|
The teams playing EuroLeague Women basketball in 2010-2011 The EuroLeague Women competition tips off on Wednesday, 27 October 2011, for 24 teams. In three months the participating teams will play 120 games.At the end of the Qualifying Round 8, 16 teams qualify for the play-off series (eighth final). The brackets for the eighth-final are determined by the final ranking position obtained during the first phase of the competition which ends on 19 January 2011. The eighth-finals and the quarter-finals are three-match series with the first team to qualify by winning two games out of the three. The eighth-final games will take place between 1 February and 9 February 2011. The quarter-final is scheduled to take place between 22 February and 2 March 2011. The final four will take place between the 8-10 April 2011, and is likely to be hosted by one of the teams in the final. You can move between group previews by clicking on the links below or by scrolling down the page. 1. Group A EuroLeague Women Group AWith the exception of Mondeville all the teams played in this competition last season. One of the difficulties of looking at EuroLeague team's rosters is that they are likely to change by the time the qualification round is over, so instead we will look at what each team has to offer. Looking back at the history of this competition Daugava Rīga as they are known today was the strongest club in Europe between 1960 and 1982, winning the club title 18 times. Today TTT Riga is the top club in Latvia. They have struggled to make an impact in the EuroLeague Women. Aija Brumermane, one of the stars of the team of last season, is now playing for Mondeville in France, while Cindy Lima has joined Ros Casares. Shavonte Zellous and Quanitra Hollingsworth will be expected to carry TTT Riga through the qualifying phase. However the expectation is that they will struggle again despite adding Kim Butler to the roster. Cras Basket are without Rebekkah Brunson, who has joined Ros Casaras. Yet with Elodie Godin and Kathy Wambe on board, the club have two seasoned campaigners in European basketball and are expected to qualify from this group. Wisla Can-Pack was the fairy-tale team last season. They have a new team this year with the departure of key players such as Liron Cohen, Marta Fernandez and Izane Castro Marques. However Janel Burse is back for another season. On paper the team with the incoming players, Erin Phillips, Katarzyna Krezel, Magdalena Leciejewska and Gunta Basko should be just as strong. Nicole Powell is expected to join at Christmas. The pressure will be on this team from the start of the competition and expectations are high for domestic and international success. Good Angels Kosice is a team that constantly changes its roster. This makes them difficult to review. However with Candice Dupree returning and new signings Charde Houston and Zuzana Zirková they will be competitive. Pécs 2010's budget constraints mean that the club will be relying on the experience of Zsófia Fegyverneky and Dalma Ivanyi to carry a young team through. Return to index EuroLeague Women Group BThis group contains four of the giants in modern day European basketball and to up and coming teams. What makes this group interesting is that four teams have the players that can take them all the way to the final four. Fenerbahce SK have gone out and recruited Anna Vajda, Diana Taurasi, Ivana Matovic, Hana Horakova (Machova) and Saziye İvegin. They also have Lazlo Ratgeber as head coach. In addition Penny Taylor, Nevin Nevlin, Birsel Vardarli and Nevriye Yilmaz all return from last season. It is an impressive roster that has been put together this year and could be challenging for the overall EuroLeague Women title. Özge Kavurmacioglu who is just 17 will have a fantastic year learning from these players. Gospic Croatia were unknown at this level of basketball last season and won just one game. However they have an experienced set of players who will make opponents work hard. Michelle Maslowski and Maurita Reid are the only players not from Croatia on the roster. Lotos Gdynia have lost most of the players that they had last season to Wisla Can-Pack. So they will be a completely different team. Elina Babkina who played in Challes-les-Eaux last season will join Milka Bjelicaas, Dora Horti and Daria Mieloszynska in the quest for EuroLeague Women glory.
MKB EuroLeasing return with just three key players from last year: Amber Holt, Katalyna Honti and Tijana Krivacevic. However they have picked up Angel McCoughtry and Zane Tamane, which should make them more than competitive. Rivas Ecópolis' ambitions have grown after the signing of Spanish internationals Amaya Valdemoro and Elisa Aguilar. The addition of Dewanna Bonner and Courtney Paris from America adds a different dimension to the club and gives the coach Javier Forte plenty of room for experiments. Laura Nicholls, another new face, will join up with her international team-mates Tamara Abalde, Clara Bermejo and Anna Cruz. UMMC Ekaterinburg need no introduction. The basic roster is the same from last season. Candace Parker will join in January. With Parker returning either Cappie Pondexter or new signing Crystal Langhorne will have to sit out EuroLeague games under the new ruling. French stars Céline Dumerc and Sandrine Gruda are also on the UMMC roster. Return to index EuroLeague Women Group CReturn to index Return to the EuroLeague Women index Picture credits: womensbasketball-in-france.com
|
