In the first games of the EuroLeague Women quarterfinals, the favored clubs—Fenerbahçe, Mersin, DVTK and Praha—all won, although some had to work really hard for their victories.
Here’s what happened in the first games of the four EuroLeague Women quarterfinals:
Fenerbahçe Alagöz Holding (1-0) vs. Perfumerias Avenida (0-1), 98-91
With Emma Meesseman out with an ankle injury, the reigning EuroLeague champs were vulnerable and Avenida made the most of the opportunity to beat them. They played tough, gritty basketball. Despite Fenerbahçe at one point holding a 13-point lead, the Spaniards, following two consecutive 3-pointers made it a one-possession game with one and a half minutes to go. At that point, however, cooler heads prevailed and Napheesa Collier made an almost impossible fadeaway 2-pointer to regain the momentum for her team. Avenida’s comeback was fueled by Alexis Prince, who made some tough baskets and scored 22 points in total. The 29th pick of the 2017 WNBA Draft was not alone; Leonor Rodriguez had 17 points (3-of-5 from 3), while Arica Carter and Laura Gil held their own on the defensive end. However, it wasn’t enough to stop such an offensively talented team.
Fenerbahçe eventually won by seven, but they had to work hard for the win. Collier was great on both sides of the floor, finishing up with 21 points, nine rebounds and six steals. Fresh off taking Serbia to the Olympics, Yvonne Anderson was courageously cutting to the basket, sharing the ball and battling for rebounds, as she finished up with 22 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Then, there was Kayla McBride, who drained an improbable buzzer beater to end the first quarter, and had game-high 27 points (6-of 10-from 3) and eight assists.
Çukurova Basketbol Mersin (1-0) vs. Casademont Zaragoza (0-1) 79-62
The game began with an unexpected delay, as the referees seemed to have an issue with Stephanie Mavunga’s headband. Once the Polish newcomer removed it, both teams were good to go. The initial confusion stayed longer with Zaragoza, who kept the score close but were outrebounded in the first quarter 14-6. Zaragoza stayed in the game primarily thanks to their interior game, with center Christelle Diallo scoring 10 points, and forward Tanaya Atkinson adding eight points. They were, however, outscored by Marina Mabrey, who scored 22 points (5-for-7 from 3) and added four dimes to her impressive stat line. At halftime, the score was 51-42 for Mersin. Zaragoza never got close enough to put the lead in peril. Mabrey finished the game with 26 points, while the 5-foot-5 French point guard Olivia Époupa had 10 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and three steals. As for Mersin’s newcomers, Kahleah Cooper had 20 points, despite struggling with her shot, and Mavunga had 14 points, four rebounds and three steals.
DVTK HUN-Therm (1-0) vs. Villeneuve-d’Ascq LM (0-1) 78-66
The French visitors opened up the game hot, winning the first quarter 26-14 by following the leads of Kennedy Burke and Shavonte Zellous. Then, the ball stopped going in, and DVTK clawed back into the game. Both teams left the court at the half with Villeneuve-d’Ascq up by just one point, 36-35. The comeback was a joint effort on the part of the Hungarians, whose main feature throughout the group phase was teamwork. After the break, DVTK continued to play their ball and ended the third quarter up by nine points. Réka Lelik was the one who showed her team the way; the Hungarian shooting guard scored 11 points during that part of the game. In the fourth quarter, Bethy Mununga stepped up on the defensive end for Villeneuve-d’Ascq, making crucial stops that allowed her teammates to score and keep the game close. At one point, Villeneuve-d’Ascq was able to cut the lead down to three points, but then the Hungarians made their shots while the French missed theirs. DVTK lost only one home game in the group stage and they don’t intend on becoming hospitable anytime soon. Kaila Charles was the best player on the court, ending the game with 18 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and four steals for DVTK.
ZVVZ USK Praha (1-0) vs. Beretta Famila Schio (0-1) 78-60
If you’re aiming at an upset, you have to make more than 15 percent of your shots. And when you’re allowing the other team to score over 50 percent from the floor, you’re in for a very long night. That’s what yesterday turned out to be for Schio. Even though Praha was playing without Nyara Sabally, the Italian club couldn’t get the stops necessary to contain the Czech champions in the first quarter. Schio picked up the pace in the second quarter, winning it 21-15, but, after losing the first 10 minutes 25-8, they needed to truly dominate the second half to make up the 11-point gap. Granted, that was not impossible, but only one Schio player shot better than 50 percent from the floor, while Praha shot 49 percent collectively. For Praha, Ezi Magbegor had 15 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks, while Veronika Voráčková was 4-for-4 from 3.
The second games in the best-of-three series will be played next week on Wednesday, Feb. 28.
