The draw for this summer’s competition was conducted on Monday: Video

Before the event, the two hosts got to pick one country for their location.  The choice was given to facilitate better ticket sales, which of course is still slightly up in the air at this point with more than three months to go until tipoff.  France did pick nearby Belgium, which had the added effect of setting a major part of the bracket as the other top seed Serbia was then fixed into Spain’s other group.  Assuming that those top seeds win those groups, the potential late round matchups between them would be clear.  Spain opted to go in a different direction, possibly identifying Slovakia as the perceived weakest team and choosing them as their group mate.

With those aspects of the draw already chosen, the rest of the teams were drawn into the vacant places.  Spain also faces Sweden and Belarus in a group that should not provide them much challenge.  Serbia has Italy, neighbors Montenegro, and Greece in their group.  In France, Belgium’s group includes Slovenia, Turkey, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.  The hosts drew Russia, the Czech Republic, and Croatia.  After the three game round-robin, the bottom team in each group will be eliminated while the winner gets a bye to the quarterfinals.  The first knockout round and the quarterfinals will also be played in Valencia and Strasbourg so teams from groups A and B and teams from groups C and D will play each other in those stages.  The quarterfinal teams in France will have two days off to travel to Spain for their last games and that will be when teams will cross over to play the teams from the other location.

February 6, 2021

Group A:

Slovenia finished off a perfect run at home in Ljubljana with 96-59 win over Hildur Kjartansdottir and Iceland behind Eva Lisec.  Greece received a massive advantage from the scheduling, knowing the final margin they would need in a victory to claim the last spot and they did just enough with a dramatic late three-point play to qualify by a single point in differential.

Slovenia vs. Iceland 96-59 SLO Lisec 20 Friskovec 14/10r/8a Oblak 13 Prezelj 10 Rupnik 9 Kroselj 9/6a Gorsic 7 Baric 6 Dautovic 4 Jakovina 2/6r Senicar 2 Trebec 0 ISL Kjartansdottir 25/9r T. Jonsdottir 17/8a Amundadottir 6 E. Gunnarsdottir 5 Karlsdottir 3 Grimsdottir 2 Henningsdottir 1 B. Hinriksdottir 0 S. Hinriksdottir 0 H. Jonsdottir 0 Sigurdardottir 0 Sverrisdottir

Bulgaria vs. Greece 55-73 BUL H. Ivanova 13/11r Georgieva 12/6r Hristova 7 Stoycheva 6 Kostova 6 Kocheva 6 G. Ivanova 5 Zlatanova 0/7r Dimitrova 0 Konstantinova 0 Petrova DNP Natskina DNP GRE Fasoula 16/9r Christinaki 15/7r Spanou 14/7r Pavlopoulou 13 Nikolopoulou 9/9r/7a Spyridopoulou 3 Sotiriou 3 Stamolamprou 0 Gemelos 0 Bosgana DNP Louka DNP Diela DNP

Standings: Slovenia 6-0, Greece 4-2, Bulgaria 2-4, Iceland 0-6

Group B:

Montenegro qualified they easy way by simply winning at home Podgorica 78-52 over Eden Rotberg and Israel.

Israel vs. Montenegro 52-78 ISR Rotberg 22 Orbach 7 Karsh 6 Garzon 4 Kesten Rez 3 Lev 3 Rinat 3 Hadad 2 Eisner 2 Cohen 0 Raber 0 Zipel 0 MNE Jovanovic 16 Gatling 15/6r Mujovic 13/8a Pasic 9/6r Rakovic 9 Dubljevic 8/8r Kovacevic 4 Jaksic 2 Zivaljevic 2 Aleksic 0/6r Zivkovic 0 Lekovic 0

Standings: Sweden 3-1, Montenegro 3-1, Israel 0-4

Group C:

Melisa Brcaninovic and Bosnia and Herzegovina beat Estonia 78-52 in the first game in Orenburg.  Maria Vadeeva and hosts Russia joined them officially with a 103-47 win over Switzerland.

