EuroLeague Women: Gustafson leads Fenerbahçe to another huge win

After two weekw of second-round action, EuroLeague Women will take nearly a month-long break, with the competition resuming on January 14.

Will that be enough time for clubs and coaches to devise a plan for defeating Fenerbahçe Opet?

Fenerbahçe earned another authoritative win, ensuring Casasdemont Zaragoza could not conjure another miraculous comeback with a 95-64 victory that elevated the competition favorites to an undefeated 8-0 with an overwhelming +256 points differential.

Megan Gustafson assumed the starring role, going 8-for-9 from the field and 10-for-11 from the line as she scored 27 points. Behind Gustafson, the rest of Fenerbahçe’s stacked roster provided their expected contributions. Iliana Rupert had 16 points and six boards, while Emma Meesseman and Kayla McBride both added 14 points. Meesseman grabbed a game-high 11 boards and dished five assists, with McBride tossing six helpers and collecting four boards. Julie Allemand led the team with seven assists, and Gabby Williams totaled eight points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals.

Fenerbahçe thus maintains a commanding position atop Group F with 16 points; Basket Landes, Umana Reyer Venezia and Valencia Basket Club all have 13 points as they battle for second place and, more importantly, the second bye to the Semi-Finals from Group F.

Venezia nearly suffered a detrimental loss, as they trailed against one-win DVTK HUNTHERM, the weakest team remaining in the competition, for most of the game. Venezia, however, hit all their critical free throws down the stretch to escape with a 83-81 win. Kaila Charles came up particularly clutch. After draining a 3-pointer with under three minutes to go, she scored on a drive before making a pair of free throws. Then, Ivana Dojkić claimed the win at the line, nailing two free throws with six seconds remaining.

Valencia, the victims of Zaragoza’s comeback last week, had their own comeback this week, albeit with much less drama. While they trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half, Valencia put together a superior second half to win 66-57 over Basket Landes. Leonie Fiebich led the victors with 13 points, six rebounds and three assists.

In Group E, Galatasaray Çağdaş Faktoring likewise got back on track after last week’s loss to ZVVZ USK Praha, winning 80-62 over Tango Bourges Basket. The defending champs, however, failed to turn last week’s upset into winning momentum, with Beretta Familia Schio using a big second quarter to cruise to a comfortable 99-78 win over Praha. Jessica Shepard spearheaded the win with 23 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

Spar Girona maintained first place in Group E with an 83-68 victory over Flammes Carolo Basket. Mariam Coulibaly was again productive for the winning side. The competition’s scoring leader, the 6-foot-2 center from Mali poured in 30 points and corralled 14 rebounds. Justē Jocytē added six 3-pointers and 24 points, along with six boards and six assists for Girona.

As Girona and Galatasaray both have 15 points, not just winning, but winning by a significant margin, will be important for both clubs as they strive to finish at the top of Group E. Currently, Girona has outscored opponents by 126 points, while Galatasaray has a point differential of +102.