Passion of Powers and Plum and a dazzling Davis debut headline top 10 talking points
MUNICH (EuroLeague Women) – A vibrant Aerial Powers and Kelsey Plum partnership for Fenerbahce and a stellar Galatasaray debut for Kaela Davis headline this week's top 10 EuroLeague Women talking points.
1. Plum delivering under pressure, the ever increasing power of Powers
.@Fenerbahce's dynamic duo @Aerial_Powers23 and @Kelseyplum10 combined for 43pts and led the 🇹🇷 side to a BIG win 🔥! #EuroLeagueWomen@WNBA @DallasWings @LVAces @USABasketball pic.twitter.com/4LVcR3BSOy
— EuroLeague Women (@EuroLeagueWomen) January 11, 2018
With social media on fire with speculation about the future of Plum at Fenerbahce and how their guard lineup might look moving forward, the American guard came up with a sensational shooting performance. She went 4-of-5 from downtown in that pulsating 80-77 win against UMMC.
My 'inner coach' just LOVES it when the momentum shifter and play of the game is a defensive one! @Kelseyplum10 was sensational but hats off @aerial_powers23 for this as it turned the tide at just the right time! Tebrikler @Fenerbahce - great double over UMMC #EuroLeagueWomen pic.twitter.com/b0Uayn5QbJ
— Paul Nilsen (@basketmedia365) January 10, 2018
The energy and passion that Aerial Powers brings to the table along with Plum looks to be priceless for Fenerbahce. After hitting the highest score of the season during Week 10, it was noticeable that this time around, Powers showed the intensity of her game at the defensive end with arguably the pivotal moment against UMMC, earning her spot in the Top Performer lineup alongside Plum.
2. Davis doing the business on debut
🏀 @KaelaD3
— WNBA Overseas (@WNBAOverseas) January 12, 2018
📝 24 Pts (4/8 3Pts) - 4 Reb - 2 Ast - 1 Stl#EuroLeagueWomen: @GSBasketbol#WNBA: @DallasWings pic.twitter.com/Eahg5JZJ1r
The Dallas Wings star wasted little time in making an impression on her EuroLeague Women debut and she gets my vote for Individual Performance of the Week. She rocked up in Istanbul and dropped 24 points in her first outing against Castors Braine - also crucial as it stopped the rot for Galatasaray.
3. Even legends get nervous
For all young players out there, take note. It can be a good thing to be a little bit nervous and it even happens to absolute legends of the game like Laia Palau. She made a winning return to the competition with Bourges.
4. Confusion at BLMA
It has been a dreadful campaign for BLMA and confusion has reigned supreme in the past 24 hours after the club announced the arrival of WNBA star Sugar Rodgers and then removed the Twitter post - one that also suggested Giorgia Sottana was off to Fenerbahce. All of that as they dropped to 1-10 after being blown out at Nadezhda. Must be feeling tough right now for Coach Rachid Meziane.
5. The depth of Yakin Dogu Universitesi
As each week passes, you get a greater appreciation of the depth at the disposal of Yakin Dogu who comfortably beat a mid-ranked team full of internationals like Perfumerias Avenida - despite a string of absences. Quanitra Hollingsworth, Olcay Cakir and Ann Wauters would get into most lineups and yet Yakin Dogu posted a commanding 80-56 win without them.
6. UMMC needing the physicality of Moore
We questioned last week what might happen to Alba Torrens upon the arrival of Maya Moore at UMMC. But perhaps the loss to Fenerbahce highlighted that as well as the prolific scoring power and influence of Moore, she will also bring a hardened physical edge which Ekaterinburg really do need. They have a lot of finesse and quality players, but perhaps not that excessive physical and commanding presence – other than Griner.
7. A little bit of history repeating?
A sign for FB? ... @BC_UMMC lose 3 Regular Season games for the first time since 2011-12. @Fenerbahce the first team to do the double over the Russian club since that same season when eventual champions Ros Casares did it 🏆 - history to repeat? #EuroLeagueWomen pic.twitter.com/QdU18PgXd0
— Paul Nilsen (@basketmedia365) January 10, 2018
So yes, Fenerbahce are waiting for their first EuroLeague Women trophy and the last time a team did the Regular Season double over UMMC, they went on to lift the silverware. Can the Turkish giants follow in the footsteps of Ros Casares in 2012? Hopefully for them yes, although they will also hopefully not follow the part about disappearing from the tournament as Ros Casares did!
8. Bourges changing their ethos as they go five in a row
It was noticeable that the dynamism of Bourges was one of the first things that Laia Palau spoke about as she debuted for the French side. After the conservatism of Pierre Vincent and Valerie Garnier, it now looks like Olivier Lafargue has given the green light for his team to cut loose and express themselves. Why would you not want to with the exciting talents like Marine Johannes, Valeriane Ayayi and Alexia Chartereau? Palau stated: "This team is amazing, now Bourges is a big offensive team."
9. Wisla CANPACK coming up with the Team Performance of the Week
Just pipping Fenerbahce to the award, Wisla CANPACK grabbed their best result of the season so far as they went and won 68-59 at Famila Schio to take the Team Performance of the Week accolade!
10. Jelena Milovanovic breaking her hand
Jobbulást Jeca! Get better Jeca! @EuroLeagueWomen #weareoneteam #sopronbasket pic.twitter.com/3I0r2RzLdP
— WB SOPRON (@WBSopron) January 11, 2018
Sopron Basket are flying high with their best campaign in recent memory and so it was a crushing blow when revealed that Jelena Milovanovic broke her hand against ESBVA-LM. That could rule her out for the rest of the EuroLeague Women season depending on how far Sopron go. Best of luck in your recovery!
All of our talking points are selected by our women's basketball specialist Paul Nilsen. You can follow him @basketmedia365
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