A majority of Liberty players had been off from game action for nearly two weeks as European Leagues went on hiatus as national teams completed the final round of group qualifying for this summer’s FIBA Eurobasket Women tournament in the Czech Republic.
Amanda Zahui B (Sweden) and Shavonte Zellous (Croatia) both reported for national team duty and helped the squads pick up some victories. Zahui B and Sweden played just once, routing Finland, where Croatia went 1-1 in the two group games. Both finished second in their respective groups, but fell just short of the point total necessary to qualify for the Eurobasket Tournament.
Once the weekend rolled around all of the leagues were back in action. The biggest matchup of the week was a battle of two of the top teams in Russia, as Epiphanny Prince and Dynamo Kursk battled UMMC, which features Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner, and Deanna Nolan. Prince finished with 4 points for Kursk, and UMMC came away with a close 63-56 win.
Another new development of interest to Liberty fans is Kiah Stokes suiting up to join Besiktas in the Turkish League, where she is teamed with Shavonte Zellous. Besiktas had struggled to start the year, but picked up its 1st win of the season, a victory over Hatay, with Stokes grabbing 12 rebounds in her debut.
Elsewhere, Carolyn Swords and Basket Gdynia rolled to their 3rd-straight win, Tina Charles posted big numbers in a 1-1 week for Sichuan in the WCBA, and Rebecca Allen and Good Angels Kosice maintained its hold on 1st place in the Slovakian League.
LIBERTY INTERNATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Shavonte Zellous – Besiktas
Bolstered by the addition of a new teammate and familiar face, Liberty center Kiah Stokes, Shavonte Zellous helped lead her Turkish club team Besiktas to its first win of the year, by filling out the stat sheet as she has been known to do from time to time. Zellous did a little bit of everything in the win, finishing with 12 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists in a 68-64 win over Hatay (Courtney Paris).
WCBA (2-2, Ranked 4th-Group B)
| GM | MIN | FGA | FGM | FG% | 3FG | 3FGA | 3FG% | FTM | FTA | FT% | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | |
| #31 T. CHARLES (China) | 3 | 36.7 | 38 | 81 | .469 | 0 | 3 | .000 | 17 | 21 | .810 | 14.0 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 31.0 |
Tina Charles continues to put up dominant numbers for her club team Shichaun in the WCBA, averaging a double-double of 31.0 points and 14.0 rebounds per game. In a 1-1 week in group play, Charles finished with 34 points and 15 rebounds in a 63-53 win over Shandong, and followed that up with 31 points on her most efficient shooting game of the young season (14-of-25 from the field) with 13 boards, although her team suffered a 98-77 setback to Bayi. The second stage of the season wraps up on Nov. 29 against Liaoning, which features Phoenix Mercury center Kelsey Bone.
Slovakia-Extraliga (9-1, Ranked 1st)
Eurocup Group D (1-2, Ranked 3rd)
| GM | MIN | FGA | FGM | FG% | 3FG | 3FGA | 3FG% | FTM | FTA | FT% | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | |
| #5 R. ALLEN (Slovakia) | 9 | 19.1 | 43 | 76 | .566 | 14 | 23 | .609 | 19 | 24 | .792 | 3.7 | 1.4 | 2.6 | 1.7 | 16.3 |
| #5 R. ALLEN (EuroCup) | 3 | 21.3 | 7 | 21 | .333 | 4 | 6 | .667 | 8 | 13 | .615 | 6.3 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 11.3 |
After a two week break, Rebecca Allen and Good Angels picked up right where the left off with a huge win over Banska in Slovakian league play over the weekend, improving to 9-1 overall, making them the first team in the league to reach nine victories. Allen was 7-of-9 inside the arc, and also knocked down a 3-pointer to finish with 17 points to go along with 4 rebounds and 3 steals in the 94-41 victory. She is still averaging 16.3 ppg in the league, good for 3rd overall, and her 2.6 steals per contest ranks 5th. It’s a busy week coming up as Kosice resumes EuroCup group play against Miskolc on Nov. 30, then a league game against Slovan on Dec. 3.
Poland-TBLK (3-6, Ranked 9th)
| GM | MIN | FGA | FGM | FG% | 3FG | 3FGA | 3FG% | FTM | FTA | FT% | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | |
| #30 C. SWORDS (Poland) | 8 | 27.6 | 46 | 79 | .582 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 13 | 18 | .722 | 11.9 | 2.0 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 13.1 |
Carolyn Swords logged just 17 minutes as Basket Gdynia returned to action after a two-week break, but it was enough to help them post a convincing 93-76 victory over CCC Polkowice. Swords came off the bench to finish with 6 points and 4 rebounds, well below her normal averages of 13.1 points and 11.9 rebounds per game this season, but it was in limited minutes. Basket Gdynia has now won three in a row and sits in 9th place in the Polish League standings. Swords and Basket 90 return to action on Dec. 3 against Widzew.
