Chicago Sky Offseason Update #5: Sika Koné’s Breakout Begins
Checking in on the Chicago Sky players in action overseas including Elizabeth Williams, Alanna Smith, Marina Mabrey, Dana Evans and more.
The European calendar (while chaotic with 8 Sky players on 7 different teams) offers an attractive window into what an expanded WNBA calendar with months of twice-weekly action would look like. Also, we have a new name in this week’s rundown as there’s been a Courtney Williams sighting in China. Let’s check in on how the Sky’s biggest stars and most promising prospects (shoutout Sika and Taylor!) are coping with the frenetic schedule:
Courtney Williams (Shaanxi — China)
It appeared that, at least until Athletes Unlimited tipped off next year, Williams would be set for a quiet winter. Instead, she surfaced as a signing for Chinese side Shaanxi Red Wolves on Thursday morning before making her debut later that evening. The Wolves won 99–71 — moving her new side to 1–3 on the season. Williams, understandably, probably needs some more time to get up to speed with her new team, but she was still able to settle into a nice rhythm scoring 25 points to go along with 8 assists and 6 rebounds. Given she came off the bench and played less than 25 minutes, there’s still a lot of stats out there to be had — meaning we could well see triple-double Court again in the near future. Likewise, her 0/4 effort from three doesn’t match up with her fantastic 44.3% clip in the W — meaning scoring 30+ shouldn’t be too difficult in the near future.
As an aside, I linked their tweet above, but if you’re interested in following the W players in China — this page has all of the info. The European leagues have lots of English-language data but if you’re like me and know 0 Chinese, this page is an invaluable resource.
Marina Mabrey & Elizabeth Williams (CBK Mersin — Turkey)
After a tumultuous week that saw Mersin’s coach Roberto Iñiguez depart just six league games into the new season, Mersin returned to the win column in league play even in the absence of Marina Mabrey on Saturday. For Williams, it was a bit of an off scoring night (2 pts, 1–6) but she did fill out the stat sheet with 4 assists, 2 steals and a block.
Wednesday, Mabrey returned to the line-up with one of her most impressive performances of the young season. Despite the shooting stats (4–12) not looking overly impressive, Marina got the Mersin offense rolling early with 7 makes at the line pushing her game total to 17. She kept the ball moving (6 assists) and was active defensively (3 steals), but her work on the glass caught the eye most (7 boards). Numerous key rebounds by Marina helped Mersin capitalize on their dominant defense (17 total points allowed in the 1st & 4th quarters) and limit second chance opportunities. Elizabeth, predictably, was efficient on her way to 10 points (4–8 FG, 2–2 FT) and delivered her usual impact in the other categories (5 reb, 4 ast, 1 block, 1 steal). There’s a long way to go but Mersin remain well positioned in their EuroLeague group and continue to flash their potential as one of the tournament favorites.
Alanna Smith (Emlak Konut — Turkey)
Emlak were able to sustain the momentum they built up in their dominant EuroCup win in the midweek on Sunday against Hatay — winning comfortably 89–67. As opposed to some recent games where she had completely dominated the proceedings, Alanna seemingly coasted her way to a comfortable 23 points and 13 boards on 12 attempts over just twenty-six minutes of action. Hatay, bereft of size, seemed intent on sending doubles Smith’s way every time she got the ball in the first half, but the impact was limited as she repeatedly burst through the double and finished at the basket. When her path to the hoop was cut off, Smith consistently found open teammates (4 assists). In the context of her overall dominance it’s minor, but Smith will be happy to see her free throw shooting improve (9/10) in the last three games after a slow start (25/41) in Europe.
Unfortunately, Thursday’s game against Arka Gdynia was not so kind to Smith. Having endured a tough shooting night (2/12, 7 pts), Smith suffered what looked like a pretty serious injury in the third quarter. I’m not going to speculate on what the impact of the injury (which appeared to be to her ankle) will be long term, but it’s a disappointing outcome for a player who’s been playing fantastic basketball over the last 6 months. If nothing else, Alanna rejoined her team behind the bench late and her seemingly endless supply of positive energy should help her through any needed recovery. In her absence, Emlak fought to the end but were narrowly beaten and now sit third in their EuroCup group at 1–2 with three matches left.