Estonia vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina 52-78 EST Pulk 12 Lass 10 Oinits 8 Anderson 8 Pokk 6/6r Kosareva 5 Uprus 2 Svilberg 1 Adler 0 Vahi 0 Sepp 0 Svilberg 0 BIH Brcaninovic 23/16r Hurt 16/6r Deura 8/6a Babic 7 Tavic 7 Vrancic 6 Domuzin 3 A. Delic 2 Dzebo 2 Markovic 2 Dzombeta 1 N. Delic 1

Russia vs. Switzerland 103-47 RUS Vadeeva 25/11r Musina 16/7r Kurilchuk 13/6a Komarova 10 Shabanova 9 Abaiburova 8 Repnikova 6 Goldyreva 5/6a Fedorenkova 5 Shilova 4 Tikhonenko 2 Burovaya 0 SUI Chardon 11 Franchina 10 Herminjard 9/7r/6a Fora 7 Toumi 6 Ruga 2 Clement 2 Stoianov 0 Jacquot 0 Bruchez 0 Margot 0 Schwarz DNP

Standings: Russia 5-1, Bosnia and Herzegovina 5-1, Switzerland 2-4, Estonia 0-6

Group D:

Two teams were looking for simple qualification from this group in Istanbul.  The Czech Republic took care of business with an 84-63 win over Denmark.  Italy joined them with an 81-66 win over Romania.

Denmark vs. Czech Republic 63-84 DEN S. Tryggedsson 12 Hesseldal 11/8r Jespersen 10/9r Seilund 10 Ryder 9 I. Tryggedsson 5 Ziegler 3 Pedersen 2 Wich 1 Hee 0 Emsbo 0 Rimdal 0 CZE Reisingerova 15 Zaplatova 15 Vorackova 13/8r Bartakova 11/7a Brezinova 9 Elhotova 8 Hanusova 6 Vyoralova 4/6a Hejdova 3 Stoupalova 0 Mircova 0 Krejzova 0

Italy vs. Romania 81-66 ITA Pan 17 Romeo 15 Zandalasini 12 Carangelo 11 Bestagno 10 Penna 7 De Pretto 3 Attura 3 Cinili 2 Keys 1 Madera 0 Crippa DNP ROU Marginean 16/6r Walker 14/6r Ghizila 12 Orban 8 Pavel 5/7r Lenart 4 Podar 3 Sipos 2/8r Popescu 2 Filip 0 Armanu 0 Ghita 0

Standings: Czech Republic 5-1, Italy 5-1, Denmark 1-5, Romania 1-5

Group E:

There was only one game in this group in Istanbul that had no bearing on qualification, but Serbia did finish a perfect campaign with a 96-61 win over Lithuania.  Hosts Turkey had to watch the other games with a bye in this round and their differential ended up being enough to qualify.

Serbia vs. Lithuania 96-61 SRB Brooks 15 Crvdendakic 15 Anderson 13/8a Nogic 13 Krajisnik 9 Jovanovic 9 Dabovic 9 Cado 7 Krnjic 3 Turudic 3 Butulija 0 LTU Sulske 15 Nacickaite 13 Miskiniene 8/8r Labuckiene 8/7r Jocyte 6 Sarauskaite 5 Miknaite 2 Timofejeva 2 Zdaneviciute 2 Petronyte 0/6r Sakeviciute 0 Kazociunaite 0

Standings: Serbia 4-0, Turkey 2-2, Lithuania 0-4

Group F:

Belarus finished up a busy week at the neutral site in Latvia with the simple qualification process of beating Poland 80-49.  Great Britain finished in second, but sat at the bottom of the final ranking for those teams and was not close to qualification.

Poland vs. Belarus 49-80 POL Telenga 8/7r Skobel 8 Borkowska 7 Kastanek 7 Sklepowicz 6 Gajda 5/9a Kaczmarczyk 5 Rembiszewska 3 Podgorna 0 Dobrowolska 0 Adamowicz 0 Niemojewska 0 BLR Snytsina 14 Likhtarovich 11/6a Verameyenka 11 Papova 10 Rytsikava 8 Hasper 8 Bentley 6 Inkina 4 Vasilevich 4 Ziuzkova 2 Brych 2 Masko 0

Standings: Belarus 3-1, Great Britain 2-2, Poland 1-3

Group G:

Early in Matosinhos, Liudmyla Naumenko and Alina Iagupova were firing together for Ukraine as they were looking for a win by big margin.  That momentum slowed down later in the game as Awak Kuier and Finland managed to play spoiler with a 91-75 final margin not giving Ukraine the big win that they needed.  The other game had no impact and Emma Meesseman and Belgium held on to a 69-66 win over hosts Portugal to finish with a perfect record.

