Zandalasini role, SOS call for Quigley and lowest of the low headline talking points

MUNICH (EuroLeague Women) – Having pushed the pause button recently for the FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2019 Qualifiers, we witnessed EuroLeague Women come roaring back into focus with a real bang.

Here are the main talking points from Week 4 – according to our women's basketball specialist, Paul Nilsen aka @Basketmedia365

Quigley answer SOS from Schio

While Allie Quigley did not get to suit up for Famila Schio this week in their latest defeat, her arrival really can't come quickly enough for the struggling Italians who are 0-4. Their struggles have of course, been both predictable and expected after undertaking the biggest roster churn of any team in recent memory. The upsides of Quigley's arrival are obvious. From her WNBA quality, familiarity with not only EuroLeague Women, but also fellow big-hitters, Jantel Lavender and Sandrine Gruda, it really is an excellent pick-up. The other two big upsides are that Schio's offensive power and especially from long range just went skywards. This will rather vitally take pressure off the likes of Jacki Gemelos and in return, open up space inside for Gruda and Lavender as Quigley stretches defenses with the danger she poses. The potential sting in the tail looks relatively simple. She is not a panacea for Schio's ills. Expectations can be too much. Her teammates, can't throw her the ball and expect instant results. They all need to step up. Finally, as a fan of this super baller, welcome back Allie! Great to see you treading the EuroLeague Women boards again.

 Zandalsini role under the microscope?

Firstly, let's get this absolutely straight. I thought Fenerbahce showed real teeth and heart to get back into contention against Dynamo Kursk and were one basket in the clutch away from a morale boosting and highly impressive road win. But like against Avenida, the cold hard truth is that they fell short at the death. The most interesting element for me was watching the jaw-dropping talent of Cecilia Zandalsini being kept in a box. Not only by the Dynamo defense, but by Fenerbahce themselves. I am not a coach so will no doubt get shot down in flames for this. But, if I was Lucas Mondelo walking off to the locker room with the stats in my hand, I would have been laughing and so happy that Zandalsini played 32  minutes and yet only shot the ball once every four minutes while she was on the floor. Fenerbahce also did not go to her in the clutch moments. Yes, I accept she was not shooting the ball as well as she can, and also that Fenerbahce have many talented options. But as I said at the time of her signing in Istanbul, Fenerbahce are spending a lot of resource on one of the brightest young talents on the planet and surely must let her fire more freely. I think it is a puzzle that needs to be solved. At least if Fenerbahce want to go back to the Final Four. If they can find the right role and balance for Zandalasini, they could be a big danger this year again. But they need to turn up the dial on her as an offensive option. Surely?

The lowest of the low

As I continually say, women's basketball and its unpredictability is the beauty of it – even when it is ugly. If that is a contradiction or sounds nonsensical, let me explain. I was shocked on Wednesday night when ESBVA-LM posted the lowest first-half tally I can remember in the competition. They scored only 13 points against CCC Polkowice – at home. That was a huge surprise, since I understand they are not exactly 'run and gun' but for any pro-team, this is embarrassing. Yet I was left completely surprised again in a pleasant way, when rather amazingly, ESBVA-LM showed the mental strength to put that behind them and launch a staggering rescue mission which saw them wipe out that 13-31 deficit at the interval, to briefly take the lead in the second half! At the end, CCC got it done and were hugely relieved. Me? Well, I was musing about how two teams can both post the lowest scores of the season (45-48) and yet still have me glued to the action. Having said that, I will skip the offer of a game DVD in my Christmas present box!

Debuts galore

A number of players made their first appearances in the competition for their new teams this week, including Bria Hartley and Kiah Stokes for Fenerbahce. It was also good to see Erica Wheeler make a return as well, with her decisive contribution for Nadezhda pivotal in getting Victor Lapena that dramatic win at Castors Braine – his first Regular Season victory since he was holding the reins some time ago at Avenida.

Under the radar

- While Maria Vadeeva took the limelight for her display for UMMC, as did fellow frontcourt star Emma Meesseman, it may have gone unnoticed that center Brittney Griner pulled down 11 defensive rebounds against ZVVZ USK Prague. That was more than any other player this season for this category and UMMC also became only the second team this season to collect 50 rebounds or more in a game.

- Ruth Hamblin swatted six shots for Castors Braine in the defeat against Nadezhda – the most in any game by a player this season. Additionally, the Belgian side had a tournament single game high of 8 blocks.

- Both Yvonne Turner and Ieva Pulvere (nee Krastina) became the first players in a game this season to drop 5 triples as they led their respective teams, Sopron Basket and TTT Riga to victory.

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