Chicago Sky Offseason Update #15: Dana & Marina Deliver an Instant Classic
The Turkish Cup delivers a pair of Skytown classics while Sika & Avenida add reinforcements and get back to winning ways.
Courtney Williams (Shaanxi — China)
Courtney and Shaanxi returned home on Friday but weren’t able to keep their momentum going after two away wins. The box score suggests that Shaanxi dominated the third (22-13) before Hebei flipped the script in the fourth (24-14), but the eye test felt much different. Hebei—fueled by 33 and 19 from the eternal Tina Charles—certainly played well late, but it was a tight, one-possession game up until the final 30 seconds when Hebei finally sealed the deal by going up 5. Williams, despite the loss, continued her recent string of form with 23 points (10/24 FG), 4 rebounds and 4 assists while fueling the third quarter stretch where Shaanxi pulled in front. If the WCBA rules were different and Shaanxi’s coach had the option to deploy Courtney and interior force Imani McGee-Stafford (to counter Charles) together for more minutes, I suspect their winning run may have continued.
Back on the road Sunday against Shanxi, Shaanxi’s road winning streak also ended with an 88-61 loss in a non-televised game. Courtney scored 20+ again with 24 points on 11/24 FG while pulling in 10 rebounds and dishing out 4 assists. Shaanxi’s recent struggles have left them three games adrift of the WCBA playoff line with their next game, post FIBA qualifying break, set for the 17th of February.
Marina Mabrey & Elizabeth Williams (CBK Mersin — Turkey)
Mabrey & Williams both sat out of Friday’s 77-43 win away at Hatay—offering a few extra days of rest after a chaotic December. The duo returned for Tuesday’s Turkish Cup quarter-final—which Mersin won on the back of a dominant second half from Elizabeth. From the jump, there was a clear emphasis on feeding her in the post, and Mersin reaped the rewards heavily when Galatasaray’s front court faded late. Marina and the other guards brilliantly manipulated the pick-and-roll throughout the fourth—allowing Williams to finish nearly everything (30 pts, 14/17 FG) that came her way and put away what had been a tight game. Mabrey—to her credit—also efficiently scored 24 (53/44/80 shooting) while pulling down 6 boards and registering a season-high 9 assists. Thursday’s semi-final was an epic encounter with Dana & Li’s Beşiktaş which is worthy of its own full blog. For a game with high stakes and such a competitive group on the floor, words and analysis simply can’t do this one justice. Mabrey delivered a stunning offensive show with 34 points and 9 assists, and her extra degree of defensive intensity was probably the deciding factor in the 87-84 win. Never one to be left behind on defense, Williams had two blocks—including one which sealed the game late—and supported Mabrey’s efforts with a nineteen-point outing of her own.
In the final, against the mighty Fenerbahçe, both Mabrey (23) and Williams (15) has respectable scoring nights, but their playmaking (9 & 7 assists) and their dominance on the glass (11 & 15 boards) made an even bigger difference on the outcome. Defensively, their ability to step up and apply tight pressure—even after switches—in the final minutes and OT was also critical to Mersin limiting Fener’s high-powered offense. Unfortunately, even on your best day, the greatest players in the world can deliver the extra dose of quality that wins the game, and Emma Meesseman is definitely on that shortlist. Her ridiculous buzzer-beating three cost Mersin a chance at a second-overtime after the Sky’s duo contributed to a brilliant final defensive possession. In any case, this performance—and the prospect of further reinforcements joining—should give Mersin confidence that a run at the Turkish and EuroLeague titles is still very possible.
Alanna Smith (Emlak Konut — Turkey)
As I’ve said repeatedly (and above) when Sky players have squared off against them, playing Fenerbahçe is no joke. They usually find a way to beat you even if you play your best, and I think it’s fair to say that Saturday was far from Emlak’s best. As a team, they committed 22 turnovers—with Fener’s swarming coverages forcing them to pass into tight windows or lose the ball to the trap. As a result, it was always going to be virtually impossible to win the game, and a thirty-point deficit midway through the second quarter effectively closed the door on any chance of victory. Despite the loss, Smith was efficient once again—even after a slow start shooting the ball. The Aussie totaled 21 points on 7/13 FG, 3/6 3PT and 4/4 FT while also grabbing 9 rebounds. In addition, Smith added to her impressive season tallies with 1 assist, block and steal each.
