Chicago Sky Offseason Update #10: Parks Leads Schio to Epic Win
Two Sky stars advance in the EuroCup as one bows out while Robyn and Sika light up the EuroLeague again.
Courtney Williams (Shaanxi — China)
Shaanxi won their second straight on Saturday, and Courtney was at the center of it all with 27 pt, 9 reb, 4 ast and 2 stl. I could talk about her offense all day — and we know the mid-range ability— but it was how her defense impacted the game that drew my attention. Her tight one-to-one defending and closeouts on the perimeter forced a number of misses, and opponents Tianjin’s three-point percentage (22%) reflected the defensive effort of the whole team. Blog favorite and former Sky big Imani McGee-Stafford was also dominant with 25 points and 17 rebounds.
Tuesday’s final scoreline — which saw Shaanxi lose 78–60 — belies how well Williams and co. performed. For three quarters, it was a back-and-forth contest with the third in particular showcasing Shaanxi’s potential. They conceded just 14 points and, despite failing to establish their rhythm in the half court, played brilliantly in transition with Courtney picking apart the JiangSu defense. The fourth, however, was a different story as Shaanxi committed untimely turnovers, struggled to hit shots and even fell victim to a couple of questionable calls. Despite the loss, Courtney filled up the boxscore with 10 pts (albeit on 5/14 shooting), 8 ast, 7 reb and 2 stl. Thursday’s game, which was unfortunately not televised, saw Shaanxi in another close contest with Courtney putting together 19 pts, 7 rebs, 6 asts and 3 steals in a highly-defensive 62–56 loss.
Marina Mabrey & Elizabeth Williams (CBK Mersin — Turkey)
After a weekend off in Turkey, Mersin squared off with USK Praha in a clash of EuroLeague Group B’s top two teams on Wednesday. Mersin — guided by Mabrey’s hot shooting — looked in complete control for a quarter and a half before the Czech slide slowly inched their way back into the game and took a 55–53 lead after three quarters. From there, the fourth quarter was a one possession game throughout with both teams making their fair share of sloppy decisions in the heat of a tightly contested game. Hosts Praha wound up winning 71–67 with a couple of key shots (and favorable foul calls) in the final two minutes, but the quality of the contest will have both teams feeling they are the two natural challengers to reigning champions Fenerbahçe. Mabrey’s hot hand cooled somewhat over the final three quarters, but she still managed 19 pt, 4 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl with her exceptional defensive performance — both 1 v 1 and as a help defender — standing out. Williams managed 12 pt and 9 reb and more than held her own against Ezi Magbegor (Dallas, 11 pt, 9 reb) who has been one of the best players of the EuroLeague season to this point (18.3 pt, 9.7 reb per game).
Alanna Smith (Emlak Konut — Turkey)
Emlak suffered their heaviest loss of the season on Sunday against Ormanspor, but the twenty-five point defeat doesn’t tell the story of the game. What had been a closely contested battle for most of three quarters flipped completely when Smith picked up her fourth foul with a few minutes remaining in the third. Ormanspor led by two at the time, but quickly opened up a double-digit gap with Emlak’s offense going stagnant. Smith returned with around eight minutes remaining in the game to slow the bleeding, but she struggled to offer her usual brand of impact. She missed all three of her attempts after— having shot 4–8 previously — and the deficit continued to baloon before she fouled out with around four minutes left. With or without Smith on the floor, Emlak will struggle to win any game where they score only 18 second half points.
Emlak improved, but only slightly, with 22 first half points in their decisive EuroCup match on Wednesday. They delivered a strong second half (31–27 advantage), but their 20-point halftime hole was simply too much to overcome. Smith was brilliant — delivering her best performance since returning from injury with 21 pt, 5 reb, 2 blk and 2 stl. However, Emlak’s offense seemed to regress back to some of the mistakes that plagued the team’s early season stumbles — committing numerous unforced turnovers and forcing the ball to Alanna despite double and triple teams in the post. Smith’s injury had, for a brief moment, seemed to have forced Emlak to evolve into a more dynamic collective, but the reality was that the Aussie’s absence cost her and the team rhythm that they desperately needed in the last three losses. Emlak (2–4) are eliminated from the EuroCup and focus will now turn exclusively to the Turkish league.
Dana Evans (Beşiktaş — Turkey)
Evans and Beşiktaş were always expected to beat winless Hatay on Saturday, but a dominant first quarter where Dana’s hosts secured a 33–19 edge put the game out of reach early. From there, the result was never in doubt, and the team’s exceptional ball movement (28 assists on 36 made FG) allowed them to coast through the final few minutes. Evans’ efficiency from inside the arc wasn’t stellar, but a hot hand from outside (5/8 3PT) allowed her to lead Beşiktaş in scoring with 26. Dana was also key to the aforementioned assist total with 12 dimes — many of which were headed the way of Li Yueru. The Chinese big dominated in the post — regularly using Evans’ feeds to finish at the basket or draw fouls — and stepped out to hit a pair of straightaway threes on her way to a 21-point outing.
Yueru and sharpshooter Jovana Nogić were exceptional in Beşiktaş’ final EuroCup group stage fixture on Tuesday but Evans struggled in crunch time of the 80–79 loss. She was exceptional in manipulating the defense in the two-player game with Yueru in the first half, but there was definitely moments in the fourth where shots (2/9 FG) felt rushed and Dana could have leaned on her teammates (who shot only 7 times total) more. Any player with such a high usage rate is bound to have the odd off game, but Evans’ 5/16 night from two drops her season mark on those shots to 37.8%. For Beşiktaş to contend in any competition, that rate will have to improve. That said, they still finished top of their group at 4–2 and look well-positioned heading into the knockout rounds. As long as Evans can find Nogić and Yueru (18/32, 48 pts combined) more often when her shots aren’t falling in the future, performances like this will be quickly forgotten.
