EuroLeague & EuroCup Quarterfinal Game 1 Recap

Liberty players combined to go 4-1 during the 1st leg of the EuroLeague and EuroCup Women quarterfinals on Tuesday, with the only setback coming because Kia Vaughn and Amanda Zahui B went head-to-head (with Zahui B’s Nadezhda Orenburg squad prevailing 80-57 behind a monster game from the Liberty center).

After Tuesday’s action, a couple interesting scenarios are set up for Friday’s games, when the venues switch to the opposing squads. For example, although Epiphanny Prince and Dynamo Kursk and Rebecca Allen and Good Angels Kosice were victorious on Tuesday, their narrow margins will be tested as they hit the road later in the week. Piph’s Dynamo Kursk squad takes a 5-point cushion to Bourges, while Allen and Good Angels won their game by 9 points.

The advancing teams are determined by whomever leads the point differential after two games.

Here’s a look at what transpired on Tuesday, and what’s in store later in the week.

Playing the role of facilitator, Piph helped Dynamo Kursk come back to pick up a 76-71 win over Bourges in the 1st leg of their EuroLeague quarterfinal series. After trailing at the half, Kursk outscored Bourges 44-28 in the 2nd half to earn the difficult win. Angel McCoughtry led Kursk with 25 points. Prince’s squad will have a 5-point cushion in the aggregate scoring on Friday afternoon.

Amanda Zahui B has been stellar throughout EuroLeague competition and Tuesday’s game proved to be no exception as she was a top performer with 18 points and 8 rebounds for Nadezhda Orenburg in a convincing 23-point victory. She also showed off her long range shooting ability, which she has done off and on during the EuroLeague season, nailing two more 3-pointers in the win. Expect to see Kia Vaughn and USK Praha make a charge on their home court, but Orenburg has a big lead to work with thanks to Tuesday’s performance.

Kia Vaughn and USK Praha will have a big deficit to overcome against Zahui B’s Orenburg squad on Friday afternoon, but will be on their home court in Prague as they attempt to turn it around. Vaughn nearly posted a double-double with 8 points and 9 rebounds in Tuesday’s game, but she shot an uncharacteristic 4-of-16 from the field. USK Praha is a perennial international power, and will look to start strong on Friday afternoon to apply some early pressure to Orenburg.

Rebecca Allen and Good Angels pulled off a pair of upsets to advance to the EuroCup quarterfinals, earning home court over Galatasaray. They are in strong position to advance once again after a 73-64 win in game one on Tuesday, but a 9 point lead is paper thin on the road. Allen scored 5 points in the victory, but in her typical fashion contributed in almost every way, grabbing 4 rebounds, with 2 assists, and 2 blocked shots. Game two is on Friday morning at 8 AM.

Tanisha Wright and Kayseri rolled to an 85-65 win in game one of their quarterfinal series with BLMA. Wright was efficient, scoring 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting with 8 assists to help lead her squad to a big opening win. Kayseri has lost just once all season against EuroCup competition, so taking a 20 point lead into Friday’s 2nd game figures to be a solid starting point for earning a berth into the semifinals.