NICE (EuroCup Women 2017) – The pieces are falling into place for rookie entrants Cavigal Nice Basket 06 as they prepare to write the opening chapter of their first ever EuroCup Women adventures.

They will take to the court next month in what will be a historical moment as they compete in Group G of Conference 2 against familiar domestic rivals Basket Landes, Italian side Umana Reyer Venezia and either BC Elfic Fribourg or Basket 90 Gdynia.

They will have a Rio Olympian and former EuroCup Women winner Laetitia Kamba to show them the way, with the forward having been crowned a champion in 2015 with Villeneuve d’Ascq.

Her team-mate from last year in Camille Aubert also brings a touch of quality to the backcourt and she is very familiar with EuroCup Women after playing for Nantes Reze and Basket Landes – as well as for ESBVA-LM in EuroLeague Women.

The presence of Aubert will help the development of the highly-rated Alix Duchet and her development, with the rising star tipped to make an impression in future seasons after an eye-catching career at youth level for France. Another young player in Mamignan Toure arrives from Lyon as she looks to increase her production from the shooting guard spot.

The frontcourt will have an interesting mix, German national team player Romy Bar re-signing to add a degree of continuity – although she will be operating with some new faces around her. In addition to the arrival of Kamba from Villeneuve d'Ascq, Jodie Cornelie will ignite her pro-career after graduating from NCAA outfit Dayton, while there will be a big onus on Victoria Macaulay who briefly played in the WNBA. She arrives via Energa Torun in Poland and will be expected to be the team’s anchor in the paint.

Importantly, Isabella Strunc and Ambrosia Anderson will re-take their place on the wings and with both players averaging more than 20 minutes per game last season, their presence will help the new recruits to settle as Nice look to make a splash on their debut.

FIBA