11/02/2016
Europe
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EuroLeague Women: Week 14 Review

Women's basketball specialist Paul Nilsen reflects on the last week of Regular Season EuroLeague Women action and what it means moving forward.

Tears and Close Shaves

Tears of joy, tears of despair and some seriously close shaves for several clubs, Week 14 proved to be another nail-biter. There were furious swings of momentum, bashing around with calculators to work out who was going to finish in what position and some great action in a week which encapsulated one of the best Regular Seasons in quite some time.

There were some exceptional shooting performances and surprises - with the best thing being that it confirmed the line-up for the Quarter-Finals of the competition and there are some brilliant ties in store.

The look ahead: The Quarter-Finals

Having lost to Fenerbahce, it means Galatasaray will now go up against a string of former headliners in Alba Torrens, Sancho Lyttle and Diana Taurasi when they face UMMC Ekaterinburg who have drafted in Emma Meesseman for Sandrine Gruda. At least Galatasaray know what it is like to win at DIVS Arena as it was the scene of their greatest hour when they lifted their first-ever EuroLeague Women title in 2014. However, UMMC will be huge favourites to advance.

Dynamo Kursk will play Nadezhda in a domestic clash and that could be so difficult to predict, because the teams know each other so well. Nadezhda had a poor end to the Regular Season and head coach Roberto Iniguez was fuming after their shock loss to Mithra Castors Braine. They must pick up in a big way and Kursk need to ensure they don't become too reliant on the hot hand of Anete Jekabsone. Looks like a 50-50 call on paper this one.

Beretta Famila Schio will have home advantage in the three game series against defending champions ZVVZ USK Prague and it could be the fitness (or otherwise) of the holders which dictates the outcome. They were without Sonja Petrovic and Katerina Elhotova this week and those two will probably need to play to ensure they have the best possible chance of beating a tough and experienced Schio team. Isabelle Yacoubou is really performing well in the paint and I have loved the contributions of Jolene Anderson this season. It's another seriously tough one to call and I am saying this is another 50-50 - but that is great for the competition.

Fenerbahce will be expected to breeze past Wisla-Can Pack and it could be former Krakow favourites Jantel Lavender and Alexandria Quigley who twist the knife into their ex-employers. However, if there is one thing that you can apply to Wisla this season, it is to expect the unexpected, so Fenerbahce will have to watch out. But with one of the best home records in the competition's history over the years, that should be a difference maker and Fenerbahce should move to yet another Final Four.

The Look ahead: EuroCup Women

It was quite a battle to make the fifth and sixth spots in both Groups. I see Agu Spor and Tango Bourges as the favourites for EuroCup Women now and perhaps both clubs have got what they wanted in that fans and sponsors will be happy with a very good chance of some silverware.

However taking into account the pedigree of Bourges in particular, their 6-8 record and failure to make the top eight of EuroLegue Women can only be described as a step backwards and a disappointing failure to deliver. Only winning EuroCup Women and nothing less can mitigate this and now they have to face a tricky Sparta&K - although fortunately for Valerie Garnier, one that will be without Emma Meesseman.

It's exactly the same for Agu Spor. I had written extensively about how impressed with them I was at the turn of the calendar year and they have since finished the regular season with six straight losses and that is arguably embarrassing for a top club in one of Europe's leading leagues. Meeting Besiktas in the Quarter-Finals is likely to mean they are expected to advance - but sometimes all-domestic match-ups don't always pan out as expected.

Good Angels Kosice will also fancy their chances as they will face Villeneuve d'Ascq again [having met in EuroLeague Women Group A] with their French opponents having the opportunity to defend their cherished title - although they are on a depressing losing skid.

Both Aluinvent Miskolc and Basket Landes will no doubt be thrilled to have dodged a EuroLeague Women opponent.

Weekly Gongs

Team performance of the week: I am spoiled for choice yet again this week but I can't look past Mithra Castors Braine winning in Orenburg against Nadezhda. While it ultimately wasn't enough to make it into EuroCup Women, it was the biggest victory of the season for the first-timers.

Individual Performance of the Week: That was one of the very best displays of the season by Jantel Lavender of Fenerbahce in the big Istanbul derby win at Galatasaray. She went an insane 13-of-15 from the floor en-route to a fabulous 26 points with 86.7%, the best by any player this season when taking 10 or more shots. And by the way - it was achieved against a hugely experienced opposing frontcourt with the likes of Nevriye Yilmaz, Jelena Dubljevic, Lynetta Kizer and Petra Kulichova.

Unsung Hero: She may have only scored five points for Wisla Can-Pack, but Spanish guard Cristina Ouvina hit the momentum-shifting triple against Agu Spor inside the last two minutes and also came up with five assists, three rebounds and three steals.

Rising Star: It was terrific to see teenage playmaker Julie Allemand play almost 20 minutes for Mithra Castors Braine in an eye-catching win at Nadezhda. While she only scored two points (but only took two shots), she dished up four assists, grabbed four boards and only spilled the ball once against a veteran opposing backcourt.

Footnote

The renaissance of Anete Jekabsone as a bonafide EuroLeague Women star has been wonderful and now 32-years-old, she seems to be getting better with age. She loves leading this Dynamo Kursk team and her three-point shooting clinic in Salamanca underlined her influence as she landed the best three-point shooting performance of the season with a spectacular seven-from-seven. With their opponents likely to key into the shooter in the post-season, the issue for Kursk is whether other players are now going to step up. That will have to be the case if they want to book a Final Four return.

For more EuroLeague Women coverage, click here.

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