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On the surface, week 5 of EuroLeague Women wasn’t particularly memorable, as there weren’t any truly big performances. But dig a bit deeper and find that some stories began and some were put to a close—sometimes during the same game.

With one more week of first-round games, two spots remain to be filled by the end of next week’s action. The 10 teams that already have advanced to the second round are: Basket Landes, Beretta Famila Schio, Casademont Zaragoza, ÇBK Mersin, Fenerbahçe Opet, Tango Bourges Basket, Umama Reyer Venezia, Valencia Basket Club, Žabiny Brno and ZVVZ USK Praha.

2024 belongs to Amy Okonkwo

Tango Bourges Basket clinched a spot in the next round on Tuesday. The standout constant for Bourges is Nigerian-American Amy Okonkwo. After captaining D’Tigress to their best performance in history during the Paris Olympics, the former USC and TCU player scored game-high 17 points on 62 percent shooting against Olympiacos. The Greeks remain winless in the competition and have no chance at progressing to the second round, unlike three other teams from Group B, whose spots there are secure.

In the other Group B game ÇBK Mersin made the most out of Žabiny’s shooting struggles (28 percent from the field), cruising to their fifth-consecutive win in the competition. The offense went through Natasha Howard, who scored over 20 points for the third time this season, and Yvonne Anderson, who dished out nine dimes.

Győr put together their best game of the season, but it still wasn’t enough

Prior to the game against Praha we caught up with Bridget Carleton, who rejoined the team she played for last year. Asked about her expectations for the season in Hungary, she said:

I am excited to be in Győr, and get back to playing basketball again. When I am away from the game too long I get a bit antsy to play again. I am excited to be back in a familiar club, where I got a lot better last season and I am excited to build on that. My goal is always to play in the EuroLeague Women, the top league in Europe. So much fun! I love playing in Hungary and in Europe and experiencing different things. I am excited to be back and excited to see what we can do this year.

Late in the third quarter, when she knocked down a big 3 and stole the ball in the next play to put her team up by three points, it sure looked like she was back home, after trying to find her rhythm prior to that shot.

This was the tightest contest of the week and the game could have gone either way. With Praha up by three with 30 seconds left, Győr first fired a 3, but the ball fell out of the rim, then the Hungarian team stole the ball, only to lose it again because of an unlucky bounce. Praha won, in large part thanks to Brionna Jones, who dominated the middle and finished the game with 21 points, 10 boards and three blocks.

Week 5 scores

Group A

Beretta Famila Schio 71, DVTK HUN-Therm Miskolc 57

Basket Landes 59, Avenida 58

Group B

ÇBK Mersin 64, Žabiny Brno 45,

Tango Bourges Basket 82, Olympiacos B.C. 62

Group C

Villeneuve-d’Ascq LM 100, KGHM BC Polkowice 83

Fenerbahçe Opet 80, Casademont Zaragoza 69,

Group D

ZVVZ USK Praha 81, UNI Győr 76,

Valencia Basket Club 83, Umana Reyer Venezia 72