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EuroLeague Women Quarterfinals Recap: UMMC, Dynamo Kursk, Sopron and USK Praha get first wins

Sparks forward Maria Vadeeva led UMMC and Fever forward Candice Dupree had the game-winning basket for Sopron in their Game 1 victories.

By Albert Lee
Fever forward Candice Dupree had the highlight of the day by scoring the winning basket for Sopron Basket in their match against Bourges on Tuesday.
(Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images

Game 1 of EuroLeague Women is now in the books. Here’s what went down:

UMMC Ekaterinburg blows out TTT Riga at home, 78-45

In Tuesday’s first game, the EuroLeague Women favorites made quick work of Riga, holding them to just 13 points in the first half. When it was all said and done, UMMC held Riga to just 27 percent shooting for the game while making 51.2 percent of their own baskets.

Sparks forward Maria Vadeeva got the start and led UMMC with 23 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks in 33 minutes on 11-of-16 shooting from the field.

Brittney Griner scored 13 points and Kayla McBride added 12 in UMMC’s win. Ieva Kulite led TTT Riga with 15 points.

Dynamo Kursk beats CCC Polkowice, 89-53

Like their intra-national rival UMMC, Dynamo Kursk made quick work of their opponent, CCC Polkowice, winning in blowout fashion. Seattle Storm frontcourt duo Breanna Stewart and Natasha Howard scored 21 and 17 points, respectively.

Watch Stewie’s highlights below:

For CCC Polkowice, Jasmine Thomas scored 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting.

Sopron Basket edges out Bourges Basket, 66-65

The closest quarterfinal game of the day happened with Sopron edging Bourges in the final seconds of the game. Neither team led by double digits in the contest and there were 20 lead changes from start to finish.

A game like this seems destined to go to overtime, on the surface. But Candice Dupree made a veteran move — a turnaround midrange shot with four seconds left — to give Sopron the victory.

Dupree finished with 16 points, but Yvonne Turner led Sopron with 22 points in the win. For Bourges Basket, Marine Johannès scored a game-high 24 points.

If there is a EuroLeague Women quarterfinals that will go to three games, this series appears to be a good candidate.

USK Praha blows out Fenerbahçe, 76-54

In Tuesday’s final EuroLeague Women game, USK Praha raced to a quick 24-14 lead and led by as many as 29 points over Fenerbahçe in their 76-54 win. Praha never trailed, in large part because they dished 22 team assists compared to 9 turnovers. Fenerbahçe, meanwhile, dished only 11 team assists and turned the ball over 16 times.

Alyssa Thomas led Praha with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists in the win. For Fenerbahçe, Bria Hartley led with 15 points and even got a trademark crossover along the way.

Next game

Game 2 for each EuroLeague Women quarterfinals series will be on Friday, Mar. 8.

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