One series started on Tuesday as the two closest seeds met in Greece.  Kamile Nacickaite and Alaina Coates helped 9 seed Nesibe build a solid lead, but Evdokia Stamati and 9 seed Olympiacos did recover in the fourth quarter to only lose 83-79 and give themselves a solid shot in the next game.  Postponements hit three series, leaving four games played on Thursday.  15 seed Orman edged 2 seed Valencia 68-66 behind Danielle Robinson.  Aleksandra Crvendakic and 5 seed Lyon should feel reasonably confident after a solid win in Syktyvkar even if Raisa Musina helped 20 seed Nika trim the final margin to 76-63.  Stephanie Mavunga and 10 Polkowice won 75-72, but 7 seed Nadezhda will feel like they have the advantage at home after not playing at their best.  Ariel Atkins and 6 seed Prometey had the advantage for most of the game, but Quinn Dornstauder and 11 seed Braine trimmed the final deficit to a 93-92 loss.

January 11, 2022

(9) Olympiacos vs. (8) Nesibe 79-83 OLY Statmati 20 Plouffe 14/7r Vitola 11 Nikolopoulou 10/9a Hamblin 8 Stamolamprou 8 Tolefree 5 NESI Nacickaite 27/6r/6a Coates 20/13r Duman 15 Thomas 13/6r

January 13, 2022

(15) Orman vs. (2) Valencia 68-66 ORMAN Robinson 23/7r Uzun 16 McCowan 12/19r Lucet 10 VAL Allen 15 Gulich 10/9r Gil 10/8r Ouvina 10/8a Romero 9 Trahan-Davis 8 Salvadores 0

(20) Nika Syktyvkar vs. (5) Lyon 63-76 NIKA Musina 27/9r Psareva 13 Stevens 10/14r Ben Abdelkader 4 LYON Crvendakic 21/10r/7a Chartereau 14 Johannes 11 Badiane 10/8r Allemand 3/8a

(10) Polkowice vs. (7) Nadezhda 75-72 POLK Mavunga 20/11r Cado 17 Wheeler 16/9a Spanou 10 NAD Linskens 13 Komarova 12 Gatling 10/9r Medvedeva 10 Namok 10 Elonu 6 Hiedeman 3

(11) Braine vs. (6) Prometey 92-93 CAS Dornstauder 22/6r Berezhynska 19/6r/9a Ramette 15/6r/7a/6s Konig 15 Lisowa Mbaka 11 Hamilton-Carter 6 Lindstrom 4 PROM Atkins 29 Babic 18 Holmes 16/6r Balaban 12

The two series that could not be competed as scheduled were made up this week.  30 seed Gernika had pulled off the upset of the round in the first game, but it was issues on their end that moved the game to Tuesday and they were not in the same rhythm as 3 seed Cukurova, which had been playing its domestic league games.  The hosts overturned the entire deficit in the first half, but the visitors did close the gap late and tie the aggregate again, but a 69-40 margin allowed the favorites to advance 128-123.  The other series also had an upset in the first game, but Keisha Hampton and Iliana Rupert helped top seed Bourges completely control Wednesday’s game for a 96-65 win to knock out 32 seed London Lions 160-130.

January 4, 2022

(3) Cukurova vs. (30) Gernika 69-40 CBK Thomas 15 Anigwe 14/12r Hollingsworth 10/8r Hayes 9/6a Fagbenle 8 Zellous 6 Turner 4 LOIN Buch 13 Moore 10/6r Bjorklund 4 Silva 3

Cukurova advances 128-123

January 5, 2022

(1) Bourges vs. (32) London Lions 96-65 TBB Hampton 22 Rupert 20/9r Guapo 13/6r Mann 10 Duchet 10 Yacoubou 10 LDN Stewart 13/8r Norton 13 Breen 11 Leonard 10/6r Winterburn 9 Charles 8 Robinson-Miller 1 Umeh 0 McDerment 0

Bourges advances 160-130

Round of 16:
(1) Bourges vs. (16) Brno
(2) Valencia vs. (15) Orman
(3) Cukurova vs. (19) Charleville
(4) Lyon vs. (13) Nika Syktyvkar
(5) Villeneuve vs. (21) Lublin
(6) Prometey vs. (11) Braine
(7) Nadezhda vs. (10) Polkowice
(8) Nesibe vs. (9) Olympiacos

