Chicago Sky Offseason Update #6: Let. Marina. Cook.
Checking in on the latest performances from Courtney Williams, Marina Mabrey, Dana Evans and the rest of the Chicago Sky playing overseas.
While Alanna’s unfortunate injury briefly stunted her incredible start in Turkey, each of the Sky players seems to be finding their way in Europe quite nicely. Before we can head to the old continent, let’s start the weekly recap — as is now tradition — with the Sky’s lone player in Asia:
Courtney Williams (Shaanxi — China)
Game 2 in China ended with a far less gaudy stat line for Courtney than her debut (11 pts, 5 ast, 5 reb), but the improvement in Shaanxi’s performance with her on the floor was marked. Trailing 44–31 at the half, Shaanxi — with Williams more involved in the third— outscored Xiamen 31–4 in the period and never looked back on their way to a second consecutive victory since her arrival (Shaanxi were 4–46 in their prior 50 games). Former Sky big Imani McGee-Stafford delivered 32 points and 14 boards and figures to form an unstoppable pick-and-roll duo with Courtney this season.
Game 3, on Halloween, produced the first loss of Courtney’s stint in China. Unfortunately, the game wasn’t selected for TV coverage; so, we’re left to make guesses on what happened based on the stats. That said, the box score tells a pretty clear story in this case as Courtney just wasn’t able to get her shot going (6/21 FG, 0/4 3PT). Despite the disappointing shooting night, she still filled up the box score in other categories with 13 points, 5 assists, 2 steals and 9 rebounds (which matched the team high). Courtney’s game on 11/3, similarly, was not available for viewing with Shaanxi narrowly losing 70–68. This time she got the jumper rolling finishing with 21 points on 3/6 shooting from behind the arc — much more in line with her WNBA average. She tacked on 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals to make it a well-rounded performance even in defeat. Her excellent productivity across the board means that, if the shots continue falling, Shaanxi should be able to get back in the win column soon.
Marina Mabrey & Elizabeth Williams (CBK Mersin — Turkey)
Mabrey & Williams keyed a thrilling league victory for Mersin over Dana’s Beşiktaş on Sunday. Mabrey was the star of the afternoon for the victors with 20 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists. I’m often generous in assessing an inefficient shooting performance from one of the Sky’s players, but I can honestly say I’ve never seen a more unlucky 4–12 night from three. With a more favorable roll on even half of those threes, Mabrey could’ve easily delivered a 30 point showing. In any case, her decision making on the offensive end was impeccable as she frequently passed up good looks to make sure her teammates got a great one. Williams (9 pts, 4–7) was predictably efficient at the offensive end and anchored her side’s defense with four blocks.
In a game that could go a long way towards deciding the winners of EuroLeague group B, Mersin rose to the occasion to beat Virtus Bologna in Italy on Wednesday. Once again, Mabrey was key with 23 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Her three point shots weren’t falling in this game either (2–8), but her efficiency inside the arc (6/10) — particularly the way she manipulated the Virtus defense in the pick-and-roll — carried her scoring game. Like on Sunday, Mabrey’s distribution caught my eye. She’s displaying an exceptional blend of the selfishness you need from an elite scorer and the spatial awareness of an elite passer in recent games, and the result is a free-flowing offense that can score points in bunches. Williams uncharacteristically missed a couple of close lay ins but continues to impact the game with her presence at the rim (1 credited block — though I counted more) and in passing lanes (3 steals). As a team, Mersin played good — not great — in this victory. As they tidy up mistakes and solidify their chemistry, they should easily be— alongside Fenerbahçe — one of Europe’s two best sides.
Alanna Smith (Emlak Konut — Turkey)
Smith was absent from Saturday’s league win as she continued to recover from the apparent ankle injury she suffered on 10/26 against Gdynia. However, she made a swift return in Wednesday’s EuroCup win over Elfic Fribourg which could prove critical in her side’s qualification to the next round. It wasn’t the offensively dominant performance we’ve become accustomed to from Alanna (3/11, 7 pts), but she chipped in across the board with 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and a steal. Beyond that, there was an obvious difference in spacing at the offensive end and intensity at the defensive end with her presence looming large in both cases. The uptick in offensive confidence from the other Emlak players in Smith’s absence gives them a better chance of winning games like this when Smith isn’t the dominant scorer. Crucially, Smith seems to be in good health — playing the final six minutes without interruption as Emlak re-established their early lead and closed out the win.
Dana Evans (Beşiktaş — Turkey)
In a game where Beşiktaş had to be nearly perfect to beat a red-hot Mersin side, Evans did just about everything she could have. Statistics (29 pts, 6 asts, 4 rebs) definitely tell an impressive story, but the eye test reflected an even more influential performance. With Williams protecting the paint and Beşiktaş’ shots not falling at times in the first half, the change of pace that Evans gave them in transition kept them afloat and ultimately added fuel to the fire when her teammates started to heat up. On top of her offensive energy, Dana’s presence defensively (4 steals) provided a big boost for her side who should gain massive confidence from their performance despite the defeat.
On Wednesday, Evans finally got a breather (“only” 27 minutes played) after playing six consecutive full games as Beşiktaş were in total control on their way to completing the group stage sweep over Slavia BB. It wasn't a big night for volume as Evans took 12 shots less than her season average, but her 12 points and 4 assists were plenty to get the team rolling on their way to a 26–8 edge after one. From there, the Slovakian side was largely trying to limit the damage with Beşiktaş all over them on the boards (47–16) and hitting at an insane rate of 59% from behind the arc. Beyond two missed free throws that clearly irked Evans (and dropped her astronomical 94% clip to 91%), there was nothing to scoff at from her performance with Beşiktaş likely to call on her more heavily in the big matches ahead.
