January 3, 2019

All series started on Thursday with the teams each getting to host a game in this format. The day started in Moscow as 19 seed MBA edged Elizabeth Williams and 14 seed Botas 77-76 to set up an intriguing game in Turkey next week, especially if the biggest star is not available again. 12 seed Lyon should feel comfortable after an 83-52 win over 21 seed Spartak in the other Moscow game. 13 seed Enisey was cruising early behind their duo of Stephanie Mavunga and Myisha-Hines Allen, but 20 seed Ruzomberok fought their way back at home, surging to an 80-74 win that makes this matchup one to watch in the second game. 15 seed Orman had the early lead against fellow Turkish club and 18 seed Besiktas, but Kelsey Mitchell could not be contained as the hosts won 83-59, which may be too much to overcome when the teams swap venues. 11 seed Bydgoszcz built a lead early behind Ziomara Morrison, but 22 seed Nymburk made it respectable late, losing 72-66. The start of the game was delayed in Nantes, but Ana Suarez led the 23rd seeded hosts past Alice Kunek and 10 seed Torun 86-79. Gernika may be the lowest ranked team as the 24 seed, but they took a big lead at halftime against defending champions Galatasaray, which got stuck with the 9 seed after just missing a bye, but the margin did not get worse in the second half so an 84-69 deficit can still be overturned in Turkey. The other returning finalists fared better as Anete Steinberga and 16 seed Reyer rallied late to beat 17 seed Landes 77-68 and carry a solid advantage home in the series between the two closest seeds.

(19) MBA Moscow vs. (14) Botas 77-76 MBA Nizamova 17/9r Leshkovtseva 13 Sytnyak 10 BOTAS Williams 24/15r Gulcan 15 Cuic 13/6r Cakir 12/6r/8a

(21) Spartak Moscow vs. (12) Lyon 52-83 SPAR Abaiburova 12 O’Neill 11/6r Nuritdinova 10/6r Stallworth 2 LYON Badiane 17/8r Clark 15 Salagnac 15 Dos Santos 14/11r Allemand 10 Plouffe 4/8r

(20) Ruzomberok vs. (13) Enisey 80-74 RUZO Siksniute 19/10r Mistinova 19/7r Ellenberg-Wiley 17 Jeffery 13/6s Markovic 6/6r ENI Mavunga 28/11r Hines-Allen 20/8r

(18) Besiktas vs. (15) Orman 83-59 BES Mitchell 36/6r Mircheva 16 Akhator 15/15r Epoupa 10/6r ORMAN Copper 17 Ruzickova 13/9r Gardner 11/7r Henry 4/7r

(22) Nymburk vs. (11) Bydgoszcz 66-72 NYMB Wells 19 Peckova 17 Hoskova 8 Paris 6/8r ARTG Morrison 23/10r Stankovic 16/11r Miedzik 13 Hornbuckle 5 McBride 4/11a

(23) Nantes vs. (10) Torun 86-79 NRB Suarez 26/6a Day 14/9r Wallace 14/9r Michaud 12 TORU Kunek 24 Svaryte 15/9r Diawakana 14 Tlumak 14

(24) Gernika vs. (9) Galatasaray 84-69 LOIN Berezhynska 19/11r Dietrick 19/9a Mazionyte 14/8r Gwathmey 14 Vanderwal 12 GALA Macaulay 19/9r Grigalauskyte 18/6r Jefferson 13 Alben 13

(17) Landes vs. (16) Reyer Venezia 68-77 BLAN Dumerc 15 Toure 12 Ayim 11/6r Gatling 6 VENE Steinberga 27/8r Carangelo 19 Gulich 9 Anderson 7/10r Goree 2