Team Profile: UMMC Ekaterinburg
EKATERINBURG (EuroLeague Women 2017) – It’s the turn of the reigning champions as UMMC Ekaterinburg prepare to tip-off their title defence in EuroLeague Women 2017 with a rare unchanged roster.
Last season: UMMC landed their third EuroLeague Women title after finishing top of the pile at the Final Four in Istanbul. It wasn’t pretty and yet to the credit of head coach Olaf Lange and his players, they got the job done and took the coveted silverware back to Ekaterinburg.
Roster: It’s very much the same set-up in the UMMC locker room this season as everyone returns to the same pegs they had last year. The big-hitters will once again be Diana Taurasi and her fellow USA Olympic gold medallist Brittney Griner, with more stardust sprinkled by yet another Rio Finalist in Spain’s dynamic Alba Torrens. Emma Meesseman joined later in the season last year and the Belgian standout is back preparing for her first full campaign in the tournament after another impressive summer in the WNBA with the Washington Mystics, while Sancho Lyttle remains a defensive powerhouse, even if injuries have curtailed her recently and she will need to get back to full health again. The frontcourt and wings will also be populated by Russian quartet Natalia Vieru, Anna Petrakova, Mariia Cherepanova and Olga Arteshina, with the guard spots seeing Slovenian ace Nika Baric still pulling the strings with Kristi Toliver, Evgenia Belyakova shooting the three ball with devastating accuracy and Deanna Nolan bringing her energy in what will see her rack up a decade in the city.
Key player: It’s not possible to look beyond a EuroLeague Women and indeed women’s basketball legend like Diana Taurasi because she remains the kingpin of the teams and some might even say the competition. She is entering her sixth season with six titles to her name and will once again be the driving force and player for the clutch moments – something which has been the case throughout her stellar career.
‘X-Factor’: Behind the starting rotation, the supporting cast all need to be on top form this year if UMMC are to make history and claim back-to-back titles for the very first time. It’s going to take more than relying on Taurasi, Griner and Torrens with other teams like Fenerbahce and Dynamo Kursk looking equally stacked.
Stat attack: UMMC were the leading scorer’s last year after averaging 75 points per game across the Regular Season.
Social media stars: Go and follow Emma Meesseman [emmameesseman] on twitter and Anna Petrakova [petraulove] on Instagram
Outlook: Having captured the title last season, there is something which UMMC have never done which is at the top of their agenda for 2016-17 and that is defending their crown successfully. They still look like the team to beat on paper because of their stacked roster and even more so because unlike previous summers, they have opted to retain the same personnel which means guaranteed continuity and chemistry. UMMC set the standards and as usual, it will take something special to beat them – although Galatasaray and ZVVZ USK Prague showed in 2014 and 2015 what is possible and that remains as a warning to sharpen UMMC’s focus. We will also get an early glimpse of them in this Thursday's SuperCup Women Final.
FIBA
