Thursday, February 4
EuroCup
Sony Athinaikos (Candice Wiggins) 81, Dynamo Kyiv 66
Coming off a narrow 57-56 win in Game 1 of the two-game, total-point Eight-Final series last Thursday, Candice Wiggins and Sony Athinaikos looked to advance to the Quarterfinals as it traveled to Ukraine to take on Dynamo Kyiv on Thursday. Wiggins and company took control from the onset, jumping out to a 25-14 lead after one. The rest of the game was much of the same, as the Greek squad outscored Dynamo in three of the four quarters (2nd quarter was 11-11) en route to the 81-66 win. After scoring just 5 points before the break, Wiggins exploded in the second half, scoring 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting (2-of-4 from long distance). With the 15-point win, Athinaikos advanced to the Quarterfinals on an aggregate score of 138-122. The Greek entry will take on Dynamo Moscow in Game 1 of the two-game, total-point series on February 18.
Friday, February 5
EuroLeague Eighth-Finals
Lotos Gdynia 69, Spartak Moscow (Kelly Miller) 91
Russian powerhouse Spartak Moscow took the next step in its quest for a fourth consecutive EuroLeague title on Friday, defeating Lotos Gdynia 91-69 to advance to the Quaterfinals. Coming off a 98-49 drubbing of Lotos on Tuesday, Spartak travelled to Poland hoping to close out the best-of-three Eighth-Final series. Trailing 29-23 midway through the second stanza, Diana Taurasi sparked a 13-2 run as Spartak seized control of the game. Spartak took a 40-33 into the break, and would pull away in the second half. A 25-15 third quarter effectively put an end to any hope Lotos had of evening the series. Taurasi scored a game-high 31 points while Janel McCarville added 13 points, 7 rebounds and a EuroLeague-season-high 9 steals in the 22-point, 91-69 win. Kelly Miller contributed to Spartak's efforts with 5 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists in 13 minutes. Miller and company will move on to face Turkish side Fenerbahce in the Quarterfinals. Game 1 of the best-of-three series is set for February 23rd in Vidnoje, Russia.
USK Prague (Charde Houston, Lindsay Whalen) 74, Ros Casares (Anna Montaņana) 85
Hoping to even the series at one game a piece, USK Prague welcomed Spanish club Ros Casares to the Czech Republic on Friday evening. The Spanish entry started fast, racing out to an 18-4 lead just five minutes in. Lindsay Whalen and company tried to claw back, but Ros took a 41-28 lead into the break. USK Prague battled back in the second half, coming within eight points with just under four minutes to play in the contest, but the visitors steadied themselves late, and left Prague with the 85-74 series-clinching victory. Whalen had 12 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists in defeat. Charde Houston added 8 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. DeLisha Milton-Jones paced Ros with a game-high 18 points, while Lynx forward Anna Montaņana added 9 points. Ros shot an amazing 62.8 percent from the floor, while USK Prague shot 54.1 percent. Ros advances to the Quarterfinals where it will face the winner of the Bourges Basket- Halcon Avenida series, which is evened up at one.
Cras Basket Taranto (Rebekkah Brunson) 55, Fenerbahce 60
Despite 10 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks from Rebekkah Brunson, Italian squad Cras Basket Taranto was knocked out of the EuroLeague competition on Friday as it lost to Fenerbahce 60-55 in Taranto. Fenerbahce moves on to face tournament-favorite Spartak Moscow.
