EuroLeague Week 11 Update

Jan. 17, 2013

EuroLeague Week 11 Player of the Week
Shenise Johnson, a 2009 USA Basketball U19 World Championship gold medalist, was the latest USA Basketball gold medalist to collect EuroLeague Player of the Week honors. She did so in UE Sopron's tough loss to Fenerbache. Johnson hit 11-of-15 from the field and finished with 24 points to go with 12 rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Candace Parker picked up the EuroLeague Week 10 Player of the Week honor last week after scoring 26 points on 10-of-13 from the field, grabbing 14 boards and being credited wtih four assists, two steals and two blocked shots in just 26 minutes against ZVVZ USK Prague. So far this season the weekly honor has gone to USA National Team members Tina Charles (Weeks 3, 5, 6, 7, 8); Candice Dupree (Week 1) and Diana Taurasi (Week 2). The only Europeans to break into the mix were Anna Cruz (Week 9) and Mirna Mazic (Week 4).

Parker & Taurasi Fire UMMC to Another Victory
Candace Parker, going up against her LA Sparks teammate Nnemkadi Ogwumike, and Diana Taurasi scored a combined 39 in leading UMMC Ekaterinburg (9-0) to an 85-67 blowout of host CCC Polkowice (4-6). While Ekat struck first and never trailed, the first quarter was close, thanks in part to nine points from Ogwumike, and the Russian side held a slim 25-21 lead at the first break. The second quarter was a much different look.  Ekat stymied CCC defensively, while outscoring the hosts 24-10, behind 10 points from Taurasi, and headed to the locker room up 49-31. CCC closed the gap by four points in the third quarter, but never fully recovered as UMMC captured another EuroLeague victory. 

Parker, who won EuroLeague weekly MVP honors last week, was the game’s leading scorer with 21 points to go with seven rebounds, six assists and four steals in 29 minutes. Taurasi’s 18-point performance was bolstered by three rebounds, nine assists and three blocked shots. Ogwumike, playing in her first EuroLeague season, finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists for CCC.

Galatasaray Gets Back on Track With Help From Fowles, Whalen
After being stunned by CCC Polkowice last week, Galatasaray (8-2) nearly gave away a second straight contest, but a 21-14 fourth-quarter surge put away USO Mondeville (4-5), 70-59.

The game, tight through the first 30 minutes, was even at 31-all early in the third quarter and by the end of the period Gala held a 49-45 edge. In the fourth Gala put together 10 straight points that knocked the wind out of USO’s sails as Gala cruised in for the win.

Lindsay Whalen top-scored with 21 points, while Sylvia Fowles had five points and four boards for Gala.

Spartak Stays Strong
One of the top clubs in EuroLeague action, Spartak Moscow Region Vidnoje (8-2) remained atop Group A after dispatching BK Imos Brno (2-7) 83-51. After falling behind 20-18 in the first quarter, Spartak changed course and outscored the hosts 16-3 in the second quarter to take a 34-23 halftime lead. The second half was owned by the Russian club, which won the third quarter 25-16 and the fourth by 24-12.

Spartak spread the wealth around with seven players scoring between seven and 11 points. Seimone Augustus and Candice Dupree were two of Spartak’s double-digit scorers with 10 points apiece. Augustus also contributed four rebounds and four assists, while Dupree had four boards and a blocked shot.

Former USA National Team player Nicole Ohlde was Brno’s only player to score in double digits and finished with 19 points and six rebounds.

Arras Picks up First Win
Normally this contest would be relegated to the bottom of the page under ‘other games,’ but Arras Pays D’Artois (1-8) pulled off an astounding upset of Familia Schio (7-3)this week, claiming its first EuroLeague victory, 69-57. Trailing 21-19 after the first quarter, Arras ramped things up in the second stanza. Pulling even at 25-25 at the 7:29 mark, Arras briefly lost the lead and trailed 27-25 at 5:47. But that was short-lived. The French side sprung to life and reeled off 15 unanswered points to close the half up 40-27. The Italian side never knew what hit them and never threatened in the second half as Arras came away with an historic EuroLeague victory. French standout Sandra Dijon starred for her side with 14 points and 15 rebounds, while former Ohio State star Jantel Lavender posted a 26-point, 13-rebound double-double for Famila Schio.

In Other Games …
ZVVZ USK Prague (4-6) squandered an early 10-point lead and nearly fell to the basement-dwelling Novi Zagreb (1-8). With 50 seconds remaining, Zagreb was just a point behind, 89-88, but ZVVZ defended well and came away with the win … DeLisha Milton-Jones scored a game-high 21 points for Tarsus (1-8), but it just wasn’t enough as the Turkish club was denied the upset and edged 66-63 by Bourges Basket (7-3). Bourges was led by Olympic silver medalist Celine Dumerc’s 17 points … Uni Gyor (5-5) did a lot to keep its playoff hopes alive and kicking with a 78-72 victory over the visiting Rivas Ecopolis (5-4) … In a tight battle throughout, host Nadezda (6-4) eked out a 71-68 victory over Municipal Targoviste (3-6) … UE Sopron (2-8) and 2009 USA U19 World Championship Team gold medalist Shenise Johnson (24 points, 12 rebounds) nearly pulled off an upset of the visiting Fenerbache (7-2). However, Cappie Pondexter (16 points) and Angel McCoughtry’s (4 points) club was just too strong and Fener held off Sopron 74-69.

2012-13 EuroLeague Standings: Week 11