EuroLeague Women Preview: Wednesday 25 January

KURSK (EuroLeague Women) – There are seven EuroLeague Women games to enjoy on Wednesday as the leading clubs start looking to secure their places in the last eight of the competition.

As the only unbeaten team, Dynamo Kursk will book their spot if they make it ten in a row against BLMA. However, they will be wary of the qualities of their opponents, who are riding high  after last week's win against Fenerbahce - indeed they land on Russian soil with an eye-catching 6-3 record.

"It was the first time that we have beaten one of the top teams," reflected BLMA head coach Valery Demory.

"We really played to our strengths - most notably with defensive mobility and with some fantastic energy.

"It proved that we can compete with the top teams," he added.

Also in Group A, Fenerbahce and ZVVZ USK Prague will be expected to move closer to qualification for the next phase when they entertain the struggling CMB Cargo Uni Gyor and Mersin respectively. 

Another French team who excelled last week were ESBVA-LM as they took down Nadezhda to improve to 5-4 in Group B. Now they face a difficult match at Perfumerias Avenida, perhaps their main rivals for fourth spot in the Group.

ESBVA-LM playmaker Virginie Bremont made the Team of the Week after her contribution against Orenburg and is hoping her team can maintain the high standards set in the game.

She will certainly have even more scope to shine after fellow point guard Olivia Epoupa was ruled out with an injury.

She said: "We were at 200% against Orenburg who are a very good team and importantly when they came back against us, we managed to keep our calm.

"We also managed to keep playing together both in attack and on defense. While there were obviously still some mistakes, it was nothing compared to the previous loss at Bourges.

"We managed to stay focused on the game and it was important to be connected together.

"It felt like a positive force and it would be nice to reproduce it with every game and not just [every] once in a while," stressed the point guard.

The other games in Group B see CCC Polkowice hit the road and on their continued quest of a first win as they step out at Nadezhda who will be reeling from a big domestic loss to Kursk. Meanwhile, Tango Bourges will be hoping to continue their EuroLeague Women renaissance at home to Uniqa Sopron.

Group A

Dynamo Kursk v BLMA

...

Fenerbahce v CMB Cargo Uni Gyor

...

ZVVZ USK Prague v Mersin

...

Group B

UMMC v Hatay

...

Nadezhda v CCC Polkowice

...

Tango Bourges v Uniqa Sopron

...

Perfumerias Avenida v ESBVA-LM

...

FIBA