Diana Taurasi Begins Defense of EuroLeague Scoring Title

Nov. 1, 2012

Diana Taurasi Leads Ekaterinburg to Victory
If anyone was surprised by Diana Taurasi’s line in her UMMC Ekaterinburg debut, they haven’t been following women’s basketball in the last decade. The 25-point, 8-rebound, 7-assist output is all in a day’s work for the four-time EuroLeague and five-time WNBA scoring leader. Ekat, which also received six points and six rebounds from Candace Parker, needed everything Taurasi could muster in earning the 83-77 victory over Novi Zagreb to up its EuroLeague record to 107-35. It was Ekat’s seasonal debut as it had a bye last week, but drops the Croatian team, featuring Courtney Vandersloot, to 0-2.

"As the coach has already said we have improvements to make,” said Taurasi, according to FIBAEurope.com. “It is good that we won the game, but it is also evident that we still have some weak points to work on."

Desperately Seeking Tina Charles
While there’s no need to panic as the season is still early, Wisla Can-Pack can’t afford another close loss, especially if it could be avoided by the inside presence of Tina Charles. Coming off a six-point loss last week, Wisla was stunned in overtime at home by the visting Hat-Agro Uni Gyor, 67-62.

Candice Dupree Scores 22 in Blowout
After allowing the visiting Bourges Basket (1-1) Spartak Moscow Region Vidnoje (2-0) pull to within eight points in the third quarter, Spartak turned up the heat to outscore Bourges 23-9 in the fourth quarter for an 84-62 victory. Candice Dupree, who sits at No. 2 in the league’s scoring charts with 24.0 ppg. and was named Week 1 Player of the Week, scored 22 points on 10-of-13 from the field, including six points in the fourth quarter, to lead Spartak to victory.

Angel McCoughtry, Fener Open With Lopsided Victory
Behind two points, two rebounds, three assists and a blocked shot from Angel McCoughtry, Fenerbache (1-0) scored first, jumped out to a 14-2 lead and never looked back. Fener didn’t disappoint its fans in its EuroLeague opener, running away with a 73-48 victory as McCoughtry finished with with 13 points, nine rebounds, six assists and three blocked shots; and Cappie Pondexter scored 16 points and dished out four assists. On the other side of the court EuroLeague rookie Natalie Novosel had five points and two rebounds.

Rookie Nnemkadi Ogwumike Continues To Shine
After a disappointing home loss last week, CCC Polkowice (1-1) picked up a 68-59 victory over Perfumerias Avenida (1-1), thanks in no small part to EuroLeague rookie Nnemkadi Ogwumike. Ogwumike who scored 21 points in her debut last week, poured in 22 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter that saw CCC pull ahead for good.

Injury Report
After posting a double-double of 10 points and a EuroLeague season high 16 rebounds last week, Sylvia Fowles is sidelined for two to four weeks due to a leg injury, as reported by EuroLeague Women.

In Other Games:
DeLisha Milton-Jones and Danielle Robinson chipped in six points each in Tarsus Belediyesi’s (0-2) 79-48 defeat at the hands of 2012 EuroLeague runner-up Rivas Ecopolis (1-0) … Despite receiving 29 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals from Shenise ‘Mo Mo’ Johnson, UE Sopron (1-1) was defeated 89-78 by Good Angels Kosice (1-1) … Galatasaray (2-0) remained perfect after picking up the pace in the second half for a narrow 58-56 comeback victory over ZVVZ USK Prague (0-2) … In the last game of the week Famila Schio (2-0) outscored the visiting Nadezhda (1-1) 24-7 in the third quarter and cruised in for the 72-64 victory, despite 19 point and 12 rebounds from Nadezhda’s Dewanna Bonner.