Where are the Valkyries? 12/23 Edition

Julie Vanloo and Cecilia Zandalasini

Galatasaray had a large lead already in their EuroCup Women Round of 32 series with 21 seed Red Star Belgrade of Serbia and they hosted the second game as the 12 seed, coasting to an 82-75 win. Since the scores of both games are combined, they won by a 177-147 margin overall and will face the 5 seed Lyon of France in the Round of 16 after the start of the new year. Cecilia Zandalasini had 10 points and 3 steals in 31 minutes and Julie Vanloo had 6 points and 9 assists in 35 minutes. When they returned to Turkish league play on Saturday, they fell victim to a late comeback to lose 60-58. Zandalasini had 5 points in 31 minutes and Vanloo had 4 points and 9 assists in 31 minutes.

https://www.fiba.basketball/en/events/eurocup-women-24-25/games/123252-GALA-CZV#boxscore
https://tbf.org.tr/statistics.html?%7Ew=f%7EeJwly0EKwkAMQNGrlKwNmEyTGo8hXmDSTqDQVWdWinfX4PLD-2_ocJ-A3VbicNSQGYla4I0ro5KJcRHzWeEywZF4nPh8ZEXWVq5NCis6M__XGuW3SogvzRbSLfErcR917H3sa4fPFztNH1M

Iliana Rupert and Kayla Thornton

Cukurova hosted Italy’s Schio on Wednesday and won 86-52 to stay undefeated in EuroLeague Women and advance to the next round. If they stay in a top two place, they will also qualify for the final stage. Iliana Rupert had 20 points and 9 rebounds in 32 minutes and Kayla Thornton added a pair of assists in 10 minutes. That game ended up being the last one with the team for Thornton as they can only field two non-Europeans in FIBA competition and they chose to go in a different direction for one of them, not keeping her around for Turkish league play only because they have far more than the allowed four foreign players to choose from already.

https://www.fiba.basketball/en/events/euroleague-women-24-25/games/123750-CBK-SCH#boxscore

Maria Conde

USK Praha is in solid shape in EuroLeague Women after an 82-45 win over Polkowice on Wednesday. The champions of Poland had started their season well, but have lost multiple players after the local government did not make any payments on the $500,000 that they had promised as support for the year. Maria Conde had 12 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals in 28 minutes.

https://www.fiba.basketball/en/events/euroleague-women-24-25/games/123777-ZVVZ-KGHM#boxscore

Temi Fagbenle

Besiktas brought a lead home with them for their EuroCup Women Round of 32 series game with 26 seed Gorzow of Poland on Thursday. They won the game 80-71 for a final margin of 160-135 and, as the 7 seed, get to face 23 seed Angers of France in the Round of 16 next month. Temi Fagbenle had 9 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists in 22 minutes. They played in the Turkish league again on Sunday, getting a 72-68 win over Kayseri with 19 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists in 34 minutes from Fagbenle.

https://www.fiba.basketball/en/events/eurocup-women-24-25/games/123248-BJK-GORZ#boxscore
https://tbf.org.tr/statistics.html?%7Ew=f%7EeJwly0sKwzAMRdGtBI2rgV_8qbqM0g3EqgSBjGKPWrr3IjK8cO6XBj0WQhdN8M7VS-aUzPmODVyTFMFapOdKt4WOwPPk1zPKo9TVVvXMHcC1iuLNaM2qNTOgBP4EHnOb-5i7Dvr9AWRXIBk

Carla Leite

Villeneuve-d’Ascq had a big lead in their EuroCup Women Round of 32 series with 31 seed Constanta of Romania and they hosted the second game as the 2 seed, winning again 91-71 for a total of 179-140 and setting up a series with 18 seed Estudiantes of Spain in the next round. Carla Leite was their leading scorer with 20 points and added 5 points, 5 assists, and 4 steals in 33 minutes of play. The team ran into a tougher test in French league play on Saturday, losing 65-44 to Lattes Montpellier in their last game before head coach Rachid Meziane leaves the team for his new WNBA job with Connecticut. Leite had 16 points and 5 rebounds in 38 minutes.

https://www.fiba.basketball/en/events/eurocup-women-24-25/games/123238-ESBVA-CSMCT#boxscore
https://fibalivestats.dcd.shared.geniussports.com/u/FFBB/2513188/bs_en_AU.html

Veronica Burton

After a fantastic start to the season, the Bendigo Spirit suffered their first loss of the season on Thursday by a 71-68 margin against the Perth Lynx. Veronica Burton had 14 points and 10 rebounds in 36 minutes. The team could not get back to winning ways on Sunday, losing to the Southside Flyers 91-88 even though Burton had 31 points and 7 rebounds in 36 minutes.

https://fibalivestats.dcd.shared.geniussports.com/u/wnbl/2516020/bs.html
https://fibalivestats.dcd.shared.geniussports.com/u/wnbl/2516024/bs.html

Stephanie Talbot

The Adelaide Lightning had a good game on Friday, defeating the Southside Flyers 82-72. Stephanie Talbot had 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists in 38 minutes. They won again on Sunday 86-73 over the Sydney Flames as Talbot had 13 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists in 36 minutes.

https://fibalivestats.dcd.shared.geniussports.com/u/wnbl/2516021/bs.html
https://fibalivestats.dcd.shared.geniussports.com/u/wnbl/2516023/bs.html

Monique Billings

Monique missed both games for Guangdong in the last week, a pair of wins for the team.

Upcoming Games (times listed are PST)

Stephanie Talbot vs. Veronica Burton, Friday 12:30am:

Veronica Burton, Tuesday 1:00am: