FIBA: Fenerbahçe falls to Schio while Lublin earns a rare victory

Things are heating up in EuroLeague Women. Fenerbahçe, seemingly unbeatable just a month ago, now has lost two of their last three games. Praha became the second team to make the quarterfinals. With six spots remaining, the next three weeks will bring a lot of emotion, passion and, unfortunately, heartbreak.

Group A

While most of us have spent the holiday break putting on pounds, opening gifts and enjoying some well-deserved rest, coach Krzysztof Szewczyk and the Lublin players have been coming up with defensive schemes to improve their position in Group A and make one final run at a spot in the quarterfinals. The result? They held DVTK to 24 percent shooting from the floor. The Hungarians made just 13 shots from the field throughout the whole game. Lublin also forced 26 turnovers. Still, the score at the half was relatively close, with Lublin up by just four points. In the third quarter, though, the Polish team stepped on the gas, with Aleksandra Ziemborska making two 3s, a layup, adding in three rebounds, two steals and an assist. The 5-foot-11 Polish forward finished the game with 19 points, 10 rebounds and six steals, leading her team to the 56-37 victory. Lublin continues to be at the bottom of Group A with two wins, but with some lucky breaks, can still make the quarterfinals.

The only game on Thursday, between Fenerbahçe and Famila Schio, was alarmingly close and competitive from the very beginning. Alarmingly for the reigning EuroLeague winners, of course. In the third quarter, following another stellar play from Arella Guirantes, who was on a roll with 21 points, six rebounds and five assists (but also 6 turnovers), Schio regained the lead they lost in the middle of second quarter—and they held it tight till the buzzer. After two late, consecutive 3s, by Giorgia Sottana and Lynx’s Dorka Juhász, the Italians entered the fourth quarter up by six points. The Turks, though, had Yvonne Anderson, who had her best game of the season and finished with 17 points and five dimes. She did not shy away from responsibility when it mattered and following her assist on a 3 by Kayla McBride, the score was 63-61 for Famila Schio. But that was the closest that Fenerbahçe got to winning the game. With one minute to go and Famila up by seven, Emma Meesseman lost the ball after a bad pass from McBride. In that exact moment, the game was basically over. At the end of the day, Famila just wanted it…