December 22, 2021

Before games were played on Wednesday, two series had to have games postponed due to different virus complications.  The first series to finish saw 15 seed Orman also win at home 72-69 over Brianna Fraser and 18 seed Sepsi to push the final margin to 152-121.  Virag Kiss and 25 seed PEAC lost narrowly at home, but managed to win by equal margin on the road to force overtime even with a three point margin between the teams and Alaina Coates helped 8 seed Nesibe win the game 74-71, giving them the 145-139 overall win.  No math was need in Orenburg as the teams entered tied and 7 seed Nadezhda rolled past 26 seed Ruzomberok 80-51 for a 166-137 final margin.  9 seed Olympiacos had a solid lead from the first game and doubled it by winning 84-69 over N’Dea Jones and 24 seed Enisey for a 169-139 overall margin.  6 seed Prometey was in good shape after the first game and an 85-54 win over Fribourg just extended that margin to 181-136.  The series that was closest in seed was up for grabs and it was Natalie Stoupalova and Brno that built a massive lead in this game to coast to a 76-69 win over Keyona Hayes and 17 seed DVTK and a 137-126 final margin.  10 seed Polkowice had lost in Mechelen, but Feyonda Fitzgerald helped them win by the margin that was necessary to force overtime, which they controlled for a 73-53 win to advance 143-136 past the 23 seed.  11 seed Braine held an advantage and won again 86-79 behind Maxuella Lisowa Mbaka to move the final margin to 172-154 despite Emma Cannon’s best efforts for the 22 seed Elitzur Ramla.  Kamiah Smalls and 21 seed Lublin had a big lead from their home game as they were looking to spring an upset and they went ahead and also won at 12 seed Tarbes 63-55 for a 135-110 aggregate win.  There was also upset potential after 20 seed Nika Syktyvkar was explosive in their home win and they cracked the century mark again with a 108-98 win behind Hind Ben Abdelkader and Azura Stevens to eliminate Ornella Bankole and 13 seed Roche 211-172.  2 seed Valencia already had a healthy margin and coasted to a 96-51 win over 31 seed Crvena zvezda for a 176-114 overall margin.  It was the same case for 4 seed Lyon, which was able to win by an even bigger margin 99-46 against 29 seed Hatay to push the aggregate win to an even 100 points 209-109.  28 seed Tenerife did not look very competitive with a fuller roster last week and this group lost to 5 seed Villeneuve 75-49 to get bounced out 168-105.  The last game of the day was in Madrid and 14 seed Estudiantes had won on the road, but could not hold on to their lead in the final quarter, letting Charleville escape with a 60-54 win to flip the aggregate to 135-132 in their favor.

(15) Orman vs. (18) Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe 72-69 ORMAN Fitik 18/7r McCowan 16/10r Robinson 16/6r Lucet 2 SSIC Fraser 30/7r Pasic 11/9r Wallace 9

Orman advances 152-121

(8) Nesibe vs. (25) PEAC 74-71(OT) NESI Coates 21/23r Thomas 17/6r/6a Nacickaite 16 PEAC Kiss 23/11r Szucs 15/6a Marshall 11/8r Dudasova 11/6r

Nesibe advances 145-139

(7) Nadezhda vs. (26) Ruzomberok 80-51 NAD Gatling 15/9r Komarova 14 Elonu 11 Medvedeva 11 Hiedeman 10/11r/6a MBKRK Grays 12 Motley 11 Prazenicova 10 Tarnachowicz 0

Nadezhda advances 166-137

(9) Olympiacos vs. (24) Enisey 84-69 OLY Plouffe 19/7r Stamolamprou 19 Vitola 17/10r Hamblin 6 Tolefree 2 ENI Jones 23/20r Vanloo 15

Olympiacos advances 169-139

(6) Prometey vs. (27) Fribourg 85-54 PROM Holmes 17/9r Yurkevichus 16/8r Atkins 12/8r Babic 12 Balaban 10 ELFIC Fora 17 Kroselj 12/8r/6a Dihigo-Bravo 10/6r Giroud 9/6r Fogg 4/6r

Prometey advances 181-136

(16) Brno vs. (17) DVTK 76-69 ZAB Stoupalova 24/6r Holmes 15/9r Jurcenkova 14/11r Grigalauskyte 13/8r DVTK Hayes 23/15r Jovanovic 17/9r Kiss 11 Vorpahl 9 Aho 5/6r

Brno advances 137-126

(10) Polkowice vs. (23) Mechelen 73-53(OT) POLK Fitzgerald 29/6a Spanou 13/10r Mavunga 9/14r KBME Katanic 15/7r Morrison 5/15r

