Chicago Sky Offseason Update #18: When One Door Closes...
Courtney bids farewell to China, Alanna returns for Emlak and a trio of Sky stars qualify for the EuroLeague quarterfinals.
Courtney Williams (Shaanxi — China)
Williams confirmed she’s leaving Shaanxi and returning to the US—possibly to play in Athletes Unlimited next month—last Saturday (1/21). She finished with impressive averages of 18.8 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 5.2 APG, 1.8 SPG and 0.3 BPG in 24 games in China.
Marina Mabrey & Elizabeth Williams (CBK Mersin — Turkey)
Despite playing a Nesibe team ranked much further down the table at home on Saturday, Mersin slumped to their 4th defeat in 6. The margins—in what wound up as a double OT thriller—were very tight, and Mersin, whether through poor execution, questionable officiating or bad luck, missed a number of chances to put Nesibe to the sword after leading by 13 at the half. While both could have been more efficient, Mabrey (36p, 9r) and Williams (13p, 18r, 6bl) did everything they could to extend the game. Marina—in particular—delivered in the clutch by coolly hitting 5 of 5 free throw attempts in the final minute of regulation to send the game to OT. One trend to watch moving forward is whether teams are able to limit Marina (1 ast) as a playmaker like Nesibe did. After a stretch of games where her passing (especially off the drive) had created so much, there was a clear—and ultimately successful—effort to limit her time and space to pick apart the defense.
Győr, last place in EuroLeague Group B, gave Mersin a similar scare in the midweek—though Williams, Mabrey and company eventually overcame a slow start (45-40 halftime deficit) and a back-and-forth final quarter (which Győr won 21-19) to punch their ticket to the EuroLeague quarter-finals. This game was the latest example of how efficiently Marina can score the ball—as she dropped in 23 on 9/14 FG and 4/5 3PT—but it also showcased how effective her playmaking is at bringing her (and teammates) into the flow of the game. During a first quarter where Mabrey made just 2/5 shots from the field, her decision making was impeccable and she found teammates in spots where they could be successful. With a lot of defensive focus again coming her way, Marina’s ability to assess the floor, break the doubles that came and help Mersin get the best shot was key in building confidence and rhythm offensively. It’s lost in the wider context of the game, but a stunning double-block by Williams (3 blocks and 2 steals) on Győr’s final possession of the first half (which kept Mersin within two scores) served as a perfect springboard for their dominant, and ultimately decisive, third quarter (17-5 score).
Alanna Smith (Emlak Konut — Turkey)
Facing a Kayseri team that just added Dearica Hamby alongside Joyner Holmes in its front court, Smith returned from her brief injury absence and quickly knocked off the rust in a brilliant outing. Despite facing a bevy of high-quality double teams, Alanna generally did well to score through the coverage or find her open teammates. Unfortunately, in spite of Smith’s efficiency (7/8 FG), a lot of the attempts her teammates made to continue feeding her in the post ended up as turnovers with Smith (7 TO) seemingly getting tagged for some of the lost balls that were aimed in her direction. Consequently, she wasn’t able to take over the game down low like she otherwise could have and Emlak left a number of chances to extend positive runs on the table. The end result: a tight 89-80 loss that, to be frank, wasted Lan’s standout return of 22 points, 9 boards, 3 assists, 2 blocks and 1 steal.
Dana Evans & Li Yueru (Beşiktaş — Turkey)
Beşiktaş had a bye in the league and the next round of the EuroCup doesn’t begin until mid-February. They’re next in action Saturday (1/27) against Ormanspor.
Sika Koné (Perfumerias Avenida — Spain)
Nacho Martinez couldn’t have asked for a more favorable debut as his time on the bench started with a home match against last placed Bembibre (1-16). And as you’d expect, Avenida capitalized with a largely dominant performance that saw them coast to an 86-60 win. As far as style of play, it will be some time before adaptations become evident; however, one change that is paying dividends is the addition of Arica Carter. The former Louisville guard can still improve from an efficiency perspective, but the threat of her scoring from the outside stretches opponents out and gives Sika—and stretch four Laura Gil (14 p)—more chances to score inside. Carter also regularly looks to feed Koné in the post which—in point guard Silvia Domínguez’s continued absence—helps keep the Malian in the flow of the offense. It wasn’t Sika’s most dominant offensive performance, but she still delivered great efficiency adding 11 on 5/8 FG and 9 rebounds—including three on the offensive glass.