Finland vs. Ukraine 75-91 FIN Kuier 30/14r Lehtoranta 12 Vesiluoma 10 Koskimies 8 Pirttinen 5 Holopainen 5 Aijanen 2 Sandvik 2 Aarnisalo 1 Pelander 0 Ukkonen 0 Tulonen 0 UKR Naumenko 24/9r Iagupova 21/11a Matsko 16/6r Yatskovets 8/7r Uro-Nile 8 Mitina 5 Datsko 3 Liubinets 2 Dubrovina 2 Shmatova 2 Sivakova 0 Horobets 0

Belgium vs. Portugal 69-66 BEL Meesseman 23/6r K. Mestdagh 19 Vanloo 10 Raman 6 H. Mestdagh 6 Carpreaux 2 Wauters 2 Bi. Massey 1/7r Delaere 0 Nauwelaers 0 Be. Massey DNP POR Silva 16/10r Bettencourt 15/6r Kostourkova 12/7r Laneiro 10 L. Ferreira 6/6a Filipe 2 Da Silva 2 E. Ferreira 2 Rodrigues 1 Soeiro 0 Goncalves 0 Carvalheira DNP

Standings: Belgium 6-0, Ukraine 4-2, Portugal 1-5, Finland 1-5

Group H:

Slovakia had the advantage of playing the last game at home in Piestany.  Netherlands simply needed a win, but it was the hosts that prevailed 61-50, creating a three-way tie and coming out on top of it.  Hungary was in second place, but was powerless to further help their cause and had to watch as teams pulled ahead of them and leave them out of the tournament.

Netherlands vs. Slovakia 50-61 NED Westerik 12 L. Bettonvil 11 Hof 10 Treffers 6/13r Cornelius 6 Boonstra 4 Van Den Adel 1 I. Kuijt 0 Driessen 0 K. Kuijt 0 J. Bettonvil 0 Fokke DNP SVK Mistinova 11 Slamova 11 Palenikova 10 Jurcenkova 7 Orozova 6/7r Balintova 6 Moravcikova 4 Remenarova 3 Dudasova 3 Sujova 0 Jakubcova DNP Haskova DNP

Standings: Slovakia 2-2, Hungary 2-2, Netherlands 2-2

Group I:

Both teams still had a chance in this group as Anete Steinberga and Latvia had the advantage by being home in Riga.  Germany’s blistering start to the campaign ended with a wimper as the hosts won 78-57 to flip the numerical advantage to a much better place, but they were left as the last team out when Greece’s last point fell.

Latvia vs. Germany 78-57 LAT Steinberga 21/11r Laksa 17/6r Babkina 10/7a Kreslina 8 Jakobsone 8 Pilabere 5/9r Vitola 4 Pulvere 3 Strautmane 2 Stipra 0 Septe DNP Meldere DNP GER Hebecker 14/7r Greinacher 13/8r Geiselsoder 10/8r Brunckhorst 9/6r Stach 7 Degbeon 4 Hartmann 0 Schluter 0 Bertholdt 0 Crowder 0 Wilke DNP Klug DNP

Standings: Croatia 3-1, Latvia 2-2, Germany 1-3

February 3, 2021

Group F:

The absence of Belarus in the last window meant that they had an extra game this time, which was played on Wednesday ahead of the rest of the round on Thursday.  The teams traveled to Riga with Latvia hosting the group as a neutral site.  Marissa Kastanek led Poland to a 68-56 win to stave off elimination.

Belarus vs. Poland 56-68 BLR Papova 13 Likhtarovich 11/6r Verameyenka 8/8r Hasper 8 Snytsina 4/6r Rytsikava 4 Bentley 4 Ziuzkova 2 Inkina 2 Vasilevich 0 Masko DNP Brych DNP POL Kastanek 23 Gajda 15/6a Adamowicz 11 Kaczmarczyk 7 Telenga 6/11r Skobel 2/6r Borkowska 2 Sklepowicz 2 Rembiszewska 0 Podgorna 0 Dobrowolska 0 Banaszak DNP

February 4, 2021

Group A:

Slovenia is hosting this group in Ljubljana.  Eva Lisec helped them edge Borislava Hristova 71-66 to officially qualify.  Greece kept themselves in position heading into the final day with a 95-58 win over Iceland.

Slovenia vs. Bulgaria 71-66 SLO Lisec 23/7r Oblak 16 Prezelj 14 Baric 10/8a Senicar 4 Friskovec 2 Jakovina 2 Trebec 0 Kroselj 0 Gorsic DNP Rupnik DNP Dautovic DNP BUL Hristova 20 Zlatanova 14/10r Georgieva 14 Stoycheva 6 G. Ivanova 5 H. Ivanova 4 Kocheva 3 Dimitrova 0 Kostova 0 Konstantinova 0 Petrova DNP Nikolova DNP

Iceland vs. Greece 58-95 ISL S. Hinriksdottir 17 Kjartansdottir 13/9 B. Hinriksdottir 11 T. Jonsdottir 10 Karlsdottir 3 H. Jonsdottir 2 Henningsdottir 2 Sigurdardottir 0 Gunnarsdottir 0 Grimsdottir 0 Amundadottir 0 Sverrisdottir 0 GRE Spyridopoulou 18 Spanou 15/6r Christinaki 13 Bosgana 12 Fasoula 10/7r Stamolamprou 8 Nikolopoulou 7 Diela 6 Sotiriou 4 Pavlopoulou 2 Vintsilaiou 0 Alexandri 0

Group B:

Jelena Dubljevic was impressive for Montenegro in a 69-67 home win over Frida Elderbrink and already-qualified Sweden in Podgorica.  Their win eliminates Israel, their opponents in the last game.

Montenegro vs. Sweden 69-67 MNE Dubljevic 34/14r Gatling 13/7r Mujovic 8/6r Jovanovic 8 Pasic 3 Aleksic 3 Kovacevic 0 Zivaljevic DNP Zivkovic DNP Rakovic DNP Jaksic DNP Lekovic DNP SWE F. Eldebrink 26/8r Halvarsson 11 Loyd 11 E. Eldebrink 10/6r Fontaine 7 Magarity 2 Ekh 0 Gustavsson 0 Hjern DNP Werth DNP Johansson DNP Hersler DNP

Group C:

This group is playing in Orenburg.  Bosnia and Herzegovina was missing two key players, but Courtney Hurt filled in as the naturalized player and a 67-62 win over Evita Herminjard and Switzerland was enough to officially clinch their spot.  Hosts Russia are not officially qualified, but are almost there after a 79-35 win over Estonia.

Switzerland vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina 62-67 SUI Herminjard 23 Chardon 17 Fora 8 Ruga 4 Toumi 4 Franchina 4 Stoianov 2 Jaquot 0 Clement 0 Margot 0 Schwarz DNP Bruchez DNP BIH Hurt 30/13r Brcaninovic 14/10r Vrancic 6 Deura 4 Tavic 4 Babic 4 Dzebo 3 A. Delic 2 N. Delic 0 Dzombeta DNP Markovic DNP Miseljic DNP

Russia vs. Estonia 79-35 RUS Musina 17 Kurilchuk 14 Komarova 13/6a Vadeeva 11/11r Goldyreva 5/6a Burovaya 5 Abaiburova 4 Shilova 4 Tikhonenko 2/8r Marchenkova 2 Shabanova 2 Namok 0 EST Lass 17 Sepp 5 Anderson 4 Pokk 3/6r Pulk 3 Adler 2 Kosareva 1 Oinits 0 J. Svilberg 0 Uprus 0 H. Svilberg 0 Gontsarova 0

Group D:

This group is playing at a neutral site in Istanbul.  The Czech Republic rolled past Romania 100-52 behind Julia Reisingerova.  Italy kept pace with a 101-55 win over Denmark.

Romania vs. Czech Republic 52-100 ROU Marginean 14 Walker 10/7r Sipos 9 Ghizila 8 Podar 5 Lenart 4 Pavel 2 Orban 0/7r Popescu 0 Filip 0 Armanu 0 Ghita 0 CZE Reisingerova 25/9r Hanusova 15 Vorackova 12/10r Elhotova 11 Stoupalova 10 Brezinova 8 Hejdova 8 Bartakova 6/16a Adamcova 3 Vyoralova 2 Sipova 0 Matuskova 0

Italy vs. Denmark 101-55 ITA Bestagno 18 Zandalasini 17/6a Keys 14/6r Penna 13 Pan 11 Romeo 9 De Pretto 5 Attura 5 Madera 4 Carangelo 3 Cinili 2 Crippa 0 DEN Jespersen 17/6r Ryder 17 S. Trygedsson 6 Emsbo 3 Pedersen 2 I. Trygedsson 2 Emsbo 2 Seilund 2 Hee 2 Wich 2 Rimdal 0 Mikkelsen 0

Group E:

Turkey kept themselves in contention by taking care of business at home in Istanbul with a 67-55 win over Lithuania.

