Thursday, December 10, 2009

Today's Euroleague/Eurocup Games




Nicole Ohlde vs. Janell Burse

Krakow 74, Pécs 71: Wisla Can-Pack Krakow continues its amazing Euroleague run, remaining undefeated in Group B today with a narrow 74-71 win against Pécs in Hungary.

Krakow's win guarantees that the Poles will advance to the round of sixteen. Only Rivas Ecopolis and Spartak Moscow remain undefeated in Euroleague.

Krakow scored the first six points of the game and lead 26-19 in the first quarter, but Pécs continued the struggle. They closed to 36-35 with the first of two free throws by Allie Quigley (she missed the second one) and were only behind 42-39 going into halftime. Down 48-43 with 7:33 left to go, Pécs went on an 8-0 run to take the lead.

However, Pécs could never get the lead above two baskets. Shots by Ewelyna Kobryn and Janell Burse tied the game at 67-67 with 2:52 to go. Nicole Ohlde of Pécs found Dalma Ivanyi for the next basket to retake the lead at 69-67, but Kateria Zohnová hit the only 3-pointer by Krakow in 12 attempts to go up 70-69 with 1:41. Zsófia Fegyverneky of Pécs closed the gap to 72-71 with a basket, but a shot by Janell Burse with 9 seconds left put Krakow up 74-71. With the final possession, Pécs tried four times for a shot - one shot was blocked by Burse - but nothing would fall in.

Despite outrebounding Krakow 40-28 and despite 18 offensive rebounds from the Hungarians, Pécs fell short. Krakow went 17-for-22 at the free throw line.

Anna Vadja had 18 points and 6 rebounds for Pécs. Nicole Ohlde of the Phoenix Mercury had 17 points and 8 rebounds. For Krakow, Marta Fernandez was the top performer with 25 points. Janell Burse hit double digits with 13 points and 6 rebounds, and Iziane Castro Marques went 4-for-5 with 15 points.


Jillian Robbins of Dynamo Kursk looks for the hoop.

Dynamo Kursk 82, Targoviste 70: Dynamo Kursk kept its Eurocup postseason hopes alive with a win over Targoviste, a Romanian team. The Russians won 82-70 at home in Kursk in front of a crowd of 1200.

Kursk got off to a slow start, but an 11-0 run in the first quarter helped Kursk to a 25-16 lead after one quarter. The Russians were able to build their lead to 14 points at one time in the second quarter, and went into halftime with a 48-37 lead. For most of the rest of the game, Kursk led in double-digits.

The win helps Kursk a lot. With the win, here are the standings in Group H in Eurocup:

K. V. Imperial: 4-1
Dynamo Kursk: 3-2
Targoviste: 3-2
Samsun: 0-5

With only the top two teams of each of the 11 groups guaranteed a place in the round of 32, Kursk would need to win against K. V. Imperial next week to be assured to advance. (They play at home.) If Kursk loses at home, they have to pray that Samsun wins on the road in Romania, and failing that, they have to hope that they're among the top ten teams that don't finish second in a group.

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