USA Players Return From Break, Help Teams To Wins

Jan. 10, 2013

Ogwumike, CCC Polkowice Stun Galatasaray
In a come-from-behind, 58-51, victory on the road, CCC Polkowice (4-5) pulled off a stunning upset of EuroLeague giants Galatasaray (7-2). This came on the heels of Gala clipping Fenerbache days earlier for the Turkish Cup title.  The victory also greatly increased CCC’s chances of advancing to the next round.

CCC trailed by as many as 15 points, 37-22, after Lindsay Whalen hit a jumper at 5:44 in the third quarter. However, Nnemkadi Ogwumike replied with a pair of buckets that gave a lift to her squad as CCC began closing the gap, 37-26, at 4:35. Ogwumike, who was in foul trouble already, was whistled for her fourth of the contest at 2:51 and was pulled. CCC continued to claw back without its top rookie and cut the lead to five points, 43-38, at the end of the third period.

With 5:43 remaining in the contest and her team up by a point, 46-45, Ogwumike returned to action. She proved extremely valuable down the stretch. After Gala regained the lead, Ogwumike put her team back on top for good, 48-47, with 4:00 remaining. Still holding a one-point edge, Ogwumike launched a 3-pointer with 35 seconds remaining to put CCC up 55-51 and virtually seal the win. From there it came down to free throws. In the waning seconds, Whalen uncharacteristically missed both her tries from the line, while CCC went 3-of-4 from the charity stripe and walked away with the 58-51 victory.

Gala doomed itself from the line, shooting an abyssimal 45.8 percent (11-24 FTs), while also hitting just 31.7 percent of its shots from the field (19-60 FGs). In contrast, CCC was 70.0 percent (7-10 FTs) from the line and 40.0 percent (24-60 FGs) from the field.

Limited to 24 minutes of playing time due to her foul situation, Ogwumike contributed 11 points, five rebounds and a pair of steals. Valeriya Musina led with 14 as CCC spread the points around, with seven players contributing between six and 14 points.

Whalen scored just six points on 3-of-10 shooting from the field, but grabbed seven boards and dished out four assists. Ann Wauters was Gala’s leader with 18 poitns and 10 rebounds.

Spartak Remains On Top of Group A
After spotting Uni Gyor (4-5) four points to start the game, Spartak Moscow Region Vidnoje (7-2) got a go-ahead jumper from Seimone Augustus at 6:01 for a 7-6 lead and the hosts never again trailed.  At the end of the first quarter Spartak owned a 22-13 lead and by halftime the game was well in hand, 54-31.

Spartak, which shot a sizzling 58.2 percent (39-67 FGs) from the field and outrebounded Gyor 40-29,  received a game-high 17 points from Marina Kuzina, while Augustus added 13 in 15 minutes and Candice Dupree also saw 15 minutes of action and contributed six points, three boards and three steals.

Charles Can Pack a Punch
Tina Charles notched her 6th double-double in seven games, contributing 17 points and 15 rebounds to lead Wisla Can-Pack (5-4) to a commanding 69-47 victory over BK Imos Brno (2-6).

“All the Team contributed to this victory,” Charles was quoted on the EuroLeague site. “We played hard defense and it was looking much better that in the Polish League game three days ago. Sure there are some things we need to improve and we will work on those.”

Wisla opened with nine unanswered points, four of which came from Charles, and by the end of the first quarter owned an eight-point, 23-15, edge and Charles had 11 points. Wisla continued to increase the distance, going up 39-24 at halftime and 54-34 by the end of the third quarter.
Charles also had a pair of blocked shots, while Alana Beard contributed 14 points, three boards and a pair of assists and steals.

Parker, Taurasi Continue to Roll in Ekaterinburg
Candace Parker and Diana Taurasi combined for 50 points, 17 rebounds and 11 assists as UMMC Ekaterinburg (8-0) remained undefeated after trouncing ZVVZ USK Prague 94-75 at home.

It was not all roses for Ekat, which went up 33-22 after the first quarter. The visiting team did not roll over and by halftime the score was an even 51-all after Prague outscored its hosts 29-18 in the second.  Ekat, however, opened the third quarter with a statement. With the score knotted 53-53, Parker and Taurasi nailed back-to-back 3-pointers. After a tip-in on the other end, Taurasi hit another three and Parker followed with a put-back and at 6:42 Ekat’s lead was up to 64-55. The Czech club called for time, but it did nothing to stem the tide as Ekat closed the third quarter up 77-61 and sailed in for the victory.

Parker posted a double-double of 26 points and 14 rebounds, while adding four assists, two steals and two blocked shots; while Taurasi had 24 points, three rebounds seven assists and a steal.

McCoughtry Helps Fenerbache to Victory
Fenerbache (6-2), which lost the Turkish Cup to Galatasaray last weekend, struck first and never trailed en route to a 93-67 victory over visiting Nadezhda (5-4). Holding a 51-37 halftime lead, the hosts continued to up their lead in the second half for the eventual victory.

Fener was led by Ivana Matovic with 18 points and nine boards, while Angel McCoughtry had a solid 14 points, seven rebounds and three steals in 22 minutes. DeWanna Bonner scored 10 points and Renee Montgomery chipped in seven for Nadezhda.

Fener was without the services of Cappie Pondexter, who according to FIBAEurope.com, “was so upset by the gut-wrenching, buzzer-beating loss to their foes from across the Bosphorus last weekend that she needed stitches in her hand after punching a glass panel in anger.”

In Other Games …
Rivas Ecopolis (5-3) edged Bourges Basket (6-3) 65-62, putting the Spanish squad closer to clinching a playoff berth.  Rivas was led by Oleksandra Jurasova’s 26 points, while Bourges saw Catherine Joens toss in a team-best 21 points … Perfumerias Avenida (3-6) picked up its third win of the season after blowing out USO Mondeville (4-4) 82-54. Monique Currie, who was picked up over the break after Avenidas let Nicole Powell go, didn’t disappoint, scoring a game-high 22 points in the victory … Arras (0-8) remained winless in this season of EuroLeague action after being dominated by Good Angels Kosice (7-2) as Allie Quigley tossed in a game-best 19 points for the winning side ... In the week's final game, Famila Schio (7-2) was led by Jantel Lavender and Danielle McCray, with 21 and 17 points each, respectively, in an 89-71 victory over UE Sopron (2-7).

Playoff Hunt
With four weeks left before the 2013 EuroLeague playoffs begin, there are teams like UMMC Ekaterinburg, which is hosting the Final Eight and would qualify regardless, that have clinched a playoff spot. With its 7-2 mark, Spartak Moscow Region is another team that is now looking to secure a good spot in the playoff brackets. However, teams like CCC Polkowice need to close out the season on a winning streak in order to keep their playoff hopes solid. Below are the standings through the 10th week so you can see for yourself how your team is looking in terms of playoff standings. (Note that FIBA Europe counts points first for their orders in the standings.)

2012-13 EuroLeague Standings: Week 10