New Zealand
The semifinals were played in New Zealand this weekend after a closely contested regular season. The Queens were the top seed, but only finished a game above the other three playoff teams, getting knocked out by the Whai in the first game on Saturday despite a great start. The Pouakai defeated the Hoiho in Sunday’s game to join them in the championship game.
Asia
All of the series were on a Saturday-Sunday schedule in Japan as the Antelopes stayed in first place by salvaging a split against the Sunshine Rabbits. The hosts sit in second place now, but the Iris sit in a tie with them after their own split with the Red Wave. The Wings made sure that they stayed ahead of the last place Vickies with a sweep and the Sunflowers built a gap over the Magic with their sweep. The Cougars extended their advantage in the lower group with a sweep of the Egrets being coupled with the Queen Bees only getting a split against the Aranmare, leaving both teams tied with the Koalas, which got their own sweep.
The week of games in South Korea started with a BNK comeback win over the Blue Minx on Wednesday. Hana Bank won Friday’s game against Woori Bank, leading up to Saturday’s doubleheader. Lee Hae-Ran scored 31 points to deliver the Blue Minx the win over BNK and the S-Birds got the win over the Stars. Woori Bank avoided being stuck alone in last place with their win over the Blue Minx on Sunday. Hana Bank made sure that they would sit in first place after their win over the S-Birds on Monday.
It was the first full week of the regular season in China as defending champions Guangdong remain undefeated with Yang Shuyu pouring in 38 points to secure an important win. On the other side, Liu Yutong had 33 points while Chennedy Carter had 47 points. Her former team in Hubei also has had a strong start, getting a triple-double from Wang Jiaqi in a win. Sichuan, which was disappointed to not get the championship last season, is also perfect to start. In the lower group, several teams could be dangerous in the playoffs, including Liaoning, which got a 22 rebound effort from Myisha Hines-Allen.
Americas
The four remaining teams in Chile played a round-robin this weekend and Sportiva Italiana finished undefeated after defeating the University of Concepcion in the last game. Puente Alto finished in third place after the hosts defeated Escuela Alemana Paillaco in Sunday’s other game after a pair of close losses.
The sixteen remaining teams in Argentina were divided into four groups for round-robin tournaments this week. Instituto and Hindu were the top two teams in one North group while Chanares, which got a 30 point game from Stefania Lucero, finished ahead of Quimsa in the other group. In the South, El Talar and Berazategui were the top two teams in one group and Obras and Ferro finished at the top of the other group.
Around Europe
Kamile Nacickaite Van Der Horst had a 31 point game in the Baltic and Migle Kisararuskaite had a 35 point game. Caitlin Bickle recorded a 27 point, 13 rebound, 10 assist triple-double. The cup quarterfinals were played in Luxembourg and included 32 points in a loss from Caileigh Walsh and 40 points in a loss from MacKenzie Farmer. The super cup was played in Kosovo over the course of the week and Tuesday’s quarterfinals included 24 rebounds for Lauren Carter and 32 points for Paige Powell. Peja edged Bashkimi in Saturday’s championship game.
Chase for Promotion
Dekeiya Cohen had 31 points in Turkey’s second division to offset 36 points from Miya Crump. Natasa Bucevac had 39 points in a loss in Serbia’s second division. A pair of wins in Romania’s second division featured big scoring performances as Ioana Velcea had 39 points and then Alexia Dana had 31 points. Joana Amaro recorded a triple-double with all 11s in Portugal’s second division. Carla Bremaud had a 31 point game in Italy’s second division. In Iceland’s second division, Mariya-Magdalena Kolyandrova had a 32 point, 10 rebound, 10 assist triple-double and Chloe Wilson grabbed 25 rebounds. Neseya Parker-Williams had 31 points in Germany’s second division. Julie Tetart had 21 rebounds in France’s second division.
Notable Individual Performances
Julianna Okosun had 30 points in Sweden. Karyna Panchuk had 36 points in Slovakia. Janai Crooms had 31 points in a loss in Serbia. Fanni Szabo had 34 points in Romania. Rebecca Demeke had 33 points in a loss in Norway. Ahlise Hurst had 31 points in the Netherlands. Lexi Wagner had a 30 point game in Montenegro. Avelina Glavan had 34 points in Moldova. Olivia Wikstrom had 32 points in Malta. Lashae Dwyer had a 30 point game in Germany. Ester Liira grabbed 20 rebounds in Estonia. Hannah Simental had 37 points in a loss in Cyprus. Bernada Rreshpja had 30 points in Albania.
In Switzerland, Koi Love had 37 points and Alexis Whitfield had 30 points. A double round week in Portugal included a 30 point game from Lauren Golding and a 21 rebound effort from Naomis Hardy. In North Macedonia, Alexis Poole had a 32 point game and Glorija Gruevska had a 31 point game. In Iceland, Alyssa Cerino’s 34 point effort was cancelled out by 30 points from Keishana Washington and Marta Hermida poured in 42 points. In Croatia, Iva Todoric recorded a 16 point, 12 rebound, 10 assist triple-double and E’Lease Stafford had 31 points.
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