Polkowice advances 143-136

(11) Braine vs. (22) Elitzur Ramla 86-79 CAS Lisowa Mbaka 20 Ramette 19/7r/7a Konig 18 Berezhynska 14/11r Lindstrom 6/8r Hamilton-Carter 6 Dornstauder 3/7r RML Cannon 35/11r Hersler 17 Hannoun 6 Williams 5/7r Baron 3

Braine advances 172-154

(12) Tarbes vs. (21) Lublin 55-63 TGB Wojta 13/6r Samson 12/9r Mitrashinovikj 11 UMCS Smalls 25/7r Jakubcova 19/12r Mack 8/8r Mestdagh 0

Lublin advances 135-110

(13) Roche vs. (20) Nika Syktyvkar 98-108 RVBC Bankole 22/8r Mosqueda-Lewis 18 Kone 18 Clarke 13 Suarez 11/11a NIKA Ben Abdelkader 31 Stevens 21/11r Goldyreva 18/7r/6a Cherepanova 14 Harris 14 Psareva 10/6a

Nika Syktyvkar advances 211-172

(2) Valencia vs. (31) Crvena zvezda 96-51 VAL Salvadores 16 Trahan-Davis 15 Allen 14 Gulich 11/8r Ouvina 10/6a Romero 2 KKZCZ Jankovic 11 Elliott 7 Schwagmeyer 5

Valencia advances 176-114

(4) Lyon vs. (29) Hatay 99-46 LYON Crvendakic 15 Malonga 14/11r Johannes 14 Chevaugeon 13 Ciak 12 Allemand 9/6a Burdick 6/12r Jocyte 5 HATA Ellenberg-Wiley 16 Gorini 12

Lyon advances 209-109

(5) Villeneuve vs. (28) Tenerife 75-49 VDA Gomis 19 Anderson 15/9r Diallo 11 TFE Raksanyi 16 Pina 13/7r Hruscakova 13/7r

Villeneuve advances 168-105

(14) Estudiantes vs. (19) Charleville 54-60 MOV Carter 13/7r Diallo 11/7r Fingall 7/9r Quevedo 2 FCB Berkani 18 Akhator 12/13r Coffey 10 Fiebich 5/9r Gajic 5/7r

Charleville advances 135-132

A busy Wednesday started in Krasnoyarsk as Michelle Plouffe led 9 seed Olympiacos past 24 seed Enisey 85-70.  Marine Johannes and 4 seed Lyon have effectively ended their series with a 110-63 win over shorthanded 29 seed Hatay.  Having Courtney Williams alongside Emma Cannon gave 22 seed Elitzur Ramla a better chance, but Maxuella Lisowa Mbaka and 11 seed Braine left with a solid 86-75 win.  20 seed Nika built their roster slowly and have still not had the chance to field all of it at the same time, but they looked strong in Syktyvkar with a 103-74 win over Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and 13 seed Roche behind Azura Stevens and Tyasha Harris.  The two game series format allows for ties and Adrienne Motley and 26 seed Ruzomberok came back to force one at 86 against 7 seed Nadezhda before they head to Orenburg.  A close game in seed was not close at all with Teaira McCowan and 15 seed Orman leaving Sfantu Gheorghe with an 80-52 win over Brianna Fraser and 18 seed Sepsi.   It was close in Miskolc as Petra Zaplatova and 16 seed Brno edged 17 seed DVTK 61-57.  Natasha Mack and 21 seed Lublin will bring a solid lead on the road with a 72-55 over Ana Tadic and 12 seed Tarbes.  8 seed Nesibe has a small lead after a 71-68 win over 25 seed PEAC behind Alaina Coates.  Laura Quevedo and 14 seed Estudiantes take a 78-75 lead back to Madrid after edging 19 seed Charleville 78-75.  London Lions may have just managed to sneak into the last spot, but they had trouble fielding their whole roster at once throughout the group stage and that continued, but they still edged top seed Bourges 65-64.  The strong team that is truly in trouble is 3 seed Cukurova, which heads home trailing 83-59 because of Melisa Brcaninovic’s brilliant performance for 30 seed Gernika.  Ziomara Morrison helped 23 seed Mechelen leap out to an 83-70 lead over 10 seed Polkowice.  5 seed Villeneuve rolled to a 93-56 win over 28 seed Tenerife.  The day ended with 2 seed Valencia leaving Belgrade with an 80-63 lead over Crvena zvezda.  Thursday’s lone game saw 27 seed Fribourg lean on their starters and get an early lead behind Marielle Giroud and Aleksandra Kroselj, but the trio of Tetiana Yurkevichus, Joyner Holmes, and Ariel Atkins help 6 seed Prometey control the second half to leave with a 96-82 lead.

