MUNICH (EuroLeague Women) – The last week of 2018 action was eventful as Maria Vadeeva set a career high, Fenerbahce didn't know whether to laugh or cry and Alyssa Thomas showed out as usual.

Here are the main talking points from Week 7 – according to our women's specialist Paul Nilsen, aka @Basketmedia365

Vadeeva sets landmark high

 
The sensational talent of Maria Vadeeva was on show as UMMC dismantled Castors Braine with their usual ruthless efficiency. Vadeeva led the way as she registered her career high in the competition by going a staggering 14-of-17 from the field and accumulating a sparkling 32 points. This was also the joint-best tally by any player this season. So the big question is, how long do you think this new high tide mark will stand for? Weeks, months, or years?

Bitter-sweet for Fenerbahce?

After a dreadful first half against Carolo Basket, there was a nice recovery after the break for Fenerbahce who signed off 2018 with a victory. The game was indicative of their season as a whole so far – up and down. While there were celebrations afterwards as they improved to 4-3, the cold truth is that the legendary Turkish club has just posted their worst start to a season since 2001. Quite the bitter-sweet feeling for Coach Garnier and her players heading into 2019. Bags of potential and talent, but clearly work to do.

Thomas still a runaway train

The most impressive debutante this season and arguably the Regular Season MVP so far, Alyssa Thomas shows no signs of slowing down. Not for the first time, she is a major talking point and her output for ZVVZ USK Praha against CCC Polkowice (one of the best defenses in the tournament) means she heads the Team of the Week. Simply unstoppable, she racked up a near triple-double of 21 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists. She also had 4 steals and 2 blocks at the defensive end as well. She is a runaway train right now and all we can do is watch and marvel at her exploits. What a player!

Schio failing on the fundamentals

While a large chunk of the 0-7 record of Famila Schio can be apportioned to that major roster surgery undertaken during the off-season, there is also two other big reasons they have not got a single W on the board. Their perimeter game is appalling at 27 triples from 118 attempts. But teams have shooting slumps and they have created many good looks. Perhaps the most galling aspect is that their strength is supposed to be their frontcourt lineup which boasts size and top players like Sandrine Gruda, Jantel Lavender and Eva Lisec. So with this in mind, how can Nadezhda be allowed to rack up a monumental 53 rebounds in that 16-point loss – more than any other club has managed in a game all season long? But then rebounding isn't only about size, is it?

Under The Radar

- The enjoyment levels of veteran guard Zsofia Fegyverneky and THAT block. Check out the quick smile afterwards.

- Brionna Jones of Nadezhda made it a scintillating 9 double-doubles in a row in the competition during the win against Famila Schio.

- Bourges Basket produced the second-best team shooting performance in the competition this season when they dropped 59.3% of their shots against ESBVA-LM.

- We are still waiting for a players to snap up 6 steals or more in a single game this season.

FIBA