Dana Evans (Beşiktaş — Turkey)
In the first half Sunday, Dana’s scoring took a back seat as her focus went to defending Ormanspor starter Sug Sutton (of the Mercury). For Beşiktaş, this proved to be an effective strategy as they kept pace in a back-and-forth contest with Evans as floor general (7 assists). Predictably, Dana was also ready to go to the basket and score on her own (19 points) when the team needed it in the second half before nailing the game-sealing three with a minute remaining (on a ‘quiet’ offensive night). In arguably the team’s best performance of the season, ball movement and offensive sets were fluid and those around Dana were able to shine as a result. Blog favorite Jovana Nogic shot the ball efficiently (3/6 from three) and controlled the glass (10 boards) while Yueru Li had her best game since joing the side (7/12, 15 pts).
Her playmaking didn’t disappear (4 assists) but Evans shouldered a lot more of the scoring load in Thursday’s critical EuroCup win over Panathinaikos of Greece. She made 5/9 threes, hit all 9 of her free throw attempts (she’s 39/42 at the line overseas) and comfortably led all scorers with 30 points. After three games, she leads the EuroCup in scoring at 29.0 PPG, and Beşiktaş have, brilliantly, kept pace with the Greek side and Belgium’s Mechelen — all three teams are 2–1. Dana’s efficiency shooting from the floor (8/21) can improve, but coach Aziz Akkaya will be satisfied with her shot volume as long as she’s making such a high rate of threes and getting to the line so regularly. Next up for Beşiktaş is a big home match against Mabrey, Williams and Mersin in league play.
Sika Koné (Perfumerias Avenida — Spain)
After Mariella Fasoula’s devastating injury (which has since been ruled season ending), I suggested Avenida would go as Sika goes. If Sunday’s league win over Ensino was any indication, Avenida are in very good hands with the Malian. Koné scored a season best 16 points on 7/7 shooting from the field. As per usual, she also contributed in the various hustle categories with 2 steals, 6 rebounds and a spectacular block. Crucially, a handful of Sika’s highlight plays at the defensive end came from defending the pick-and-roll — an area that opponents have been targeting as a weakness in her game. Continuing to learn remains key for Koné, but she’s already showing strides and coach Pepe Vásquez was, justifiably, full of praise for her performance at full time.
Unfortunately, after their 2–0 start to EuroLeague play, Avenida slid back to 2–2 with a loss against USK Praha Wednesday. Shooting (32.3%) was Avenida’s nemesis in a game where they otherwise played close to the level they demonstrated in their dominant weekend victory. Sika, once again, flashed her potential at both ends with 16 points on 6–10 shooting alongside 9 rebounds. Defensively, there were highlight reel plays, but she delivered arguably her most consistent performance at the EuroLeague level. She’s now near the top of the boxscore in minutes played every game — a good indicator that she’ll continue to progress as the months go by. If nothing else, we’re seeing the energy we knew Sika would provide paired with a surprisingly refined (albeit sometimes over exuberant) offensive game in the low post and excellent rebounding.
Morgan Bertsch (Spar Girona — Spain)
While Girona were able to rebound from their loss to Avenida and return to .500 in league play, Bertsch never really got going in Sunday’s win over previously unbeaten Eustotren. The forward played just 12 minutes and shot 1–3 as part of a bench unit that generally struggled to maintain the level that the starters were playing at.
It looks as if Girona coach Laura Antoja is replicating the rotational practices used by European football teams involved in multiple compeititons — meaning Bertsch was right back to starting in Wednesday’s key EuroCup win. With the victory, Girona moved to 3–0 in group play and are closing in on qualification for the next round. This game showcased the best of Bertsch inside as she did considerable damage early on her way to an efficient 13-point outing (5–8, 5 reb, 2 ast). While bigs typically get credit for their reading of the game on the defensive end (Morgan is no slouch there either), Bertsch reads the floor so well on the offensive end and does a great job of getting to high-percentage positions down low without clogging the paint for teammates.