Smith and Emlak, like Mersin, had a place in the Turkish Cup quarterfinals, but their run was extinguished almost as quickly as it began. Emlak’s performance, in a 72-63 loss, suggested they had narrowed the gap to Ormanspor (who beat them 88-63 in November), but a 26-point second half ultimately doomed their hopes of keeping pace to the end. New signing Feyonda Fitzgerald missed this one with injury—meaning coach Murat Alkas had to lean heavily on his starters. Under those circumstances and when Alanna—probably the team’s best player—struggles offensively, winning against any top team is quite challenging. Thus, Smith’s rare off night (4 pts, 2/12 FG) couldn’t have come at a worse time. Even then, her impact remains evident—with a plus-minus of ±0 in a 9-point loss.
Dana Evans & Li Yueru (Beşiktaş — Turkey)
Saturday’s win—for fifteen minutes—was quite close before Evans’ playmaking and Beşiktaş’ shooting from behind the three point line blew the game open. Dana finished with 24 & 9 and, despite shooting well (6/7) inside the arc, it wasn’t her dribble penetration that got shooters open as is often the case. Instead, the inventiveness of the passes Evans threw—both in transition and in the half court set—completely sliced the defense apart. By my count, Evans assisted on at least 5 of her teammates’ three-point field goals (they shot 8/18 3PT) while dishing out two of her dimes from the other side of the half-court line. Not to be forgotten, Yueru’s impact felt less apparent than in recent games, but her stats (18 p, 18 r) were equally as dominant.
Dana delivered one of her most dazzling performances of the season so far in the Turkish Cup quarterfinal on Tuesday. Her pace of play made all the difference as she both (1) blew by defenders to finish at the rim and (2) drew them in with measured drives when opening the lane for teammates in the pick-and-roll. The result was a win and another double-double (her 4th this season) comprised of 27 points, 12 assists and 6 rebounds. Regardless of its intentionality, Evans’ aggressiveness as a passer as of late has made her even more dynamic—with 48 assists and 91 PPG in Beşiktaş’ last five. That aggressiveness, of course, can only benefit Li who delivered 19 points and 13 boards.
In big games, Evans only seems to know how to excel and Thursday’s Sky-heavy semifinal was no exception. She scored 25, dished out 9 assists, grabbed 5 boards and had a pair of steals while applying pressure at both ends that clearly unsettled Mersin. Granted, her efficiency (and that of Yueru [13 p, 4/11 FG]) can be better, but it’s key to consider the impact her drives and penetration have against a defensive anchor like Elizabeth Williams. Fener remain a lofty target for all in Turkey, but Beşiktaş should feel confident they have what is needed to, at the very least, contend with everyone else domestically after this strong, albeit ultimately disappointing, showing in an 87-84 overtime loss.
Sika Koné (Perfumerias Avenida — Spain)
Avenida finally won against Araski to snap their five game skid on Saturday and Sika, unsurprisingly, played a big role with 10 points and boards in 24 minutes. Even when Koné went to the bench, Avenida were able to stay on top as Bernadett Határ made her debut and looked right at home (6 pt, 4 reb in 15 min). Both Határ and the team’s other new arrival, Chantel Horvat, seem to mesh nicely with the team already—meaning coach Pepe Vásquez’s primary challenge will be finding a way to reinvent his rotations. In the short term, the key to this game was Avenida’s ability to score (50/48/92 shooting). Határ and Koné helped establish a robust inside presence, Leonor Rodríguez went aggressively to the basket, and shooters—often open as a result—hit shots. Namely, Andrea Vilaró scored 15 points on just 6 shots—all from behind the arc.