Russia-PBL (7-1, Ranked 2nd)
EuroLeague Group A (3-0, Ranked 1st)
| GM | MIN | FGA | FGM | FG% | 3FG | 3FGA | 3FG% | FTM | FTA | FT% | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | |
| #10 E. PRINCE (Russia) | 7 | 25.1 | 19 | 44 | .432 | 3 | 9 | .333 | 8 | 11 | .727 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 1.6 | 0.1 | 7.9 |
| #10 E. PRINCE (EuroLeague) | 3 | 28.7 | 13 | 20 | .650 | 0 | 3 | .000 | 2 | 2 | 1.000 | 2.0 | 3.3 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 9.3 |
In one of the biggest international regular season games in any league so far this season, Epiphanny Prince and Dynamo Kursk were edged by UMMC in the Russian Premier League over the weekend. Prince finished with 4 points and 2 steals in 29 minutes for Kursk, who was unable to hand UMMC (Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner, Deanna Nolan) its first setback of the year. Prince is now averaging 7.9 points per game during Russian League contests. Dynamo Kursk returns to action against Fenerbahce in a Euroleague group match on Nov. 30.
Russia-PBL (7-1, Ranked 3rd)
Euroleague Group B (3-0, Ranked 3rd)
| GM | MIN | FGA | FGM | FG% | 3FG | 3FGA | 3FG% | FTM | FTA | FT% | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | |
| #17 A. ZAHUI B (Russia) | 7 | 19.9 | 39 | 58 | .672 | 2 | 5 | .400 | 13 | 14 | .929 | 5.4 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 13.9 |
| #17 A. ZAHUI B (EuroLeague) | 3 | 25.3 | 15 | 34 | .441 | 0 | 6 | .000 | 10 | 12 | .833 | 10.0 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 13.3 |
In her return to action in the Russian Premier League, Amanada Zahui B needed just 14 minutes of playing time to finish with 13 points and 5 boards in a lopsided 99-61 victory over Dynamo MR for Nadezhda Orenburg. In Russian League action, Zahui B is now averaging 13.9 ppg and shooting an impressive .672 from the field, a percentage bolstered by her 6-of-6 shooting performance in the win over the weekend. Earlier in the week, she helped lead Sweden to a win in its final Group qualifier for the FIBA Eurobasket Women tournament, having finished with 18 points in a 94-45 victory over Finland. Despite finishing 2nd in their group Sweden fell just shot of qualifying for this June’s tournament. Zahui B and Orenburg are back in action against UNIQQ in Euroleague play on Nov. 30, with a showdown against UMMC looming on Dec. 4.
Turkey-KBSL (3-2, Ranked 5th)
EuroCup Group B (3-0, Ranked 1st)
| GM | MIN | FGA | FGM | FG% | 3FG | 3FGA | 3FG% | FTM | FTA | FT% | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | |
| #30 T. WRIGHT (Turkey) | 5 | 33.0 | 22 | 54 | .407 | 2 | 6 | .333 | 20 | 23 | .870 | 5.2 | 6.6 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 14.0 |
| #30 T. WRIGHT (EuroCup) | 3 | 31.3 | 19 | 31 | .613 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 12 | 13 | .923 | 2.3 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 16.7 |
Tanisha Wright and Abdullah Gul suffered just its second loss of the season, a 73-58 setback to Fenerbahce (Shekinna Stricklen, Jantel Lavender, Allie Quigley) in the resumption of Turkish League play over the weekend. Wright scored 10 points, also grabbing 2 rebounds with 2 assists in 30 minutes against the undefeated Fenerbahce squad. She still ranks 7th overall in the league in assists per game with 6.6 per contest on the year, in addition to averaging 14.0 points per game. Wright and Kayseri resume action in EuroCup group play against PINKK-Pesci on Nov. 30, before facing Hatay next weekend.
Turkey-KBSL (1-4, Ranked 12th)
| GM | MIN | FGA | FGM | FG% | 3FG | 3FGA | 3FG% | FTM | FTA | FT% | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | |
| #2 S. ZELLOUS (Turkey) | 5 | 35.4 | 21 | 59 | .356 | 2 | 16 | .125 | 14 | 19 | .737 | 5.8 | 2.8 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 12.4 |
Now joined by her Liberty teammate Kiah Stokes, Shavonte Zellous and Besiktas picked up their first win of the season, dispatching Hatay (Courtney Paris) over the weekend. Zellous scored in double figures, finishing with 12 points to go along with 8 rebounds and 4 assists, doing a little bit of everything in the winning effort in 38 minutes of action. She is now averaging 12.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game in five games so far this season. Zellous and Besiktas return to action against Osmaniye on Dec. 3.
Turkey-KBSL (1-4, Ranked 12th)
Nov. 27 vs. Hatay: W, 68-64 (4 pts, 1-9 FG, 12 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk, 36 min) | BOX SCORE
| GM | MIN | FGA | FGM | FG% | 3FG | 3FGA | 3FG% | FTM | FTA | FT% | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | |
| #41 K. STOKES (Turkey) | 1 | 36.0 | 1 | 9 | .111 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 2 | 2 | 1.000 | 12.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 4.0 |
Kiah Stokes wasted no time in making an immediate impact for her new club team Besiktas, as she helped lead the Turkish team to its first win of the season, a 68-64 triumph of Hatay (Courtney Paris). Stokes, who arrived in Turkey just days before her debut, and is now matched with her Liberty teammate Shavonte Zellous, started and played 36 minutes, hauling in 12 rebounds. She scored 4 points, with an assists, steal, and blocked shot as well. It is the first season in Turkey for Stokes, who played internationally last year in South Korea. Besiktas is back in action against Osmaniye on Dec. 3.