New Zealand
The week of the regular season started on Friday as the Pouakai swept both contests against the Kahu. On Saturday, the Hoiho won the reserve game after being led by Lil Dart, who ended up at over 41 minutes on the day after the main game, which had them losing to the Whai. Those results set up the possibility of a four-way tie at the top of the standings, but the eliminated Kahu could not contribute to that outcome, getting swept by the Queens on Sunday.
Asia
Everyone was back in action in Japan this weekend on a Saturday-Sunday schedule. The Red Wave returned with a sweep of the Sunflowers. The Sunshine Rabbits swept the Wings and the Magic did the same even to the Vickies even though the visitors got 23 rebounds from Channon Fluker in the opener. The teams at the top of the standings met with the Antelopes taking the first game, but the Iris preventing them from building too big a lead by edging past them in the second game. The bottom division is quite competitive right now as the Koalas earned a split against the leaders, the Cougars. The Queen Bees are between them after getting a sweep while the Rabbits had their best chances at a first win, but lost twice to the Egrets.
There were three series in Kazakhstan on Saturday-Sunday schedules, but only Astana managed a sweep, getting 27 rebounds from Ganna Rulyova in their first win over Barsy Atyrau. Zhetisu got their split in overtime even though Vira Cherkaska had 30 rebounds for Caspiy. Ertis earned a split against Okzhetpes.
The week in South Korea started with the Stars edging the S-Birds on Wednesday and then BNK defeated Woori Bank on Friday. Hana Bank handed the Stars their first loss in Saturday’s first game and then Lee Hae-Ran had 30 points to lead the Blue Minx to a win over the S-Birds. The Stars bounced back with a win over Woori Bank on Sunday as the league’s longtime stars battled again. Hana Bank defeated BNK on Monday.
The season started in China after a late National Games due to the southern hosting locations just ended recently. Guangdong was the surprise champion last season, but are not sneaking up on anyone this time, opening with a win over Jiangsu on Sunday. Sichuan started their quest for revenge with a win over Shaanxi and a Shanghai team that will be watched heavily got the win over Zhejiang in the other Monday game.
Argentina
The regular season concluded in Argentina this week, setting up the matchups for this upcoming week with only the bottom team in each conference not participating.
Around Europe
Both divisions of the Adriatic were in action this week with a busy weekend in the second tier. Alexis Poole had a 30 point game and Khrystyna Kulesha had a 34 point game. Brigita Sinickaite had a 21 point, 10 rebound, and 12 assist triple-double in the Baltic. Lithuania’s second division featured a 30 point game from Aida Butvilaite and a 52 point effort in a loss for Laurita Jurciute. The Central European league also played four games and Hradec Kralove defeated the other two teams who had yet to lose to be the early leaders. Dariana Pausan outscored her opponents 26-23 in a game in Romania. The same thing happened in the Bosnian league with Andjela Bekic managing a 34-23 advantage.
Chase for Promotion
Istanbul Genclik was certainly one of the main hopefuls in Turkey’s second division with promotion specialist Sasha Goodlett on board, but they are now two games behind the undefeated leaders even though she had 31 points. Ioana Velcea had 34 points in a game in Romania’s second division. Marta Rodrigues had 30 points in Portugal’s second division. Divine Obaseki had a 25 rebound game in Italy’s second division. In Iceland’s second division, Andrea Jovicevic had 37 points and her teammate Jada Smith had 32 points while another game featured 34 points from Chloe Wilson and an 18 point, 11 rebound, 11 assist triple-double from Emma Snaebjarnardottir. Maja Manten had 20 rebounds in Germany’s second division. Julie Tetart had 25 rebounds in France’s second division.
Notable Individual Performances
Julia Chadwick had a 32 point game in Switzerland. Nevena Naumcev had 12 steals in Serbia. Marika Kromberg Underwood had 30 points in Norway. Kayla Thomas had 35 points in an overtime loss in North Macedonia. Jaela Johnson had 32 points in a game in the Netherlands. Olesia Malashenko had 43 points and 24 rebounds in a loss in Malta. Kirsty Brown grabbed 21 rebounds in Kosovo. Sparkle Taylor had 36 points in Israel. Amandine Toi had 36 points in Iceland. Tyia Singleton had 24 rebounds in Greece. Alyssa Brown had 36 points in Germany. Anna Maria Tamberg recorded a 19 point, 10 rebound, 14 assist triple-double in Estonia. Lea Vukic had 30 points in Croatia. Radostina Hristova had 35 points in Bulgaria.
A busy week in Sweden included a 37 point game from Elsa Svensson, a 30 point game from Cecilia Holmberg, and 43 points from Julianna Okosun in an overtime loss. In Portugal, Micaela Kelly had 31 points and Genesis Rivera had 25 rebounds. A win in Luxembourg included 31 points each from Stefanie Kulesza and Caileigh Walsh in addition to an 18 point, 12 rebound, 14 assist triple-double from Esmeralda Skrijelj. In Finland, Jeanae Terry had a 20 rebound game and Sara Puckett had a 37 point effort.
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