Statistically speaking, Koné’s performance (9 p, 6 r) against Jairis on Wednesday wasn’t one of her most impressive of the season. What it did showcase, however, was the Malian’s (ever so slight) return to her physical best. After playing through injuries for such a long period, all of the new arrivals have started to ease the burden on her shoulders, and the result is shorter outings that allow Sika to look more fresh—in spite of what I’m sure are still nagging ankle and shoulder issues. From the field, she’ll have more efficient nights (4/10 FG), but her activity levels made a considerable difference on the glass—even when she wasn’t the one getting the rebound on the stat sheet. Whether by virtue of her work during the possession or her ability to secure the boards that ended them, Koné was a key cog in Avenida’s outstanding defensive performance (44 pts and 29% FG allowed). Another arrival—Arica Carter—debuted against her former club and looked sharp with 9 points in just 14 minutes of a dominant 73-44 win.
Morgan Bertsch & Rebekah Gardner (Debut: TBD) (Spar Girona — Spain)
Friday’s win over Cadí La Seu probably won’t live long in Bertsch’s memory, but it served as the latest reminder of how efficient of a scorer she can be. With just 4 shots, Bertsch managed to scored 7 points while collecting 5 rebounds and dishing out a pair of assists. In Girona’s first game with new head coach Roberto Íñiguez on the bench, there was a few small changes, but time will tell how big of a difference the former Mersin coach is able to make. A continued trend that will be on his radar: 3-point shooting. Girona have shot 20/100 over their last five games—a mini-slump they’ll hope to break quickly with the EuroCup last sixteen first leg set for Wednesday. As a reminder, that EuroCup tie is also against La Seu—meaning Girona can look to build off this 72-59 road win when they make the return trip west next week.
In the meantime, Girona made all sorts of uncharacteristic errors in their 57-47 home loss to league leaders Valencia on Wednesday. The second quarter—where Girona shot 1/7 and committed 12 turnovers (including unforced TOs on 5 trips straight)—really highlighted how out of sorts they looked. I could write a whole blog on everything that went wrong, but the good news for Íñiguez is that most of the errors seem tied to one of three areas: bad luck, bad outside shooting, and a new playbook. Time will tell whether Girona settle in their new coach’s system (it’s strange just how apparent the negative impact of the change seemed in this one), but the other two issues should even out over time. When Girona did get to the basket, they still scored at a decent clip and their defensive performance was exceptional. Bertsch (9 p, 7 r) had a pair of steals and a fantastic chase down block—highlighting her continued defensive consistency.
Robyn Parks (PF Schio — Italy)
Parks and Schio played last weekend’s Italian league fixture early—meaning the recap made it in my previous blog. Schio return to action, in Italian Cup play, at home against Roma next Sunday (Jan. 7).
Taylor Soule (San Martino — Italy)
For three quarters, it really looked like San Martino might be the team to give Venezia their first loss in league play. Up to that point, San Martino matched Venezia almost basket for basket—as reflected by the 48-48 scoreline after three—and once again flashed their credentials as ‘best of the rest’ in the Italian league behind Venezia, Schio and Bologna (though, at 7-5, they’re joint 5th). However, the fourth quarter—where the hosts scored just 7 points—told a very different story. San Martino hit just 3 of 15 attempts from the field while Venezia’s work from behind the three-point line (4/8 3PT) was plenty to win. For Soule, it was a tough game as she failed to score or offer her usual brand of defensive impact—though she did grab 4 boards and dish out 2 assists.
Thursday’s Italian cup loss at home to Roma proved a perfect personal bounce back for Soule. She set a new career high with 21 points and added 10 boards to notch her first professional double-double. After a slow start, San Martino pulled back into the game in the second quarter before both teams traded blows for much of the second half. The ending, unfortunately, soured what should have been a celebratory occasion. With less than a minute left, possession, and a chance to tie, San Martino failed to hit but an offensive rebound from Soule gave them second life. Cruelly, as Soule went up for a put back lay-in, her shot was partially blocked, and the ball never fully left her hands—leading to an unusual (but accurate) traveling call. In the context of her overall performance, the decisive play seems unfair, but the confidence that Soule showed going to the basket throughout bodes well for the games ahead—with San Martino now set for a ten-day break.
Check back again next Friday when I’ll recap all of the coming week’s domestic action, the return of EuroLeague play (round 11), and the first leg of the EuroCup Round of 16. 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.