Wednesday’s tight win away to Polkowice represented a huge step forward for Avenida as they now need only a win at home against last placed Győr next week to seal their place in the knockout rounds. While Gil (25 p) and Carter (19) did their fair share of damage, Sika didn’t factor heavily in Martinez’s plans for his first EuroLeague game in charge and finished with 6 points and 5 boards in just 15 minutes of action. It’s difficult to say whether Gil’s brilliance, the match-up with Polkowice’s front court, Martinez’s preference or a combination of those factors triggered the downturn in minutes, but this match served as Koné’s first sub-twenty minute outing since mid-October. Thus, from a personal standpoint, it will be worth tracking the Malian’s role in the coming weeks—with hopes that this was a blip and not her new coach’s plan moving forward. In any case, I have to think everyone at the club—Sika included—will be overjoyed with the sudden upturn in form Avenida are delivering during this decisive stretch of the season.
Morgan Bertsch & Rebekah Gardner (Spar Girona — Spain)
With Morgan (7p, 1r) playing just 4 second-half minutes and 13 total, it’s hard to comment too much on her play, but Rebekah’s impact felt more apparent even with just 14 minutes and a somewhat muted stat line (2p, 4r). Defensively, some of her best work was undermined by tough foul calls, but her movement both on and off the ball gave Girona dynamism that much of their other offensive play lacked. In this particular game, Gardner couldn’t get the high percentage looks that her movement created to fall (1/5 FG), but the scoring figures will improve with time if she can continue to arrive in the same types of areas. Overall, Girona look in need of that extra spark offensively—as they too often settled for spot up threes without giving their offense a chance to run to completion and find better looks. On this day, solid mid-range and three-point shooting (10/25 3PT) plus a physically imposing fourth-quarter defense allowed them to survive a 6-6 score in the final frame, but they’ll be well aware of the need to gain fluidity moving forward.
Robyn Parks (PF Schio — Italy)
Facing a Venezia team who were unbeaten coming in, Schio delivered their latest impressive showing to move to 4-1 in 2024. After a slow start where they failed to score in the game’s opening 4 minutes, Parks finally opened the scoring and—from there—Schio were largely in control for the remainder of the game. It was without a doubt a game of runs, but Schio surged at the end of each of the first three quarters which set the table perfectly for them to hold on even when their opponents made a run in the final frame. On a personal level, Parks scored in double figures for the 11th straight game and finished with 11 points, 4 boards and 2 assists. In the aforementioned stretch of 11 games, Parks has averaged 15.9 points per game on staggering 50/45/90 shooting splits. As Schio’s front court players return to full health, their interior offense has steadily improved and Parks has shown a penchant for feeding her bigs in the post—suggesting her assist numbers could also be on the rise in the season’s final months.
At home against Zaragoza on Wednesday, Parks extended her double-digit scoring streak with an 11-point outing but was far more influential on the defensive end where she had 4 steals, 4 rebounds and a block on her way to a game best plus-minus (+18). Others couldn’t match Parks’ statistical output, but the collective’s defensive effort—especially when rotating to close off openings created by others helping—was exceptional and allowed them to slam the door shut on their Spanish opponents after halftime (just 27 points allowed). Their offense was also very team oriented as 7 players chipped in 6 or more points—thanks largely to great efficiency inside the arc (59.5% 2PT) and at the line (11/14 FT). Also noteworthy: Schio’s ability to convert big leads into victories in each of the three games since their tough slip-up against San Giovanni earlier in the month. Parks, once again, was key to that effort as Schio went on a 12-3 run after she returned to the floor in the fourth—effectively sealing the win and, with it, Schio’s place in the EuroLeague knockout round.
Taylor Soule (San Martino — Italy)
In a tight game, one bad quarter can seal your fate, and San Martino found themselves unable to climb out of the hole they dug in a 27-6 second on Sunday. Despite the lopsided halftime score, they did well to rally in the second half and clawed within a point with 1 minute remaining, but an untimely turnover on their next offensive trip ended the comeback charge. Soule—like her teammates—was typically solid at the defensive end but couldn’t get shots to fall (3-10 FG). In that respect, this game was a good reflection of how box score statistics don’t always tell the full story as Taylor’s shot selection, on the whole, was good, and she could’ve easily shot 60-70% on many other days. To no one’s surprise, Soule continues to produce in other areas—even when the shots aren’t falling—with 9 boards, 4 assists and a steal in this contest.
Check back again next Friday when I’ll recap all of the coming week’s domestic action plus the final round of EuroLeague group stage action. You can find the best site to stream the different leagues live and the full schedule of games over the coming week in this article I update on a regular basis.