As a true shining star of the CSKA team since 2006, Stepanova was
twice FIBA Europe Player of the Year and won the Euroleague in 2005
with Samara. The Russian international became a European champion
with Russia's national team in 2003 and 2007, and led the team to a
second-place finish in 2005. Stepanova was a bronze medalist at the
2004 Athens Olympics as well as at the last Beijing Olympics. She
also led Russia to a silver medal at the 2006 World Championship.
On CSKA Moscow's side, Ann Wauters' club, the rumor says that Candace Parker, the young American Olympic champion, could be hired by CSKA
to replace Stepanova and her reported $700,000 salary. There are some
reports that the financial crisis led CSKA to release Stepanova to
save money.
Stepanova played for Volna Saint Petersburg of Russia in the season
1994-95, Force Majeure Saint Petersburg of Russia in 1995-96, CSKA
Moscou of Russia from 1996 to 1999, Gambrinus Brno of Czech Republic
from 1999 to 2002, MiZo Pecs of Hungary in 2002, Samara of Russia
from 2003 to 2006 and CSKA Moscow from 2006 to 2008. Now she joins
French coach Laurent Buffard in Ekaterinburg.
In on-court news, in Group A of the Euroleague, Magyar side MiZo Pecs
won for the third time in five games by knocking off Bourges Basket
62-58. Hungary international Anna Vajda had 17 points and seven
rebounds to lead MiZo Pecs. Hungarian international guard Dalma Ivanyi remains the Euroleague assist leader with 7.6 per game.
Bourges Basket of Coach Pierre Vincent, after a 3-0 start in this
major European women clubs’ competition, has now lost two in a row.
But Bourges Basket has experienced its share of Euroleague ups and
downs – this is 13th consecutive year in the competition.
Halcon Avenida Salamanca hit the Group A summit after a 77-67 win
over the Poles of Wisla Can-Pack Krakow, who played without U.S. top
scorer Chamique Holdsclaw (an average of 20.3 ppg so far in
Euroleague 2008-09). Michelle Snow finished with 24 points and 13
rebounds for the Spanish team, and was assisted by Latvian shooting
guard Gunta Basko. Spain’s international, Marta Fernandez of Wisla
Can-Pack Krakow, also had a great start in Euroleague season, as she
led her team to a 3-2 record so far.
Besiktas Cola Turka trailed by 13 early in the second quarter but
stormed back and finally defeated Nadezhda Orenburg 89-81. The
Turkish team, led by Israeli scorer Shay Doron and current Euroleague
leading rebounder Laura Harper (11.8 rpg), claimed a hugely important
victory, their second in five games, as they try to reach the next
phase of the Euroleague Women from Group A. Russian team Nadezhda,
despite its impressive roster with Shameka Christon, Zane Tamane of
Latvia and the very tough Begoña Garcia, suffered a fifth successive
defeat.
In Group B, Euroleague first-year team Umana Reyer Venezia of Italy
won for the fifth consecutive time last week by edging CSKA Moscow
66-63. Vanessa Hayden-Johnson scored 19 points and grabbed 13
rebounds for Umana Reyer while Katie Douglas led CSKA with 23 points.
There were two critical moments in the last quarter. Douglas drilled
a jumper to close the gap to 56-55 with over five minutes to go. Just
after a timeout, Italian national team member Simona Ballardini
buried a three-pointer for Venezia and Umana Reyer then jumped in
front by an eight-point margin. CSKA Moscow battled and again closed
the gap to 65-63 with just 45 seconds remaining after Belgian star
Ann Wauters (18 points, 12 rebounds) hit a three-pointer. The Russian
side players then needed to commit several fouls before Umana Reyer
went to the line. When they did, Daliborka Jokic made one of two for
the 66-63 final win. CSKA is now 3-2.
Also in Group B, ESB Lille Metropole finally broke into the win
column in the Euroleague Women 2008-09, and the Northern French side
did so in convincing fashion against Latvian strugglers TTT Riga. The
French outfit rolled to a rather easy 71-53 win over Riga, leaving
both sides with 1-4 records in Group B. Géraldine Robert has done a
good job at rebounding for ESB Lille Metropole since the beginning of
the Euroleague season: 10.4 rpg.
MKB Euroleasing Sopron, with U.S. forward Amber Holt on the roster,
edged Gambrinus Sika Brno of Coach Jan Bobrovsky 68-65 in Euroleague
Group B. Kathleen MacLeod spearheaded the offensive effort for MKB
with 17 points while Jelena Milovanovic chipped in 13 and Dóra Horti
12.
In Group C of the Euroleague, Stepanova came off the bench and had 10
points, eight rebounds and two blocks in just 12 minutes for her new
club, UMMC Ekaterinburg, in an 85-65 win at Union Hainaut. She had
signed with “dream team” Ekaterinburg and has it remain one of the
only two unbeaten sides in the Euroleague competition at 5-0 (with
Umana Reyer Venezia in Group B). Polish national team star Agnieszka Bibrzycka poured in 23 points to lead UMMC. She made seven of 11
shots from long range.
