start the tourney with a 3-0 mark. France had a pretty easy start with Turkey winning by almost 20 points but squeaked by Belarus the next day with a buzzer-beating bank shot from Endy Miyem who finished with 12 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. At this point both teams should be pretty worn down physically. Tatham will have to have another stellar game to help Canada Advance. Achonwa and Ayim will have their hands full with Gruda and Yacoubou. Without veteran point guard Celine Dumerc leading the way for France, the youngsters will have to show their leadership and control the pace throughout.  [Read more…]

Olympic Women’s Basketball Roundup 8/8

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Rio2

August 8, 2016

The 2016 Rio Olympics have officially began and women’s basketball started their preliminary games Saturday morning. Teams from Group A and Group B will battle it out to determine which eight teams will advance to the quarterfinals which begin August 16th. The preliminaries are grueling as teams have to play back to back games.

There has been clear separation from the rest of the field by the United States as they have been completely dominant in their first two games. First defeating Senegal 121-56 and winning game two against Spain 103-63; a 52.5 point winning margin! Another team who surprisingly sits atop of their group is Japan who have won both of their games in convincing fashion. They started the tournament by defeating Belarus 77-73 followed by an impressive win against the Brazilian hosts 82-66. Australia, who is ranked second in the world by FIBA just behind the U.S. are also undefeated as they defeated both Brazil and Turkey so far. Canada have attracted some attention after winning against China and Serbia. France has also shown well as they too have not lost a game. Most disappointing has been Belarus and Olympic host’s Brazil who both have yet to win a game. Belarus lost a heart-breaker on a last second basket against France. Brazil lost to both Australia and Japan by double figures. Serbia who fields a team with a few WNBA players still haven’t won a game as Canada handed them their second loss earlier today. China and Spain have both won a game a piece while Turkey and Senegal are in search of win number one.

Below are the current standings after games played on 8/8. Games continue tomorrow as Australia takes on France, Brazil faces Belarus, and Turkey will battle Japan. The U.S. will be back in action on Wednesday as they take on Serbia at 1:30pm.

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Screen Shot 2016-08-08 at 9.26.13 PM

Top Olympic Medalist in Women’s Basketball

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Rio2

August 2, 2016

The United States women’s national basketball team are the defending Olympic and world champions. The women have won a record seven Olympic gold medals and nine FIBA world championships. Starting from 1994, the U.S. women went almost 12 years without an international loss! It wasn’t until 2006, that the national team was defeated by Russia in the world championships and took home a disappointing bronze medal. At the last Summer Olympic Games in London in 2012, the U.S women won their 5th consecutive gold medal. They are now looking to win their 6th consecutive and 8th overall gold medal in Rio. The women are in Group B which includes China, Canada, Senegal, Serbia and Spain. They open up against Senegal on Sunday August 7th at 10am.

There have been many great players to pass through the United States Women’s National Team. Arguably, this year’s team headed to Rio, may be the best to ever take the court. I’d argue that the team that played in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece were the best to ever do it. Just take a look at that roster. Incredible. Have you ever wondered who are the most decorated women’s basketball players in Olympic history? Would you be able to take a guess? Here are the top medal winners in women’s basketball;

1. Teresa Edwards 4 GOLD 1 BRONZE

2. Lisa Leslie 4 GOLD

3. Tamika Catchings 3 GOLD

4. Diana Taurasi 3 GOLD

5. Sue Bird 3 GOLD

6. Katie Smith 3 GOLD

USA Women Dominate Canada in Exhibition

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July 29, 2016

On Friday night the Senior Women’s National Basketball Team dominated Canada in all aspects of the game winning 83-43 at the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Connecticut. A homecoming for the 5 olympians who played for the The University of Connecticut, the U.S. women held Canada to just six points in the first quarter. The U.S lead by more than 20 at the half. Diana Taurasi led all scorers with 14 points. Elena Delle Donne finished with 12, scoring in double figures in all three exhibition games. In their most convincing win of the exhibition tour Canada didn’t stand a chance against the dominant U.S. women. All players scored tonight and used their length on defense to stifle the Canadian women on offense. Miah-Marie Langlois led all scorers for Canada, finishing with 11 points and 3 rebounds. The women will finish their exhibition tour on July 21st at Madison Square Garden when they take on Australia before heading to Rio. Opening ceremonies are set to begin Friday, August 5th.

Should Athletes Pull Out of the Olympics?

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Rio2

July 5, 2016

It’s a bit too late to be asking this question about the 2016 Summer Olympics with the opening ceremonies just one month away. However, almost daily, there is news coming out of Brazil about how unprepared the host country is for the world’s biggest, most important sporting competition. Earlier today CNN reported that ‘Rio police tell tourists they won’t be able to protect them’. On Monday, some 100 officers protested in the arrivals hall of Rio’s main international airport holding banners reading “Welcome to Hell” to demand unpaid salaries and overtime pay. Police have claimed to have not been paid for months and with violence on the rise in the second largest city in the country it’s scary to think what could happen without the protection of the police during the games. Even Brazilian soccer great Rivaldo is telling tourists to stay away from the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro because of the danger of endemic violence. “Things are getting uglier here every day,” Rivaldo wrote. “I advise everyone with plans to visit Brazil for the Olympics in Rio — to stay home. You’ll be putting your life at risk here. This is without even speaking about the state of public hospitals and all the Brazilian political mess. Only God can change the situation in our Brazil.” [Read more…]