Where are the Valkyries? 1/20 Edition

Julie Vanloo and Cecilia Zandalasini

Galatasaray had the lead in their EuroCup Round of 16 series from their home win, but as the 12 seed, they had to travel to France to face 5 seed Lyon in the second game on Wednesday and their 87-56 loss eliminated them 159-133 on aggregate. Cecilia Zandalasini had 10 points, 3 assists, and 3 steals in 31 minutes and Julie Vanloo had 5 points and 5 assists in 36 minutes. Zandalasini was rested on Saturday when they hosted Bodrum, which is a newcomer to the Turkish top division that did not end up having the expected funding, causing them to lose most of their roster after the players went unpaid, leaving them only able to continue when Cukurova loaned them players from the Turkish second division to finish out the season. Vanloo had 5 points and 6 assists in 18 minutes in the 100-27 win.

https://www.fiba.basketball/en/events/eurocup-women-24-25/games/123277-LYON-GALA#boxscore
https://tbf.org.tr/statistics.html?%7Ew=f%7EeJwlyzEKwzAMQNGrBM0VRLLlWj1G6AVkJ4JAptpTS-9eRMcP739gwGMBbtqJvWFxyUh0OFY2xkIqykm05QK3Ba7A84XPLcqjrCZPdmfsq9T_qk0Jc9p1zWWv3STwO_CYNs8xzz7g-wM_FB9b

Iliana Rupert

Cukurova sealed first place in the group and stayed undefeated in EuroLeague with a 79-62 win over Spain’s Avenida on Wednesday. Iliana Rupert had a fantastic game with 34 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals in 38 minutes. They got more of a test on Sunday during league play, but came back in the second half to defeat Botas 77-73. Rupert led them in scoring again with 23 points and added 7 rebounds in 37 minutes.

https://www.fiba.basketball/en/events/euroleague-women-24-25/games/123742-CBK-AVE#boxscore
https://tbf.org.tr/statistics.html?%7Ew=f%7EeJwly0EKAjEMRuGrDFkbaGL_0ngM8QJNncLArGxXineX4PLB9z406baRunXR4VwGMovsg6s25SIG0yvMc6HLRmfg9eLHPWpEuepTzcE9of7Xlj1xQU0dbuJA4Hfgudo65jr6pO8PPqUfSg

Temi Fagbenle

Besiktas won on the road last week in the EuroCup Round of 16 so they figured to be in good position at home as the 7 seed on Thursday, but 23 seed Angers from France won 76-66 so that cut the final margin to only 130-128 for Besiktas. Temi Fagbenle had 11 points and 9 rebounds in 36 minutes. Their league game was on Monday and they lost 84-79 even though Fagbenle had 22 points and 10 rebounds in 36 minutes.

https://www.fiba.basketball/en/events/eurocup-women-24-25/games/123273-BJK-UFAB#boxscore
https://tbf.org.tr/statistics.html?%7Ew=f%7EeJwlzEEKhTAMRdGtSMYGTNqU1mXI30AbLQiObEeKe_cHhxfOezc0mAfgkpS4FgxVPBJtFSNnxkBJEjtJxQcYBzgM9xN_i1W1KpOsq1dGnSR-07xFQkfhf-pcJlHDl-HWc99b37XB8wJMmR-j

Carla Leite

As the 2 seed in the EuroCup Round of 16, Villeneuve-d’Ascq got to host the second game facing a deficit against 18 seed Estudiantes and they won in regulation on Wednesday, but only by the margin that they lost by in the first game so they went to overtime. It was the same margin after the first and second extra periods so the game needed to be settled in the third overtime and a 108-90 win was enough to finally advance 173-165 and instantly put themselves among the classic games for this season. Carla Leite played a team leading 51 minutes, providing 28 points and 4 assists. Instead of having a league game on Saturday, the team entered the French Cup at the quarterfinal stage in a competition featuring teams from the first and second divisions. They had a bye to this round due to playing in EuroLeague and they drew another team in the same position in Bourges, seeing their late efforts fall short in a 58-56 loss. Leite had a tough game with 2 points and 4 assists in 24 minutes.

https://www.fiba.basketball/en/events/eurocup-women-24-25/games/123283-ESBVA-MOV#boxscore
https://fibalivestats.dcd.shared.geniussports.com/u/FFBB/2615552/bs_en_AU.html

Veronica Burton

The top two teams in Australia played on Wednesday and the Bendigo Spirit stayed in first place after their 95-86 win over the Perth Lynx. Veronica Burton had 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 9 assists in 36 minutes. They had a strong second half on Sunday to defeat Geelong 95-73 and Burton had 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals in 34 minutes.

https://fibalivestats.dcd.shared.geniussports.com/u/wnbl/2516042/bs.html
https://fibalivestats.dcd.shared.geniussports.com/u/wnbl/2516048/bs.html

Stephanie Talbot

The Adelaide Lightning played one game this week, visiting the Sydney Flames and falling behind early on their way to an 84-60 loss. Stephanie Talbot had 14 points and 3 rebounds in 32 minutes.

https://fibalivestats.dcd.shared.geniussports.com/u/wnbl/2516047/bs.html

Monique Billings

This may be the last time that Monique Billings features in these weekly columns and she still has not returned to the lineup for Guangdong.

Kate Martin

It was the first ever season for Unrivaled, a new 3v3 basketball league designed for WNBA players in the offseason. Kate Martin is on the Laces, one of the six teams in the league with each team playing two games each week. They made their debut on Saturday and defeated the Phantom team 86-48 with Martin providing 12 points and 10 rebounds. The Laces played again on Monday, defeating the Mist 63-43 with Martin delivering 10 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals.

https://www.unrivaled.basketball/game/cy9e2nxmf95w/box-score
https://www.unrivaled.basketball/game/9t71p5ri5690/box-score

Upcoming Game Videos (times PST)

Iliana Rupert, Wednesday 11:00am:

Veronica Burton vs. Stephanie Talbot, Thursday 11:30pm: