2014–15 EuroLeague Women

April 2015 2014–15 EuroLeague Women EuroLeague Women Basketball November 2014 – April 2015 Regular Season Dynamo Kursk (Group A)Fenerbahçe (Group B) Alba Torrens (Ekaterinburg) Nneka Ogwumike (Kursk) Final Four CZE ZVVZ USK Praha RUS Ekaterinburg Kia Vaughn EuroLeague Women 2013–14 EuroLeague Women 2013–14 2015–16 EuroLeague Women 2015–16 The 2014–15 EuroLeague Women season was the 19th edition of EuroLeague Women under its current name. Including the playoffs, the season ran from 11 November 2014 until 12 April 2015. Fifteen teams across eight countries were divided into two groups, with the top four from each group advancing to the postseason. Dynamo Kursk won Group A with a 10–2 record, while Fenerbahçe won Group B with an 11–3 record. In the best-of-three quarterfinals, Dynamo Kursk beat CJM Bourges Basket, UMMC Ekaterinburg beat Nadezhda Orenburg, ZVVZ USK Praha knocked off CB Avenida, and Fenerbahçe beat Galatasaray OdeaBank. In the first semi-final, Praha upset Fenerbahçe 62–49. Ekaterinburg beat Dynamo Kurst 81–70 in the second semi-final, avenging two previous losses to Kurst on the season. Praha, which hosted the Final Four, got off to a quick start in the final and led 17–12 after the first quarter. Ekaterinburg fought back in the final minutes of the second quarter, narrowing the lead to 32–28 at the half. Praha started the third quarter strong and held a double-digit lead through much of the quarter, ending it with 50–40 advantage. Ekaterinburg made multiple runs in the fourth quarter, narrowing the deficit to as few as four points. However, a basket by Danielle Robinson with 2:23 left extended the lead to 11. A furious comeback effort in the final minute cut the margin to two points with 6 seconds remaining before Jana Veselá hit two foul shots to provide the final margin of 72–68. In the third-place game, Kurst defeated Fenerbahçe, 67–58. Format For the 2014–15 season, fifteen teams took part in the regular season. Participants were divided into two groups – one with eight teams and one with seven teams. The regular season began on 11 November 2014 and ended on 18 February 2015.EuroLeague Women Season 2014–15 Drawn FIBA Europe; 6 July 2014 The top four teams of each group during the regular season advanced to the quarterfinal playoffs, which were played in a best-of-three format from 3 March until 11 March. The winners advanced to the Final Four, which were single elimination, with games taking place on 10 April and 12 April.EuroLeague Women 2014–15 changes format; FIBA Europe; 5 July 2013 Teams Fifteen clubs entered the draw at Munich's Kempinski hotel on 6 July 2014. A potential 16th club could have been added with 24 hours, but was not.EuroLeague Women Draw Seedings FIBA Europe; 4 July 2014Alba Iulia Joins EuroLeague Women FIBA Europe; 5 July 2014Alba Iulia Withdraw From EuroLeague Women FIBA Europe; 16 September 2014 Two countries had three clubs each (Russia and Turkey) and three countries had two teams each (Czech Republic, France, and Poland). The draw was structured such that Russia had two teams in one group and Turkey two teams in the other. The other multi-team countries had one team in each group. Seed 1 Seed 2 Seed 3 Seed 4 Seed 5 Seed 6 Seed 7 Seed 8 Group A Russia UMMC Ekaterinburg TUR Galatasaray Odeabank SVK Good Angels Košice CZE ZVVZ USK Praha Russia Dynamo Kursk Poland Wisła Can-Pack Kraków France Basket Lattes Group B TUR Fenerbahçe France CJM Bourges Basket Italy PF Schio Turkey Abdullah Gül Üniversitesi Russia Nadezhda Orenburg Spain CB Avenida Czech Republic BK Brno Poland Energa Toruń Country Teams Teams (ranking in 2013–14 national championship) Russia Russia 3 UMMC Ekaterinburg (Champion) Nadezhda Orenburg (2nd) Dynamo Kursk (3rd) Turkey Turkey 3 Galatasaray Odeabank (Champion) Fenerbahçe (2nd) Abdullah Gül Üniversitesi (3rd) Poland Poland 2 Wisła Can-Pack Kraków (Champion) Energa Toruń (4th) France France 2 Basket Lattes (Champion) CJM Bourges Basket (2nd) CZE Czech Republic 2 ZVVZ USK Praha (Champion) BK Brno (2nd) Spain Spain 1 CB Avenida (2nd) Italy Italy 1 PF Schio (Champion) Slovakia Slovakia 1 Good Angels Košice (Champion) + Key      2015 Euroleague Champion      Runner-up      Third place      Fourth place      Eliminated in quarterfinals      Eliminated in the regular season Regular season Europe 700 right Location of teams of the 2014–15 Euroleague Women regular season.8px Red: Group A; 8px Green: Group B. Europe 56 51 N 60 36 E RUS 15px UMMC Ekaterinburg Red_pog.svg Europe 50 05 N 14 25 E top CZE 15px ZVVZ USK Praha Red_pog.svg Europe 51 43 N 36 11 E top RUS 15px Dynamo Kursk Red_pog.svg Europe 50 04 N 19 57 E top POL 15px Wisła Can-Pack Kraków Red_pog.svg Europe 43 34 N 3 54 E bottom FRA 15px Basket Lattes Red_pog.svg Europe 40 51 N 29 01 E bottom TUR 15px Fenerbahçe Green_pog.svg Europe 48 43 N 21 15 E bottom SVK 15px Good Angels Košice Red_pog.svg Europe 41 10 N 28 57 E top TUR 15px Galatasaray Odeabank Red_pog.svg Europe 40 58 N 5 40 W top ESP 15px CB Avenida Green_pog.svg Europe 47 08 N 2 40 E top FRA 15px CJM Bourges Basket Green_pog.svg Europe 51 47 N 55 05 E bottom RUS 15px Nadezhda Orenburg Green_pog.svg Europe 38 44 N 35 29 E top TUR 15px Abdullah Gül Üniversitesi Green_pog.svg Europe 45 43 N 11 22 E bottom ITA 15px PF Schio Green_pog.svg Europe 49 11 N 16 36 E left CZE 15px BK Brno Green_pog.svg Europe 53 01 N 18 37 E top POL 15px Energa Toruń Green_pog.svg When teams had the same record at the end of the regular season, tiebreakers were applied in the following order:Euroleague Regulations 2014–2015 PDF http://www.euroleague.net/rs/60374/84bd1f8d-134d-42a0-a8ee-cd688d29aaa2/c24/filename/2014-2015-el-regulations.pdf 13 April 2015 Head-to-head record of teams still tied. Head-to-head point differential. Point differential during the regular season. Points scored during the regular season. Sum of quotients of points scored and points allowed in each regular-season match. Group A Dynamo Kursk won Group A over fellow Russian team UMMC Ekaterinburg on a tiebreaker after both teams finished with a 10–2 record. USK Prague finished third with a 6–6 record. Galatasaray claimed the final playoff spot on the basis of a 2–0 record against Wisła Can-Pack after both clubs finished with a 5–7 record. Wisła's season, while disappointing overall, included a victory against Dynamo Kursk. Basket Lattes won three of their first four games, but recorded just one win the rest of the season to finish at 4–8. Lattes finished dead last in rebounding in the EuroLeague, but had the highest field-goal percentage and lowest points allowed of any team to miss the playoffs. Good Angels Košice finished last in the group with a 2–10 record. The team struggled to score, but did manage to sweep defending champion Galatasaray.Regular Season Week 14 Review http://www.fibaeurope.com/euroleaguewomen/cid_-tmRPCfrIrYRSO2M5V49E1.pageID_jXMvdK2WH,6Xh91LMHmg,1.compID_jr6ZiXqeGhMBtfq1yxqV83.season_2015.coid_b8xd51HrHzUAudN7munij3.articleMode_on.html 13 April 2015 FIBA Europe 19 February 2015Scoreboard: First Round FIBA Europe http://www.fibaeurope.com/euroleaguewomen/cid_-tmRPCfrIrYRSO2M5V49E1.pageID_q5Lg6x,VGe-RCoAwb3SXq2.compID_jr6ZiXqeGhMBtfq1yxqV83.season_2015.html 13 April 2015 main WL Q points KUR Russia Dynamo Kursk EKA Russia UMMC Ekaterinburg PRA Czech Republic ZVVZ USK Praha GAL Turkey Galatasaray OdeaBank KRA Poland Wisła Can-Pack Kraków LAT France Basket Lattes KOS Slovakia Good Angels Košice 10 0 2 926 844 10 0 2 924 769 6 0 6 854 853 5 0 7 759 757 5 0 7 790 839 4 0 8 775 820 2 0 10 694 840 Tiebreaker: 2–0 Tiebreaker: 0–2 Tiebreaker: 2–0 Tiebreaker: 0–2 #CCFFCC A A A A #FFCCCC E E E y noflag BSR grey 77–67 75–52 106–63 77–78 77–69 84–74 56–67 67–68 63–45 91–87 59–66 43–72 51–71 59–50 55–68 70–92 50–66 70–74 56–66 53–64 70–50 77–62 76–70 86–72 74–73 72–68 66–52 92–68 77–59 70–65 58–74 48–59 65–60 72–62 61–69 72–77 71–77 43–72 76–57 67–66 83–87 80–69 complete Group B Fenerbahçe won Group B with an 11–3 record. Nadezhda Orenburg finished in second place with a 10–4 record, winning the tiebreaker over Avenida on the basis of head-to-head point differential. Bourges Basket took the final playoff spot with a 9–5 record. Abdullah Gül Üniversitesi got off to a slow start, winning just one of their first five games. They finished strong, but a late loss to Nadezhda left them outside the playoffs with a final record of 7–7. Employing an aggressive style of play, the team finished first in most fouls drawn. BF Schio lost star player Chiney Ogwumike early in the year to injury, but still managed some impressive wins. The team scored 72.9 points per game, but also gave up the third most points per game in the league. In their inaugural EuroLeague season Toruń had three wins on the year, but were 1–9 in their last ten. They finished first in the league in steals, but gave up the second-most points per game. Brno did not win a single game on the season, and only kept the final margin in single digits once. They had the league's worst defense. main WL Q points FEN Turkey Fenerbahçe NAD Russia Nadezhda Orenburg AVE Spain CB Avenida BOU France CJM Bourges Basket AGU Turkey Abdullah Gül Üniversitesi SCH Italy PF Schio TOR Poland Energa Toruń BRN Czech Republic BK Brno 11 0 3 1004 857 10 0 4 956 825 10 0 4 973 859 9 0 5 981 875 7 0 7 1004 995 6 0 8 1021 1007 3 0 11 940 1102 0 0 14 770 1129 Tiebreaker: 1–1 (+5) Tiebreaker: 1–1 (−5) #CCFFCC A A A A #FFCCCC E E E E y noflag BSR grey 71–63 77–73 64–53 78–84 64–71 75–82 96–76 71–64 59–48 73–42 66–60 61–50 75–58 70–64 79–71 73–55 88–38 67–61 58–50 79–67 72–54 64–76 55–88 48–79 52–85 50–78 68–83 62–82 73–57 66–63 75–50 79–54 65–54 68–63 76–63 49–53 66–50 78–68 88–55 64–56 84–74 65–63 74–80 65–90 79–59 87–58 59–75 58–77 93–61 83–78 77–89 63–88 79–71 67–81 50–82 58–79 complete Quarter-finals Team no. 1Agg.Team no. 2Game 1Game 2Game 3 1. Dynamo Kursk Russia 2 – 1 France CJM Bourges Basket 75–62 62–64 88–72 2. UMMC Ekaterinburg Russia 2 – 0 Russia Nadezhda Orenburg † 81–54 86–75 3. † CB Avenida Spain 0 – 2 Czech Republic ZVVZ USK Praha 48–50 43–72 4. Fenerbahçe Turkey 2 – 1 Turkey Galatasaray OdeaBank 58–56 57–59 63–52 Notes: † Despite Nadezhda finishing second in Group B, according to the EuroLeague Women Regulations Article 14, Note 1:"If there are three (3) clubs from the same country qualified for the Quarter-Final Play-Offs and two (2) of these clubs are scheduled to play each other according to the system of competition, no changes are required.If none of the three (3) clubs are scheduled to play each other according to the system of competition, then they will be ranked according to their results from the Regular Season. The 2nd ranked club will then play against the 3rd ranked club." † Taking into consideration the above regulation, CB Avenida (8–4) have the home court advantage over fellow third-placed team ZVVZ USK Prague (6–6) on account of their superior win–loss ratio.Quarter-Final Play-Off Pairings Decided FIBA Europe; 19 February 2015 Final four Semi-finals 10 April Final 12 April Third place Turkey Fenerbahçe 49 Czech Republic ZVVZ USK Praha 62 Russia Dynamo Kursk 70 Russia UMMC Ekaterinburg 81 Czech Republic ZVVZ USK Praha 72 Russia UMMC Ekaterinburg 68 Turkey Fenerbahçe 58 Russia Dynamo Kursk 67 Bids to host the 2015 Final Four were accepted until 19 February. On 9 March, it was announced that USK Prague had held selected as the host club. It was the first time the club ever hosted the event, but not