Bourges, Mersin celebrate stepping into the Quarter-Finals; Schio also advance

MUNICH (Germany) - Tango Bourges Basket, CBK Mersin Yenisehir Bld and Beretta Famila Schio all booked their places in the EuroLeague Women Quarter-Finals on Wednesday night.

Bourges were the first to take their ticket and not only made it to the next phase, they extracted revenge for an agonizing one-point home loss earlier in the campaign with a stylish 75-66 road win over BC Polkowice.

It was a typically strong team effort from the French club as they snapped the game open either side of the interval, while five players logged double-digit scoring returns

Anete Steinberga and Yvonne Anderson both scored 14 points, while experienced center Elodie Godin used her know-how to hand out 8 assists. Polkowice did rally late as Zala Friskovec found the hot-hand for 20 points, but that is now four straight defeats as they once again suffered from the absence of injured marquee star, Steph Mavunga.

The biggest drama came in Group B at Spar Girona, where the visiting Mersin got it done 75-73 in overtime as a block in the last second by DeWanna Bonner sent the Turkish team to the last eight of the competition. 

It was a pulsating encounter as Mersin playcaller Roberto Iniguez got one over on his former team despite a super 24 points from Rebekah Gardner for the hosts. Chelsea Gray made a string of clutch plays and claimed 18 points, while Bonner had 12 points and 10 boards in addition to her last second intervention.

The result also ensured Beretta Famila Schio advanced without bouncing a ball, although they will still be keen to get as high a placing as possible and face Kangoeroes Mechelen on Thursday night.

Meanwhile, Fenerbahce Alagoz Holding cemented their status as the clear favorite to win it all as they completed a crushing 93-61 triumph at home to Valencia Basket Club. It was their 11th victory in a row in the competition and was never in doubt after a scorching 32-8 opening.

As well as the margin of victory, it was the 12 assists for Fenerbahce debutante Courtney Vandersloot that was the story of the night. The playmaker completed a double-double with 11 points, while Satou Sabally and Breanna Stewart contributed 20 and 19 points respectively. 

ZVVZ USK Praha also completed a one-sided win as they coasted past Olympiacos SFP 85-54, thanks mainly to pouring in 26 points during the first quarter and an array of strong individual performances. 

Alysssa Thomas stood out with 17 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists, Brionna Jones had a game-high 19 points, with winger Valerine Vukosavljevic barely missing and netting 15 points and 8 boards.

Perfumerias Avenida edged in the direction of a potential Quarter-Finals spot as they extinguished the last eight dream of rookies DVTK Hun-Therm at the same time by winning 70-61 in Miskolc.

The depth of options from the bench was telling for the visitors with 26 of their points from that source, including 11 and 10 points from Leonor Rodriguez and Mariella Fasoula. Meanwhile, Bridget Carleton was one of the starters who impressed with 15 points and 6 rebounds as Avenida won a third consecutive game.

Finally, both Virtus Segafredo Bolgona and Atomeromu KSC Szekszard are already out of the Play-Offs race and they played their penultimate game of the Regular Season against each other. It was Virtus who collected an 89-59 win, prospering from a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds from Iliana Rupert.

FIBA