UMMC Ekaterinburg took a while to get going at Union Hainaut Basket
(formerly USVO). Leading just 42-40 in the beginning of the fourth
quarter after a three-pointer by Union Hainaut's Vedrana Grgin-
Fonseca, Buffard's team finally came to life in the city of
Valenciennes where he once coached. With such players as Sandrine
Gruda, Penny Taylor, Deanna Nolan, Cappie Pondexter, Asjha Jones,
Svetlana Abrosimova, Elena Baranova, Oxana Rakhmatulina and the
arrival of Stepanova, UMMC Ekaterinburg definitely becomes the team
to beat this season in Euroleague.
Also in the same group, Ros Casares Valencia of current Euroleague
leading scorer Amaya Valdemoro (20.6 ppg) claimed an important win in
Croatia with an 83-72 victory over Jolly JBS Sibenik. The visitors
cruised over the final 20 minutes to move into sole possession of
second place at 3-2 in Group C behind UMMC Ekaterinburg. It might be
a crucial win for the Pistoleras of Valencia on a court where Union
Hainaut Basket, led by Belgian guard Kathy Wambe and French guard
Sabrina Palie as well as USK Prague of French experienced forward
Sandra Le Dréan, had previously lost. Jolly JBS Sibenik, led by the
Constance Jinks-Ivana Jurcevic-Kerri Gardin trio dropped to a 2-3
record.
Lotos PKO BP Gdynia with an excellent Natallia Marchanka, who played
for Belarus at the Olympic Games this summer, applied the defensive
clamps against ZVVZ USK Prague early on and ended up winning 71-57 in
the third Group C matchup of last week. The Polish giants are now 2-3
while USK Prague of Evina Maltsi, Lindsay Whalen and Sonja Kireta has
fallen to 1-4. Jacek Winnicki's team outscored USK Prague 23-11 in
the first quarter and by halftime the home side had built an 18-point
advantage.
Elsewhere, Team USA center Sylvia Fowles made 25 points and also
pulled down 17 rebounds to help spark two-time defending champions
Spartak Moscow Region to a 93-70 win at Lattes-Montpellier. With an
11.4 scoring average, Fowles is also ranked third in total rebounds
so far in this competition. Spartak, with WNBA stars such as Lauren Jackson and Diana Taurasi, never trailed in the Euroleague Group D
contest as they improved to 4-1 while dropping French side Lattes-
Montpellier to 0-5. Lattes-Montpellier of Coach Valery Demory (a
former French men’s NT guard) had lost only by two points against the
Slovak team of Broker Kosice, coming that close to a first Euroleague
win. Despite this disappointing record for the French side, Lattes-
Montpellier’s Sheana Mosch is second (20.4 ppg) in the leading
scorers’ ranking of the Euroleague so far.
Turkish side Fenerbahce Istanbul clinched their third success of the
Euroleague 2008-09 season with a late 73-68 Group D victory over
Beretta Famila in Schio, Italy. Turkey international Esmeral Tuncluer
led Fenerbahce in their road triumph with 20 points.
TEO Vilnius thumped Maxima Broker Kosice 72-49 to go top of
Euroleague Group D. The TEO women, who defeated two-time defending
champions Spartak Moscow Region earlier in the fall, sent out another
clear message that they are a force to be reckoned with Crystal Langhorne pouring in 19 points (and she gets an 11.6 rpg).
As the Euroleague is now well under way, FIBA Europe also reminds
European women basketball fans that the Euroleague All Star Game 2009
will take place in Paris on March 8. The fourth Euroleague Women’s
All Star Game will be hosted in the French capital after having been
held in Pecs (Hungary), Valencia (Spain) and Moscow (Russia) in the
last three years.
In the Eurocup, the second major continental clubs’ competition,
Elitzur Ramla won for the third successive time as they defeated Red
Star Belgrade 65-62 in their Group C clash in early November. Nikki
Anosike had 23 points and 16 rebounds for the Israeli team.
Meanwhile, Szeviép Szeged cruised to their third straight victory in
Group D with an 89-71 triumph at Solna Vikings. The visitors led
44-37 at halftime and then delivered a third-quarter knockout punch
by outscoring the Swedish outfit 23-12.
Ibiza-PDV won their Eurocup Women Group H clash at Arvi Marijampole
62-57and t Spanish team remains a favourite in this competition. The
visitors went on a 13-4 run at the start of the fourth quarter and
went on to outscore the home side 26-17 over the final 10 minutes.
Dynamo Moscow also rolled to a 93-64 win at KSSSE AZS-PWSZ Gorzow in
the Eurocup. Australia’s international Belinda Snell made five of
seven shots from long range and finished with 23 points for Natalia
Hejkova's Dynamo. Another undefeated team is also doing well: former
Euroleague participant Dexia Namur, coached by Titi Delsaux and led
by Belgian guard Marjorie Carpréaux and scorer Pauline Akonga Nsimbo,
is ranked first in Group L and even defeated Spartak MR Noginsk of
Russia, BC Star TLÜ of Estonia and Botas Spor of Turkey rather
easily.
After three days of Eurocup competition, Ambrosia Anderson of
Portuguese club Olivais Coimbra was leading in scoring with an
average of 24.7 ppg. Cailfornia-born Lady Comfort of Montenegro’s top
team ZKK Buducnost led in rebounding with an average of 14.0 rpg. The
leader in assists is U.S. guard Sharnee Zoll of Romania’s CSS-LMK SF.
Gheorghe with eight per game.