Robyn Parks (PF Schio — Italy)
Parks may have endured a bit of a shooting slump as of late, but she turned provider and dished out a season-high 6 assists as part of the team’s red-hot (56.5% from the floor) shooting night on Saturday. On top of that, Parks added 8 points of her own (2–6 from three) and set new season highs in rebounds (6) and steals (3) in what turned out to be an exceptional all-around performance. After a first half that essentially amounted to trading buckets (104 point total), Schio (and Parks with a key block) flexed their defensive muscle in the second — holding their opponent to just 24 points over the final two quarters to win and move up to third in the Italian table.
Wednesday’s loss to reigning EL champs Fenerbahçe, however, showed a clear difference in quality between the two sides. Despite Schio’s best efforts to vary their shot selection and defensive coverages, they had little to stop former Sky big Emma Meesseman (24 pts) and made plenty of silly mistakes that a top side is always going to punish you for. Given she missed three shots from inside 5 feet that she’d normally make, Parks’ 4–9 shooting effort (including a make on her only three point attempt) wasn’t all that bad. 12 pts and 5 rebounds against the European champs is nothing to scoff at, but Schio have a lot of work to do if they want to push Fenerbahçe in the knockout phases like they did last year (77–70 semifinal loss).
Taylor Soule (San Martino — Italy)
Soule delivered a two-way show in the second half despite San Martino slumping to their first defeat of the season on Sunday. After a quiet first half, Soule’s defensive exploits (3 steals and a charge drawn) helped her tap into her offensive game. While she shot just 1–4 from the field, her presence in the post allowed her to get to the line 6 times with a couple of other tough no calls at the rim. The level in Italy is different than in the W, but the types of plays Soule made on Sunday are the ones which will get her minutes in the WNBA. Her attention to detail, effort and focus at the defensive end could well make her the perfect player to round out the rotation of a top team. I previously highlighted the importance of playing time for Soule to mature as a professional, and we’re already seeing her make the most of these minutes.
Check back again next Friday when we’ll recap all of the games below (all central time) including domestic action as well as EuroLeague (round 5) and EuroCup (round 4) play. You can tap in live by finding the best site to stream the different leagues in this article I wrote earlier in the season.
Courtney Williams: Shaanxi
Saturday 10/28 @ 6:30 AM: Chinese League @ Xiamen
Tuesday 10/31 @ 6:30 AM: Chinese League vs. Sichuan
Friday 11/3 @ 6:30 AM: Chinese League vs. Zhejiang Golden Bulls
Marina Mabrey & Elizabeth Williams: CBK Mersin
Sunday 10/29 @ 8:00 AM: Turkish League @ Beşiktaş
Wednesday 11/1 @ 2:30 PM: EuroLeague @ Virtus Bologna
Alanna Smith: Emlak Konut
Saturday 10/28 @ 9:00 AM: Turkish League vs. Cankaya
Wednesday 11/1 @ 12:30 PM: EuroCup vs. Fribourg
Dana Evans: Beşiktaş
Sunday 10/29 @ 8:00 AM: Turkish League vs. Mersin
Wednesday 11/1 @ 12:00 PM: EuroCup @ Slavia BB
Sika Koné: Perfumerias Avenida
Saturday 10/28 @ 11:15 AM: Spanish League @ Barcelona
Tuesday 10/31 @ 1:30 PM: EuroLeague @ Landres
Morgan Bertsch: Spar Girona
Saturday 10/28 @ 11:15 AM: Spanish League @ Bembibre
Wednesday 11/1 @ 1:30 PM: EuroCup vs. Dudelange
Robyn Parks: PF Schio
Saturday 10/28 @ 12:30 PM: Italian League vs. Roma
Tuesday 10/31 @ 2:00 PM: EuroLeague vs. Lyon
Taylor Soule: San Martino
Saturday 10/28 @ 1:00 PM: Italian League vs. Virtus Bologna
For TV listings on all games, check out this post I wrote earlier this season.