Sika Koné (Perfumerias Avenida — Spain)
You can throw out a bunch of stats on her play in Saturday’s win over Cadi La Seu (14 pt, 11 reb, 3 blk), but Sika’s plus-minus really tells the tale. In a game that Avenida won by just 6 points, Koné was a team-best +26. After a dreadfully slow start with the Malian on the bench, Koné’s presence on both ends completely changed the energy and brought Avenida back into the fight. In fact, the team’s performance in the first three quarters seemed almost completely dependent on whether Sika was on the floor or not. Even when the starting five finally got going in the final period, it was Koné’s return to the floor with 2:33 left that made the difference in holding Cadi scoreless for the remainder of the game.
Avenida clawed their way back into the mix in Group B with a second consecutive EuroLeague victory where Sika led all scorers with 18 points on 7/10 FG. Opponents Gyor are just 1–6 but provided a strong test over the final three quarters — with Avenida’s strong first period (30–13) proving the difference in the game. This game showcased coach Pepe Vazquez putting more confidence in Koné and stretching the play book out at both ends of the floor. The results were some fantastic offensive play with Sika hitting shots in the mid-range and turning provider alongside her usual dose of productivity at the rim. Defensively, we’re also seeing a more complete and cohesive unit with Koné’s perimeter defense improving week on week. In their current iteration, Avenida are far from perfect, but the potential this team has is massive given it’s just November.
Morgan Bertsch (Spar Girona — Spain)
Saturday’s Girona win over Gran Canaria proved as the latest example of a stop-start role impacting Bertsch’s production at the offensive end. It’s hard for anyone to establish scoring rhythm in just 2:13 of first-half action, and, unsurprisingly, this led to her overall stat-line being muted (4 pt, 4 reb, 2 stl, 1 ast). Even without Bertsch heavily involved, Girona came quickly out of the gates to build an 11-point lead after the first quarter that grew to 19 at the half. Even after the hosts clawed back into the game with a strong third quarter, Girona — with Bertsch and Kelsey Mitchell on the floor for most of the final frame — closed the doors on any chance of an upset by holding Gran Canaria to just 10 points in the fourth.
Mitchell’s departure from Girona (maybe the worst kept secret in Europe) was made official in the mid-week, but it didn’t stop the team from keeping their EuroCup record perfect with a 73–45 home win in their final group stage fixture. Speaking of perfect, Bertsch delivered a stellar offensive performance with 12 pts on 4/4 FG, 1/1 3PT and 3/3 FT. Once again, her playing time wasn’t massive (17 minutes), but she’s finding ways to be productive in spite of the bizarrely limited role. Girona will next play in the EuroCup when the knockout round begins in mid-December, and we should expect to see Bertsch’s offensive productivity tick upwards in those matches with Mitchell no longer in the fold.
Robyn Parks (PF Schio — Italy)
Off the back of a heartbreaking loss in the EuroLeague, Schio stood up to the test of a tough Brescia team to win 73–67. Parks’ shots wouldn’t fall (3–14), but there’s still a lot of good from this performance as she looked clearly the best player on the floor at the defensive end. The box score shows an impressive 3 steals and 1 block, but Robyn’s defensive impact was comprehensive. On top of her usual high standard of 1-v-1 defending, Parks’ help defense was key as she stepped across to bail out teammates, created traps with perfectly timed doubles and jumped into pockets of space to grab critical steals and rebounds. It’s no coincidence that, even on an off shooting night, Parks led the team in minutes played.
Coach Georgios Dikaioulakos’ continued faith in Parks’ shot was rewarded when she took over the game in the fourth quarter of Schio’s EuroLeague win over Valencia on Wednesday. After a solid start for both Parks (5 first quarter points) and Schio (23–16 lead), the visitors from Spain really started to assert themselves in the middle stages of the game. Once again, Schio and Parks knocked back adversity to overcome a six-point deficit after three and win 77–72. Individually, Robyn was dialed in scoring 11 points on 4/6 shooting in the final frame including the three that tied the game at 61 and the key steal and lay-in that put the game out of Valencia’s reach. Her work off the dribble was exceptional — showing a perfect blend of the urgency needed to find her spots and the patience needed to open up the defense. Defensively, the surge of confidence at the offensive end fueled her (and the team’s) play as they conceded just 13 points in the final 10 minutes.
Taylor Soule (San Martino — Italy)
Like Emlak’s defeat Sunday, a 27-point loss for San Martino misrepresents the flow of the game as Soule and compnay led midway through the third (41–40) before the two sides’ offenses diverged. Ragusa shot a ridiculous 72% after the half-time break as compared to San Martino’s 28%. San Martino’s porous defense was a result of (1) great shotmaking and (2) the pressure they always apply in the half court. Their blitzes in the second half were ever so slightly off the mark, and the result was a lot of long closeouts and open shots (8/12 3PT in the second half for Ragusa). If I had to guess, coach Giuseppe Piazza knows this is a consequence of his team’s high-energy style and will live with the occasional lopsided result it produces. Personally, Soule was stellar offensively with 17 (7/11 FG) and did her best to keep the defensive energy up even as the game slipped away.
Check back again next Friday when I’ll recap all of the coming week’s games including domestic action and EuroLeague (round 8) play. 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 wrote earlier in the season