POL/USA - Wisla’s one-woman wrecking crew

KRAKOW (Olympics/Euroleague women) - There is one colossal difference to Wednesday’s EuroLeague Women encounter between Wisla Can-Pack Krakow and Bourges when compared to the first meeting between the clubs in late October.

Tina Charles, fresh off an MVP-winning campaign with the Connecticut Sun, did not play for the Polish giants that day and they lost in France, 61-55.

The World and Olympic champion of the United States made her debut in the third week of the EuroLeague and she’s been on fire in the competition ever since.

When Charles, who turned 24 on 5 December, runs onto the court in Krakow to meet Bourges, she will do so with a chance to continue what has already been a remarkable streak.

In all four rounds that the 1.93m center has played for Jose Ignacio Hernandez’s team, Charles has scooped the Player of the Week award.

She goes into the Bourges clash averaging 29 points and 13.5 rebounds per contest.

Those are both tops in the league.

She is number one in various other categories as well, including average minutes per game (38.8) and field goal percentage (76.9).

A two-time NCAA champion in her four-year run with the University of Connecticut, where she played for coach Geno Auriemma, Charles wasn’t a slouch in her first two EuroLeague Women campaigns.

With Nadezhda in the 2010-11 season, she averaged 19 points and 12.3 rebounds while last year with Galatasaray, Charles’ numbers were impressive at 18.7 ppg and 8.9 rbg.

Wisla, despite Charles’ presence, suffered their third defeat of the campaign on her season debut but have since prevailed in all three of their EuroLeague Women games.

Bourges, a team that has its own stable of stars in French Olympians Endene Miyem, Emmeline Ndongue and Celine Dumerc, will be without their Swedish guard Frida Eldebrink as she recovers from an arm injury.

FIBA