FIBA: Zaragoza makes EuroLeague Women history, moves on to Final Six

Spanish basketball club Casademont Zaragoza clinched a spot in the EuroLeague Women Final Six this week, defeating defending champions ZVVZ USK Praha in their play-in series and advancing to the postseason quarterfinals.

The Zaragoza crowd was elated, and for good reason: Not only will their team be competing in the Final Six for the first time, but they’ll be hosting the entire event, which tips-off in April.

Meanwhile, championship favorites Fenerbahçe Opet continued their seemingly-unstoppable march, sweeping Spar Girona and securing their spot in the Final Six. As per the play-in competition system, both clubs had already clinched postseason berths, but Fenerbahçe will now get a bye to the semifinals. Girona, on the other hand, will be put in the quarterfinals, facing the winner of the play-in series between Umana Reyer Venezia and Beretta Famila Schio.

That series between Venezia and Schio will conclude next week, as will the series between Basket Landes and Galatasaray Çağdaş Faktoring. By then, we’ll have the full bracket for the Final Six; in the meantime, let’s recap all of the action from this week’s play-in games.

Fenerbahçe Opet locks down Spar Girona to sweep play-in series

Just as in the first game of their series, Girona went toe-to-toe with Fenerbahçe for the first 20 minutes, and this time around they remained within striking distance in the second half. Fenerbahçe’s defense was suffocating once again, however, and though they didn’t play to their usual high standards on the other end of the court, they were able to hold Girona at bay and earn a 65-58 win.

Fenerbahçe and Girona are the two highest-scoring clubs in EuroLeague Women, so the result of this game may have been a bit anticlimactic. Indeed, neither team was at their best offensively—they combined to miss 33 3-pointers and committed 30 total turnovers.

Even so, Fenerbahçe got just enough from key players like Iliana Rupert (21 points and nine rebounds) and Kayla McBride (17 points), and they still recorded 24 assists despite shooting the ball poorly from long range. Girona, meanwhile, got 19 points and nine rebounds from Mariam Coulibaly, but her supporting cast was missing in action; the rest of Girona’s roster shot a combined 13-for-44 (29.5 percent) from the field, which was obviously not good enough to upset the best team in the league. Ultimately, Fenerbahçe showed that they’re just as adept at winning ugly as they are at winning higher-scoring games, and that’s something that should frighten the rest of the competition.

Basket Landes forces a deciding third game against Galatasaray Çağdaş Faktoring

Landes nearly pulled off the comeback of the season last week, overcoming a 19-point fourth-quarter deficit before falling to Galatasaray in overtime. Things worked out a little better for the French club this week as they won 75-70 to force a deciding third game in the series.

Whereas Landes was playing from behind for most of their series opener, they flipped the script on Wednesday, leading for over 35 minutes and by as many as 15 points. Overall scoring efficiency was still an issue—Landes shot 3-for-15 on 3-pointers and made just 10-of-20 free throws—but they made up for it with their defense, turning Galatasaray over a whopping 23 times and holding a massive edge in points off turnovers, 26-4. Perhaps most impressive was the play of Murjanatu Musa, who recorded 20 points, nine rebounds and four steals; she scored with remarkable ease (10-for-13 from the field) against Galatasaray’s large front line, which is an offensive advantage Landes will need to maintain as the series shifts back to Turkey.

Casademont Zaragoza defeats ZVVZ USK Praha to advance to the Final Six

Zaragoza’s series-clinching win over Praha wasn’t the prettiest game of the week, but you won’t find many of their supporters complaining. The Spanish club once again led for the vast majority of the contest, winning 73-66 and clinching a Final Six berth in front of their home crowd.

That final score isn’t necessarily indicative of how the game unfolded. Despite committing 21 turnovers, Zaragoza was in control almost the entire way, leading by 18 points after three quarters. By the time Praha was able to get a bit of momentum, it was too late; the defending champs never established much of a rhythm on offense, getting an efficient 23 points from Valeriane Ayayi but little else. They, too, turned the ball over 21 times, and unlike Zaragoza, were unable to make up for those miscues elsewhere on the court.

Umana Reyer Venezia gets payback against their rivals Beretta Famila Schio

Venezia hasn’t had the best luck against Schio this winter, whether it be in EuroLeague Women or the Italian league Serie A1, but they’re finally on the board with a series-extending 79-72 win.

Like the first game of the series, Wednesday’s game was a close, back-and-forth one. This time, though, it was Venezia who took charge down the stretch, with clutch shots from Joyner Holmes, Kaila Charles and Lorela Cubaj being just enough to ward off Schio’s comeback attempt. As a team, Venezia pulled down 16 offensive rebounds, and they also outshot Schio at the charity stripe, making 15 free throws to Schio’s seven.

As the series now moves back to Venezia, it’s important to note that the road team has won both games. Is home court advantage less of a factor in this series than it is in others, given that the clubs are located relatively close to one another? We’ll find out next Tuesday in their win-or-go-home matchup.