December 15, 2021

(24) Enisey vs. (9) Olympiacos 70-85 ENI Pachurina 14 Vanloo 13/9a Latsgal 12 Jones 6 Nared 4 OLY Plouffe 29/7r Vitola 15 Tolefree 14 Nikolopoulou 10/6r/9a Stamolamprou 5/6r Hamblin 4

(29) Hatay vs. (4) Lyon 63-110 HAT Gorini 18 Akgun 17 Emirtekin 11 Ellenberg-Wiley 9 LYON Johannes 20 Allemand 18/7r Crvendakic 14/8r Tanqueray 12/8a Badiane 10 Burdick 8/8r Jocyte 5

(22) Elitzur Ramla vs. (11) Braine 75-86 RML Williams 25/7r Cannon 23/8r Baron 8 Hersler 5 Hannoun 2 CAS Lisowa Mbaka 24/17r Lindstrom 18 Dornstauder 15/8r Ramette 14/6r/7a Konig 8/7a Berezhynska 5/7r Hamilton-Carter 0

(20) Nika Syktyvkar vs. (13) Roche 103-74 NIKA Stevens 28/14r Harris 20 Ben Abdelkader 16 Cherepanova 15/7r Psareva 10/9r/8a RVBC Mosqueda-Lewis 21 Bankole 17/7r Suarez 12 Clarke 10

(26) Ruzomberok vs. (7) Nadezhda 86-86 MBKRK Motley 31 Prazenicova 14 Grays 13/8r Turudic 11 Stasova 10 Tarnachowicz 0 NAD Gatling 15/9r Zhedik 14 Linskens 12 Elonu 11/9r Medvedeva 11 Hiedeman 10

(18) Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe vs. (15) Orman 52-80 SSIC Fraser 23/8r Pasic 16 Wallace 8 ORMAN McCowan 27/18r Robinson 18/6r Lucet 13/6r Fitik 12

(17) DVTK vs. (16) Brno 57-61 DVTK Jovanovic 17/6r Hayes 9/10r Green 5/8r Aho 5 Vorpahl 4 ZAB Zaplatova 30 Holmes 15/12r

(21) Lublin vs. (12) Tarbes 72-55 UMCS Mack 26/19r Kosla 12 Smalls 9/6r/6a Jakubcova 7/8r Mestdagh 0 TGB Tadic 22 Samson 10 Wojta 8/11r

(25) PEAC vs. (8) Nesibe 68-71 PEAC Marshall 19 Kiss 18/9r Nelson 13/7r NESI Coates 21/11r Thomas 14 Nacickaite 14/6a Eldas 10

(19) Charleville vs. (14) Estudiantes 75-78 FCB Akhator 18/10r Mendy 10 Coffey 8 Fiebich 8 Gajic 7/6r Berkani 7 MOV Quevedo 20/6r Fingall 16/7r Sotiriou 14 Carter 10

(32) London Lions vs. (1) Bourges 65-64 LDN Leedham 16/8r Norton 13 Charles 12 Winterburn 11 Stewart 9/8r Leonard 2 Robinson-Miller 2 TBB Yacoubou 17/7r Mann 12 Hampton 8 Miyem 2 Rupert 0

(30) Gernika vs. (3) Cukurova 83-59 LOIN Brcaninovic 32/8r Bjorklund 18 Moore 11 Ginzo 10 Silva 0/8r/6a CBK Fagbenle 14/8r Thomas 12 Hayes 8/8r Turner 8 Anigwe 4/7r Zellous 4/6r Hollingsworth 3

(23) Mechelen vs. (10) Polkowice 83-70 KBME Morrison 30/15r Resimont 19 Bi. Massey 12/10r Katanic 10/10a POLK Fitzgerald 17 Mavunga 16/16r Spanou 16/6r

(28) Tenerife vs. (5) Villeneuve 56-93 TFE Walker 18 Bailey 5 Hruscakova 2 VDA Salaun 15 Anderson 13/7r Harmon 12 Heriaud 12/7a

(31) Crvena zvezda vs. (2) Valencia 63-80 KKZCZ Jankovic 16/7r Naumcev 12 Schwagmeyer 8 Elliott 2 VAL Salvadores 16 Casas 14/11a Ouvina 14 Allen 12 Trahan-Davis 10/8r Gulich 5

December 16, 2021

(27) Fribourg vs. (6) Prometey 82-96 ELFIC Giroud 26/12r Kroselj 23/7r Fora 13 Fogg 11/9r PROM Yurkevichus 22/11r Holmes 22/6a Atkins 21 Babic 11/7a