the first time it was held in the Czech Republic – Brno has hosted the tournament three times (1999, 2006, and 2008).Prague to Host Final Four 9 March 2015 http://www.fibaeurope.com/euroleaguewomen/cid_-tmRPCfrIrYRSO2M5V49E1.pageID_jXMvdK2WH,6Xh91LMHmg,1.compID_jr6ZiXqeGhMBtfq1yxqV83.season_2015.coid_0psuY3BcGj2qi2VNZ7t8Y3.articleMode_on.html FIBA Europe Semi-final 1 #eee 10 April 2015 18:00 Recap Turkey Fenerbahçe 49 62 18–17 10–10 14–18 7–17 Czech Republic ZVVZ USK Praha T. Charles – 14 T. Charles, Q. Hollingsworth – 8 T. Charles, B. Demirmen – 2 K. Vaughn – 15 K. Vaughn – 12 L. Palau – 7 Královka Arena 2,500 Jasmina Juras (SRB), Susana Gomez Lopez (ESP), Carole Delauné (FRA) Semi-final 2 #eee 10 April 2015 15:00 Recap Dynamo Kursk Russia 70 81 13–26 9–20 27–16 21–19 Russia UMMC Ekaterinburg I. Alben – 15 S. Augustus – 8 E. Prince – 5 S. Gruda – 20 C. Parker – 15 C. Parker – 4 Královka Arena 2,100 Anne Panther (GER), Fabiana Martinescu (ROU), Maka Kupatadze (GEO) Third-place game #eee 12 April 15:00 Recap Russia Dynamo Kursk 67 58 18–12 12–14 18–16 19–16 Fenerbahçe Turkey N. Ogwumike – 21 N. Ogwumike – 14 S. Augustus – 4 T. Charles – 23 Q. Hollingsworth – 11 B. Demirmen – 2 Královka Arena 2,100 Anne Panther (GER), Carole Delauné (FRA), Sonia Teixeira (POR) Final The starting five for UMMC Ekaterinburg were Kristi Toliver, Deanna Nolan, Alba Torrens, Candace Parker, and Sandrine Gruda. USK Prague started Laia Palau, Danielle Robinson, Jana Veselá, Sonja Petrovic, and Kia Vaughn.Laia Palau, campeona de Euroliga con USK Prague 12 April 2015 http://www.encancha.com/noticia/14/15/laia-palau-campeona-de-euroliga-con-usk-prague/18280.html 13 April 2015 en Cancha es 13 April 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150413191439/http://www.encancha.com/noticia/14/15/laia-palau-campeona-de-euroliga-con-usk-prague/18280.html dead Although the game was held in Prague, Ekaterinburg was considered the favorite. Praha used a series of fast breaks and efficient three-point shooting to get off to an early 17–10 lead.Czech team USK Prague win FIBA EuroLeague Women title 12 April 2015 http://www.aa.com.tr/en/sports/492644--czech-team-usk-prague-win-fiba-euroleague-women-title 13 April 2015 Anadolu Agency A layup by Silvia Dominguez made the score 17–12 at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, Prague quickly extended its lead to nine points. After a basket by Veselá again put Prague up by nine, 27–18, with 3:27 left in the quarter, Ekaterinburg scored the next six points to get within three. The final 1:40 of the quarter saw several scores by both teams, ending with two free throws by Toliver that made the score 32–28 in favor of Prague at the halftime break.UMMC Ekaterinburg 68–72 ZVVZ USK Praha FIBA Europe http://www.fibaeurope.com/euroleaguewomen/cid_-tmRPCfrIrYRSO2M5V49E1.gameID_10413-8-A-1.compID_jr6ZiXqeGhMBtfq1yxqV83.season_2015.roundID_10359.teamID_2070.html 13 April 2015 Gruda led all players with 11 points, while Parker led with 6 rebounds. Veselá led Prague with 9 points. Ekaterinburg won the rebounding battle 23–16, but failed to make a three-pointer (0/7). Prague was 4/6 on three-point attempts. Efficient offensive by Prague, and especially Robinson who scored 10 points in the third quarter, allowed Prague to build a double-digit lead. Prague's defense was also good in the period, not allowing a single fast-break point. At the end of the quarter, the score was Prague 50–40. The "beautiful" fourth quarter saw a comeback effort by Ekaterinburg led by Parker and Gruda. With six minutes to go, a Parker basket and subsequent foul shot cut the lead to four. However, two quick baskets by Prague pushed the lead back to nine. A Veselá steal and layup, described by FIBA as the game's most crucial play, and a basket by Robinson with 2:23 to play gave Prague