This past week saw some of the strongest performances of the season for New York Liberty players abroad, as the Libs continues to dominate and pick up wins.
In the international tournaments, Amanda Zahui B, Epiphanny Prince, and Tanisha Wright continued to find success, while Rebecca Allen and Good Angels are facing a must-win on Thursday.
Prince dropped 13 points to help Dynamo Kursk outlast USK Praha 69-66 in Euroleague action, as her team improved to 5-0, while Zahui B had 11 points and 6 boards in a 60-58 win over Bourges, also keeping her Nadezhda Orenburg squad unbeaten in Euroleague group action.
Wright and Abdullah Gul clinched first in Eurocup Group B, picking up its 5th-straight win, 74-73, over PEAC-Pecs, with Wright scoring 14 points with 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Allen was great for Good Angels with 15 points and 7 rebounds against Yakin Dogu, but her team lost 69-65, falling to 3-2 in Eurocup group play, setting up a critical matchup against Olympiacos in the final match of group action.
One of the biggest performances of the week came from Tina Charles, who scored 50 points with 20 rebounds in a victory for Sichuan in the WCBA. Carolyn Swords also posted monster numbers, scored 32 points on 12-of-20 shooting for Basket 90 Gdynia in a 96-86 setback against Energa Torun.
In the Turkish League, Shavonte Zellous and Kiah Stokes helped lead Besiktas to a 3rd-straight win, moving up to 9th in the table. Zellous had 15 points with a pair of 3-pointers, while Stokes poured in a game-high 20 points with 18 rebounds for her most dominant game since arriving in Turkey last month.
LIBERTY INTERNATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Tina Charles – Sichuan
In a week filled with big time performances from Liberty players across the globe, Tina Charles stood out with a 50 point game in a win over Shandong. Charles was 17-of-40 from the field and nailed a pair of 2-pointers with 20 rebounds while playing all 40 minutes in the 87-71 victory. She is averaging 33.1 points and 15.5 rebounds per game, leading the WCBA in both categories.
WCBA (7-12, Ranked 4th-Group B)
| GM | MIN | FGA | FGM | FG% | 3FG | 3FGA | 3FG% | FTM | FTA | FT% | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | |
| #31 T. CHARLES (China) | 8 | 37.5 | 101 | 221 | .457 | 7 | 24 | .292 | 42 | 52 | .808 | 15.6 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 33.1 |
Tina Charles turned in one of the highest scoring games of the year for any WNBA player abroad, finishing with 50 points in an 87-71 win over Shandong last week. Charles shot 17-of-40 from the field in the win and posted a double-double with 20 rebounds, playing all 40 minutes. Later in the week she scored 12 points with 15 boards and 3 blocked shots in an 80-71 loss to Bayi. Charles is the scoring leader in the WCBA with 33.1 ppg, and she also ranks 1st with 15.5 rebounds per game, nearly 2 rebounds per game higher than her closest competitor. Charles will face Kelsey Bone and Liaoning on Dec. 13.
Slovakia-Extraliga (11-1, Ranked 1st)
Eurocup Group D (2-3, Ranked 3rd)
| GM | MIN | FGA | FGM | FG% | 3FG | 3FGA | 3FG% | FTM | FTA | FT% | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | |
| #5 R. ALLEN (Slovakia) | 11 | 18.9 | 46 | 81 | .568 | 17 | 29 | .586 | 19 | 24 | .792 | 3.7 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 14.7 |
| #5 R. ALLEN (EuroCup) | 5 | 23.0 | 11 | 30 | .367 | 8 | 17 | .471 | 14 | 21 | .667 | 6.4 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 12.0 |
Rebecca Allen and Good Angels went 1-1 last week, continuing their strong run in the Slovakian League but falling to Yakin Dogu in a very close EuroCup contest, setting up a must-win against Olympiacos later this week. In the 69-65 setback against Yakin Dogu (Courtney Vandersloot, Elin Eldebrink, Quanitra Hollingsworth, Essence Carson), Allen scored 15 points with 7 rebounds, knocking down 3 3-pointers, but it was not enough to pick up the win. Two days later she came off the bench to score 4 points with 4 rebounds in just 18 minutes as Kosice cruised past Piestanske 75-52 to improve to 10-1 in Slovakia. In league play, Allen ranks 5th in scoring (14.7 ppg) and is 7th in steals per game (2.5) and 2nd in blocks per game (1.5).
Poland-TBLK (3-7, Ranked 9th)
| GM | MIN | FGA | FGM | FG% | 3FG | 3FGA | 3FG% | FTM | FTA | FT% | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | |
| #30 C. SWORDS (Poland) | 9 | 28.8 | 58 | 99 | .586 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 21 | 26 | .808 | 11.8 | 2.1 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 15.2 |
| #30 C. SWORDS (EEWBL) | 2 | 25.5 | 19 | 24 | .792 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 11 | 12 | .917 | 4.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 24.5 |
Basket 90 Gdynia had its 5-game winning streak come to an end with a 96-86 loss to Energa Torun over the weekend, but Carolyn Swords did everything in her power to lift Gdynia to a win, scoring a game-high 32 points. Swords was 12-of-20 from the field and hit all 8 of her free throw attempts, also hauling in 11 rebounds with 3 assists. She is averaging a team-high 15.2 points and 11.8 rebounds per game, ranking 7th in the league in scoring and 1st in rebounding. Swords and Basket 90 will play twice this week, with games against Widzew (12/14) and JAS FBG (12/17).
