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There are just two weeks remaining in EuroLeague Women group play, and six of the 11 competing clubs have already qualified for spots in the next round, also known as the play-ins. Here’s who has already clinched their respective spots, as well as their group play record, at this point in the competition:
Group E
ÇBK Mersin (10-0)
Beretta Famila Schio (7-3)
Group F
Fenerbahçe Opet (8-0)
Valencia Basket Club (6-2)
Casademont Zaragoza (5-3)
ZVVZ USK Praha (4-5)
The play-in seeding, of course, has yet to be determined, as have the final two play-in spots, both of which will go to clubs in Group E. Tango Bourges Basket, Basket Landes and Perfumerias Avenida are all in the mix; Bourges and Avenida will play each other this week, and what’s at stake makes it a must-watch matchup—though due to some unfortunate circumstances surrounding the health of Avenida’s roster, it may not be an even one.
Elsewhere, Valencia Basket Club will battle Casademont Zaragoza for play-in seeding, while ÇBK Mersin will try to improve to 11-0 in a matchup against a formidable Beretta Famila Schio club. As always, the games will be streamed live and for free on FIBA’s EuroLeague Women YouTube channel and DAZN, so let’s go over everything we’ll be watching for this week as group play reaches its apex.
Wednesday, January 22
Umana Reyer Venezia (3-6) vs. Fenerbahçe Opet (8-0)
When: 11 a.m. ET
Where: Metro Energy Sports Hall in Istanbul, Turkey
How to watch: FIBA YouTube live stream
Notable players: Awak Kuier, Lorela Cubaj, Kamiah Smalls (Umana Reyer Venezia); Ariel Atkins, Emma Meesseman, Tina Charles, Gabby Williams, Nyara Sabally, Julie Allemand, Nikolina Milić, Sevgi Uzun (Fenerbahçe Opet)
Matchup details: Of all the teams playing this week, Venezia is the only one that has already been eliminated from play-in contention. That could be viewed as either a positive or negative against Fenerbahçe, which clearly has the edge in individual talent; Venezia technically enters this game with nothing to lose, and things were closer than expected when the two clubs met earlier in January. Nevertheless, Fenerbahçe should be massively favored to win this game, especially when considering that Venezia hasn’t won in group play since defeating Uni Győr in late October.
Žabiny Brno (3-7) vs. Basket Landes (5-5)
When: 1:30 p.m. ET
Where: Espace François Mitterrand in Mont-de-Marsan, France
How to watch: FIBA YouTube live stream
Notable players: Elissa Cunane, Eliška Hamzová (Žabiny Brno); Destiny Slocum, Leïla Lacan, Sam Fuehring, Luisa Geiselsöder (Basket Landes)
Matchup details: Brno technically hasn’t been eliminated yet, but its road to the play-ins is by far the most complicated of the remaining teams in Group E, needing to win the rest of its group play games while also getting outside help. That being said, Brno did beat Landes in their last meeting, but that was in spite of 24 turnovers. It was also a season-high scoring performance from Geiselsöder (23 points), and it’s clear that Brno doesn’t have the defense in its frontcourt to defend the young Landes center. Landes needs to win this game and hope for Bourges to defeat Avenida in order to qualify for the play-ins this week, according to FIBA.
ÇBK Mersin (10-0) vs. Beretta Famila Schio (7-3)
When: 2 p.m. ET
Where: Palazzetto Livio Rómare in Schio, Italy
How to watch: FIBA YouTube live stream
Notable players: Marine Johannès, Natasha Howard, Kayla Thornton, Karlie Samuelson, Bridget Carleton, Yvonne Anderson, Iliana Rupert, Marine Fauthoux, Regan Magarity (ÇBK Mersin); Kitija Laksa, Jasmine Keys, Janelle Salaün, Ivana Dojkić, Dorka Juhász (Beretta Famila Schio)
Matchup details: Schio hasn’t suffered a loss quite like the blowout Mersin delivered earlier in group play, so you can bet the Italian club will be hungry to show they’re more evenly-matched than that result would indicate. Schio made just one 3-pointer in that game, and with shooters like Laksa and Salaün, that’s unlikely to happen again. Mersin, however, has been machinelike, winning its three second-round games by an average of 23.7 points per game, and until someone proves otherwise, it’s the team to beat in Group E. The upset potential is there, but Schio will need to play flawlessly in order to pull it off, especially on the defensive end. Mersin is currently averaging a group-leading 79 points per game and Anderson, Howard and Rupert are all shooting above 50 percent from the field.
Valencia Basket Club (6-2) vs. Casademont Zaragoza (5-3)
When: 2 p.m. ET
Where: Pabellón Príncipe Felipe in Zaragoza, Spain
How to watch: FIBA YouTube live stream
Notable players: Alina Iagupova, Leonie Fiebich, Stephanie Mavunga, Yvonne Turner, Kayla Alexander, Leticia Romero, Alba Torrens (Valencia Basket Club); Markeisha Gatling, Helena Pueyo, Tanaya Atkinson, Stephanie Mawuli (Casademont Zaragoza)
Matchup details: Valencia is coming off a bye week, and it’s hard to argue that the Spanish club didn’t need it after suffering a humbling defeat to Fenerbahçe. Zaragoza, meanwhile, is flying high after beating ZVVZ USK Praha—a game that, entering the season, Zaragoza may not have been expected to win—and given the amount of physicality both of these clubs play with, it’s reasonable to expect a close result. Zaragoza did take Valencia to overtime in their last meeting, after all, and while Valencia has some big names on its roster, Zaragoza has proven itself more than capable of slaying giants in the competition.
Tango Bourges Basket (6-4) vs. Perfumerias Avenida (4-6)
When: 2:30 p.m. ET
Where: Pabellón Municipal Würzburg in Salamanca, Spain
How to watch: DAZN
Notable players: Amy Okonkwo, Morgan Green, Pauline Astier, Kariata Diaby (Tango Bourges Basket); Sika Koné, Arica Carter (Perfumerias Avenida)
Matchup details: Avenida is fighting for its play-in life, being just a loss away from elimination, and that only begins to describe the Spanish club’s problems. Avenida recently reported that eight of its players were suffering from the effects of what it describes as a “gastrointestinal outbreak,” and members of the club’s youth team were brought on board in case it couldn’t field enough healthy players on Wednesday. Needless to say, this is an awful situation, and while one hopes that we can get another competitive, back-and-forth contest akin to when Bourges and Avenida last played, the health and safety of Avenida’s players should obviously take precedence. Bourges will clinch its spot in the play-ins with a win, though in fairness to Avenida’s ailing players, there’s a good chance that will still be the outcome next week even if Avenida wins this game.