a 67–56 lead and seemingly put the game out of reach. However, a furious comeback effort by Ekaterinburg ensued. Parker made back-to-back baskets while drawing fouls. She missed the free throw on the second one, but got the rebound and a basket, resulting in 7 total points between the two possessions. Prague missed several foul shots, leaving the door partially open for Ekaterinburg. A steal and basket by Nolan with six seconds left cut the gap to two points. However, Veselá hit two foul shots to seal the victory and provide the final 72–68 margin. Vaughn scored 18 points (12 in the second half) and grabbed 12 rebounds. She was named MVP of the Final Four thanks in part to a strong semi-final performance. Robinson scored a team-high 24, while also recording 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Parker led all players with 27 points and 14 rebounds in a losing effort. Gruda added 19 points and 9 rebounds, and Torrens scored 12. The rest of the team scored just 10 points on 4/24 shooting. As a team, Ekaterinburg was just 1/16 on three-pointers compared to 5/9 for Prague. The win gave Natália Hejková her fifth Euroleague title as a coach and made her the first coach to lead three different clubs to a title. She previously coached Ružomberok to the title in 1999 and 2000 and Spartak Moscow to the title in 2007 and 2008. She has never lost a final game. Veselá claimed her third title as a player, all with different teams, becoming the sixth player to win at least three Euroleague Women titles. #ffffd0 12 April 2015 18:00 Recap ZVVZ USK Praha Czech Republic 72 68 17–12 15–16 18–12 22–28 Russia UMMC Ekaterinburg D. Robinson – 24 K. Vaughn – 12 L. Palau – 6 C. Parker – 27 C. Parker – 14 D. Nolan – 4 Sportovni Hala Kralovka (Prague) 2,500 Jasmina Juras (SRB), Fabiana Martinescu (ROU), Maka Kupatadze (GEO) Statistical leaders Alba Torrens of UMMC Ekaterinburg was named Player of the Year. Statistical leaders include the postseason are sorted on a per game basis. Points Rk Name Team Games Points PPG1USA Nneka OgwumikeRUS Dynamo Kursk1733119.52USA Diana TaurasiRUS UMMC Ekaterinburg1423616.93USA Jantel LavenderPOL Wisła Can-Pack Kraków1220216.84USA DeWanna BonnerRUS Nadezhda Orenburg1525116.75USA Candace ParkerRUS UMMC Ekaterinburg1625415.9 Source: FIBA EuropeStatistical Leaders: Points Per Game http://www.fibaeurope.com/euroleaguewomen/default.asp?cid=%7BFB7C1B64-CA75-4B58-9B71-809615F10939%7D&pageID=%7BF1F539C6-527D-4CA3-A0F2-89D9CA6FE50E%7D&compID=%7BB751A3B2-1D28-42B5-8BDE-9D01F3BD1F23%7D&season=2015&statCat=PTS 13 April 2015 Rebounds Rk Name Team Games Rebounds RPG1USA Candace ParkerRUS UMMC Ekaterinburg1617611.01USA Nneka OgwumikeRUS Dynamo Kursk1718210.73USA Jenna SmithCZE BK Brno1414410.34USA Angelica RobinsonESP CB Avenida1616410.35USA Jantel LavenderPOL Wisła Can-Pack Kraków1212210.2 Source: FIBA EuropeStatistical Leaders: Total Rebounds http://www.fibaeurope.com/euroleaguewomen/default.asp?cid=%7BFB7C1B64-CA75-4B58-9B71-809615F10939%7D&pageID=%7BF1F539C6-527D-4CA3-A0F2-89D9CA6FE50E%7D&compID=%7BB751A3B2-1D28-42B5-8BDE-9D01F3BD1F23%7D&season=2015&statCat=RT 13 April 2015 Assists Rk Name Team Games Assists APG1ESP Laia PalauCZE ZVVZ USK Praha161147.12USA Diana TaurasiRUS UMMC Ekaterinburg14835.93RUS Epiphanny PrinceRUS Dynamo Kursk17875.15USA Courtney VanderslootPOL Wisła Can-Pack Kraków12534.45ESP Nuria MartínezTUR Galatasaray OdeaBank15644.3 Source: FIBA EuropeStatistical Leaders: Assists http://www.fibaeurope.com/euroleaguewomen/default.asp?cid=%7BFB7C1B64-CA75-4B58-9B71-809615F10939%7D&pageID=%7BF1F539C6-527D-4CA3-A0F2-89D9CA6FE50E%7D&compID=%7BB751A3B2-1D28-42B5-8BDE-9D01F3BD1F23%7D&season=2015&statCat=AS 13 April 2015 See also 2014–15 EuroCup Women References External links http://www.fibaeurope.com/euroleaguewomen/ Category:EuroLeague Women seasons