EuroLeague Women: Week 14

It was still all to play for in the final week of this year's EuroLeague Women regular season, with places in the next round still up for grabs, records to maintain and pride to salvage. Here's everything that happened in a thrill-packed final week:

Yakin Dogu had a hard time breaking away from Nadezhda: their concentrated play in the paint and accurate shooting from three-point territory from Alex Bentley and Emma Cannon – who had 28 total points – made them difficult opponents for Yakin Dogu early on. The Turkish side finally broke away with an eleven-point run in the third quarter, and later in the game had another unbeaten run of 13 to put the result beyond doubt. Four of Yakin Dogu’s starters finished in double figures, including 24 from Kayla McBride and double-doubles from Courtney Vandersloot and Jantel Lavender, as they stay top of Group B with a 93-71 win. Despite the loss, Nadezhda will continue to play pan-European basketball, as other results mean they transfer to the EuroCup.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52i9wRUEshI

Dynamo Kursk came bursting out of the starting blocks against Polkowice, with their excellent shooting from the field saw them lead 52-25 at half time. Alysha Clark responded for Polkowice, shooting 60% from the field and finishing with 19 points and 8 rebounds. Polkowice looked threatening with an improved second half, but Kursk’s long range shooting at the death – they had 10 three-pointers in the game – meant they finish the group stage with a perfect record and Polkowice, despite a tremendous effort, came up short and were eliminated. Meanwhile, the MKB Arena saw a low-scoring game between Sopron and Bourges - 22 of Sopron’s total 57 points were made by Crystal Langhorne. With both teams playing big defence and in the low post, it wasn’t until the second half when Sopron began to pull away, but not by much. Their biggest lead in the game was 13, which came in the second half, and after a flat final quarter, they emerged winners by seven points over Bourges. Despite the result, both teams advance to the quarter finals.

Wisla were trying to keep up with Fenerbahce’s pace and field shooting throughout their final group stage matchup. Wisla turned to their star forward Cheyenne Parker, who had 19 points for the team, but a big third quarter for Fenerbahce, in which they had 22 points and two scoring runs of seven and nine, gave them the advantage to see out the win by six points. This result sees them moving on to the knockout round, while at the same time dispatching Wisla from European competition. While across the continent, Lattes finally ended an early twenty-point run from Ekaterinburg with a three-pointer from Courtney Hunt late in the first quarter. The tone was set early in this game, though, with Ekaterinburg in a completely different class to their opponents. Emma Meesseman put in an amazing performance for the Russian team with 25 points, as they made short work of Lattes, 100 points to 61.

USK Praha needed a win against Castors Braine to guarantee their place in the EuroLeague, and behind an incredible performance from Amanda Zahui who had 28 points and 11 rebounds, they looked set for an easy win. Castors responded in the second half with good play from short range and increase defence, but a late run of eight points from Praha put them back in their rhythm, and with a four-point win, they will continue to play in the EuroLeague, while Castors Braine’s European campaign comes to an end. At the same time, five three-pointers from Avenida would be the edge that would give them the win over Schio, who had the lead for much of the second half behind 22 points from Isabelle Yacoubou. By doing well to draw the foul late in the game, though, Avenida put themselves ahead from the free-throw line to nudge the scoreline in their favour. Fifth-place Avenida will now play in the EuroCup, while Schio move on to the quarter finals of the EuroLeague.

Villeneuve d’Ascq shocked Galatasaray early with a seventeen-point run. Kaela Davis responded for Galatasaray, briefly putting them in the lead just before half time, but they were off form while Villeneuve d’Ascq made them pay behind superior shooting. With a big 76-62 win, in which Johanne Gomis had 23 and Johannah Leedham had a double-double for the French team, Villeneuve d’Ascq ensured their place in the EuroCup, while at the same time relegating Galatasray to the same competition.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukn_DajpWRg

Four teams will now play in the EuroCup quarter finals. They are; Galatasaray, who will play Girona; Villeneuve d'Ascq, who will be going up against Hatay; and Avenida and Nadezhda, who will be playing each other for a place in the semi-finals of the second-tier competition.

Meanwhile, with the final results in, the quarter finals of this year's EuroLeague have been set. They are as follows:

Ekaterinburg vs Praha

Dynamo Kursk vs Schio

Yakin Dogu vs Bourges

Sopron vs Fenerbahce

The best-of-three quarter finals series will all begin on February 28th. Until then, get all the news and updates on the competition by visiting the official website.