Lithuania vs. Turkey 55-67 LTU Nacickaite 17 Labuckiene 15/9r Petronyte 9 Jocyte 8 Zdaneviciute 3 Miskiniene 2/8r Sulske 1 Timofejeva 0 Kazociunaite 0 Miknaite 0 Sakeviciute DNP Sarauskaite DNP TUR Bilgic 12 Cakir 11 Onar 10 Yavuz 10 Hollingsworth 5 Uzun 5 Ural 4/9r Canitez 3/6r/6a Yalcin 3 Caglar 2/6r Gulcan 2 Fitik 0

Group F:

This group continued play in Riga with Great Britain knowing that a win would seal qualification.  Temi Fagbenle was strong in the paint, but they could not get the points that they needed late and Belarus won 65-57.  They can now seal the top spot by avenging their loss to Poland, but a Poland win would send the group to tiebreakers.

Belarus vs. Great Britain 65-57 BLR Rytsikava 17 Snytsina 16/6r Verameyenka 15/10r Papova 6 Likhtarovich 5 Hasper 4 Bentley 4 Inkina 0 Ziuzkova 0 Vasilevich 0 Masko DNP Brych DNP GBR Fagbenle 23/13r Samuelson 12 Anigwe 7/7r Simpson 7 Green 6 Charles 2 Handy 0 Monakana 0 Busch 0 Adebayo DNP Robb DNP Joseph DNP

Group G:

This group is being played in Matosinhos as Belgium beat Finland 82-47 while already having qualified.  Ukraine is in second place after Krystyna Matsko fired them past hosts Portugal 87-58.

Belgium vs. Finland 82-47 BEL Meesseman 18/10r Raman 13/6a K. Mestdagh 13 Vanloo 12 Delaere 11 Bi. Massey 6/9r Wauters 4 H. Mestdagh 3 Carpreaux 2 Nauwelaers 0 Be. Massey 0 Geldof DNP FIN Kuier 20/6r Ukkonen 9 Koskimies 7 Pelander 4 Lehtoranta 3/8r Aijanen 2 Vesiluoma 2 Pirttinen 0 Holopainen 0 Kalin 0 Ollilainen 0 Sandvik 0

Portugal vs. Ukraine 58-87 POR Bettencourt 18 L. Ferreira 10 Kostourkova 8/11r Soeiro 7 Silva 4 Goncalves 4 E. Ferreira 3 Filipe 2 Rodrigues 2 Da Silva 0 Carvalheira 0 Laneiro 0 UKR Matsko 29/9r Iagupova 17/7r/14a Yatskovets 12/6r Naumenko 10/11r Dubrovina 10/6a Uro-Nile 7 Shmatova 2 Horobets 0 Sivakova DNP Datsko DNP Mitina DNP Liubinets DNP

Group H:

Bernadett Hatar and Hungary avoided elimination with a 65-57 win in Piestany.  Slovakia will also host the next game and will need to win to force the tiebreaker as the Netherlands tops the group with a win.

Slovakia vs. Hungary 57-65 SVK Slamova 13 Dudasova 9 Palenikova 8 Balintova 7/6r/7a Oroszova 6 Remenarova 4 Sujova 4 Jurcenkova 2/7r Moravcikova 2 Mistinova 2 Jakubcova DNP Balazova DNP HUN Hatar 25/11r Fegyverneky 13/7a Goree 11/8r Studer 8 Raksanyi 6 Kiss 2 Dubei 0 Zele 0 Torok 0 Aho 0 Lelik DNP Horvath DNP

Group I:

North Macedonia withdrew from play so there was only game in the group in Riga.  Germany was missing its two biggest names so Luisa Geiselsoder picked up the slack, but Iva Slonjsak and Ivana Dojkic paced Croatia in an 80-66 win that secured their qualification.

Germany vs. Croatia 66-80 GER Geiselsoder 21/9r Hebecker 17 Stach 13 Greinacher 5/13r Brunckhorst 5/8a Schluter 3 Degbeon 2 Crowder 0 Hartmann 0 Wilke 0 Bertholdt DNP Klug DNP CRO Slonjsak 23/10r Dojkic 23/7r/6a Rezan 17/6r Miletic 10 Masic 5 Tikvic 2 Cvitkovic 0 Begic 0 Dzankic 0 Perisa 0 Petrak DNP Silov DNP