Sika Koné (Perfumerias Avenida — Spain)
Another week, another brilliant showing for Sika in the Spanish top flight. She set season highs in points (20) and rebounds (11) while filling up the stat sheet with a pair of steals and a block. Defensively, she was brilliant without committing a single foul and continues to be much improved in defending the pick-and-roll. She again shot above 60% and has developed a knack for rebounding a high percentage of her own misses and finishing on the second attempt. At 5–0, Avenida are the only unbeaten left in Spain and Sika has quickly become their two-way focal point.
That was true again in the EuroLeague on Tuesday where Sika came off the bench with Avenida in a big hole early and contributed heavily as her side chipped away at the deficit. She wasn’t as efficient as in recent games (5–11), but she established herself down low and hit all 5 of her free throw attempts to register 15 points for the game. Unfortunately, Avenida started to slip out of the game again in the second half with Sika’s foul trouble limiting her ability to help out down low. With their third straight EuroLeague Loss — this time against previously winless Landes, Avenida have slipped onto the bubble for qualification to the knockout round. Individually, Sika will obviously need to avoid racking up the fouls but otherwise delivered a second consecutive defensively strong performance against EuroLeague opposition.
Morgan Bertsch (Spar Girona — Spain)
In domestic action over the weekend, Bertsch saw more minutes than the week prior, but I got the feeling she came in and out in weird intervals that made it hard to establish any type of rhythm. Despite not establishing herself as an offensive force, she cobbled together 8 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists and impressed with strong help defending at the rim on a few occasions as Girona coasted to a 29-point win behind 24 points (on just 10 shots!!) from Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell.
Wednesday’s EuroCup win over T71 of Luxembourg reinforced my hunch that Girona’s rotations aren’t helping Bertsch play her best. After 6 points and an assist in the game’s opening five minutes, Bertsch saw just 3:02 more action in the first half and didn’t play at all in the third quarter. As long as Girona are winning, there’s no reason for alarm, but I’d be willing to guess that Bertsch has a lot more to give — especially offensively — with more consistent stints on the court. In any case, we’re still seeing very good basketball from the UC-Davis grad as she got involved at both ends (8 pt, 3 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk). Her rim protection and efficiency shooting the ball (4/6) were key to Girona staying unbeaten in EuroCup play.
Robyn Parks (PF Schio — Italy)
Schio continued climbing the Italian table as Parks delivered her usual dose of two-way impact on Saturday. Her shooting was solid (5–10), she found her three-point stroke (3–5), and her string of strong performances on the glass continued with five rebounds. After frequently being used as the inbounder in the previous match against Fenerbahçe, coach Georgios Dikaioulakos made sure Parks got her chances to catch and shoot the three ball in this contest. As we saw this season in Chicago, Parks is a deadly shooter when she has space to get her shot up in rhythym. From a team perspective, Schio showed no residual impact from their loss in Turkey with a dominant victory over Roma.
Schio’s EuroLeague form was also quick in returning when they dispatched Lyon 84–58 on Tuesday. Parks was key to the victory with her most impressive offensive performance of the season — scoring 20 points in total on 8/13 shooting and 3/5 from behind the arc. The rise in confidence in recent games has been apparent, and we saw a complete three level scoring performance in this one which was reminiscent of her terrific performances last season in Italy with Campobasso. With Parks shooting like this and bringing pressure at the defensive end, Schio are a completely different side and are easily capable of going deep on two fronts.
Taylor Soule (San Martino — Italy)
On a night where several teammates had impressive scoring performances, Soule chipped in across the board to help San Martino achieve an unexpected league victory. Her eight points were needed, but the three steals and dogged defensive performance she contributed were far more critical. Soule’s knack for understanding exactly what her team needs game-to-game is what made her an all-ACC performer a season ago at Virginia Tech. Being unselfish enough to put her ego aside and do all of those little things is what’s making her a success story early on in her professional career. For San Martino (3–1), the significance of a league win over Bologna who were previously unbeaten domestically and have been going well in the EuroLeague cannot be overstated.
Check back again next Friday when we’ll recap all of the games below (all central time) which includes the final round of domestic action before the November international break. 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
Sunday 11/5 @ 5:30 AM: Chinese League vs. Daqing
Wednesday 11/8 @ 5:30 AM: Chinese League vs. Guangdong
Marina Mabrey & Elizabeth Williams: CBK Mersin
Saturday 11/4 @ 6:00 AM: Turkish League vs. Antalya
Alanna Smith: Emlak Konut
Saturday 11/4 @ 7:00 AM: Turkish League @ Botas
Dana Evans: Beşiktaş
Saturday 11/4 @ 7:30 AM: Turkish League @ Galatasaray
Sika Koné: Perfumerias Avenida
Friday 11/3 @ 2:30 PM: Spanish League vs. Estudiantes
Morgan Bertsch: Spar Girona
Friday 11/3 @ 2:30 PM: Spanish League vs. Jairis
Robyn Parks: PF Schio
Schio are on bye as the Italian league features 13 teams and 6 games weekly.
Taylor Soule: San Martino
Friday 11/3 @ 2:00 PM: Italian League @ Brixia
For TV listings on all games, check out this post I wrote earlier this season.