Russia-PBL (9-1, Ranked 2nd)
EuroLeague Group A (5-0, Ranked 1st)
| GM | MIN | FGA | FGM | FG% | 3FG | 3FGA | 3FG% | FTM | FTA | FT% | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | |
| #10 E. PRINCE (Russia) | 9 | 24.7 | 22 | 52 | .423 | 3 | 11 | .273 | 10 | 13 | .769 | 2.1 | 3.3 | 1.4 | 0.1 | 7.9 |
| #10 E. PRINCE (EuroLeague) | 5 | 27.8 | 18 | 30 | .600 | 0 | 6 | .000 | 5 | 5 | .833 | 1.6 | 3.4 | 1.8 | 0.2 | 8.2 |
Epiphanny Prince turned in one of her strongest offensive games of the season for Dynamo Kursk in a narrow 69-66 victory over USK Praha (Kia Vaughn, Sonja Petrovic, Marta Zargay) in EuroLeague action last week. Prince went 5-of-8 from the field, scoring 13 points with 3 assists and 3 steals, helping her team maintain its position at the top of the Group A Euroleague Standings. She also scored 4 points with 5 assists in an 87-30 league win over Spartak N., which saw Kursk improve to 9-1 overall, trailing just the unbeaten UMMC. Prince is averaging 7.4 points and 3.1 assists per game in Russia, and 8.2 ppg with 3.4 apg against Euroleague competition. Prince and Dynamo Kursk are back in action against Familia Schio on Dec. 14.
Russia-PBL (8-2, Ranked 3rd)
Euroleague Group B (5-0, Ranked 1st)
| GM | MIN | FGA | FGM | FG% | 3FG | 3FGA | 3FG% | FTM | FTA | FT% | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | |
| #17 A. ZAHUI B (Russia) | 9 | 19.1 | 47 | 76 | .618 | 2 | 6 | .333 | 19 | 21 | .905 | 4.8 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 13.2 |
| #17 A. ZAHUI B (EuroLeague) | 5 | 25.0 | 24 | 49 | .490 | 0 | 8 | .000 | 15 | 18 | .833 | 8.0 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 12.6 |
A pair of close wins for Amanda Zahui B and Nadezhda Orenburg this week as they managed to maintain their position in the Russian and Euroleague group standings. Orenburg edged Bourges in Euroleague action, with Zahui B scoring 11 points with 6 rebounds in the win. The victory over Enisey was also a test, but Zahui B was in double figures again, finishing with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting in just 18 minutes of action. Nadezhda will play its final game of 2017 against Dynamo M. in Russian League action on Dec. 19.
Turkey-KBSL (5-2, Ranked 3rd)
EuroCup Group B (5-0, Ranked 1st)
| GM | MIN | FGA | FGM | FG% | 3FG | 3FGA | 3FG% | FTM | FTA | FT% | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | |
| #30 T. WRIGHT (Turkey) | 6 | 34.7 | 28 | 66 | .424 | 3 | 7 | .429 | 21 | 26 | .808 | 4.8 | 6.0 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 14.3 |
| #30 T. WRIGHT (EuroCup) | 5 | 30.2 | 30 | 48 | .625 | 0 | 3 | .000 | 16 | 20 | .800 | 3.2 | 2.8 | 2.6 | 0.0 | 15.2 |
Tanisha Wright played in just one of Abdullah Gul’s victories this week, helping her team improve to 5-0 in Group B, which secures 1st in the group and ensures advancement to the EuroCup tournament in 2017. It was a hard fought win, 74-73, over PEAC-Pecs, with Wright scoring 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting with 4 assists and 4 steals in 34 minutes of playing time. She sat out the 68-61 win over Osmaniye, which saw Kayseri improve to 5-2 in the Turkish League, good for 3rd in the standings. Wright is averaging 15.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game in EuroCup action. Abdullah Gul plays its final Eurocup Group game against MBA on Dec. 14.
Turkey-KBSL (3-4, Ranked 9th)
| GM | MIN | FGA | FGM | FG% | 3FG | 3FGA | 3FG% | FTM | FTA | FT% | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | |
| #2 S. ZELLOUS (Turkey) | 7 | 35.6 | 30 | 91 | .330 | 5 | 20 | .250 | 21 | 26 | .808 | 4.7 | 2.7 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 13.7 |
It’s 3 in a row for Shavonte Zellous and Besiktas after a 71-62 win over Mersin MBK last weekend. Zellous finished with 15 points and knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the win, grabbing a couple of rebounds with 2 assists. Over the past two games, Zellous is averaging 17.0 ppg. She returns to action against 1st place Galatasaray on Dec. 17.
Turkey-KBSL (3-4, Ranked 9th)
| GM | MIN | FGA | FGM | FG% | 3FG | 3FGA | 3FG% | FTM | FTA | FT% | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | |
| #41 K. STOKES (Turkey) | 3 | 36.0 | 15 | 28 | .536 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 6 | 8 | .750 | 16.7 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 12.0 |
Kiah Stokes is settling in for her new team Besiktas, helping them win three in a row, and turning in the most impressive performance of her international career with a monster double-double in a 71-62 win over Mersin MBK. Stokes finished with a game-high 20 points, 18 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots, shooting 9-of-13 from the field. Through three games in Turkey, Stokes is averaging 12.0 ppg, 16.7 rpg, and shooting .536 from the field. Besiktas is back in action against Galatasaray on Dec. 17.