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Bourges are looking mighty powerful this season. They got some quality reinforcements during the summer and this gave them a wider bench. Last year their biggest problem was the bench and they would lose out on productivity when the starters sat on the bench. Their defense will be even better due to great players they have. Everyone will have a hard time scoring against them in France. With Dumerc and Leedham in frontcourt, their offense will always score more than enough. Schio lost two starters and the best players in the team. It will be almost impossible to replace Lavender's offensive contribution as the attack often revolved around her. She did great in both offensive and defensive rebounds. McCray did her job as the second offensive outlet. Anderson was the only real reinforcement and she will be under a lot of pressure, especially against teams like these that don't give you an inch of space. Bourges is the third team in Europe, they've got good reinforcements and I don't see how the Italian team could do something here. This should end in a double-digit points difference. Details

Zagreb are a much better team than last season. Dabovic has brought a new dimension to the team and it's already clear that Novi Zagreb will do much better this season. They have a whole range of new reinforcements now. They have the width and don't depend on 3 players like last season. They did quite well in the Central European Basketball League and they lost by only 4 points against Kosice who are a team of similar quality as USK, who have lost one of their main players (Brunson) and their starting point guard Skerovic. They have high hopes for the newcomer Clarendon. They are well-organized and they have a solid concept but no class in their line-up. There will be lots of problems in the defense as they don't have the players to mark the particularly dangerous opposition players. They lack the speed and a good flow of the ball should be quite lethal against them. Zagreb have more than enough quality not to be crushed in the Czech Republic. Details

Kayseri played the Eurocup finals last year. The team are stronger compared to the last year. All of the players who left, besides Jones, had their tasks in the game, and none of them are a talent as the Seattle duo is. I think it will be very difficult to defeat Kayseri on their own court this season. It's a rare occasion to find this kind of atmosphere in the women basketball, and that will be a big shock for any guest. They won't have the standard problems that the teams who have WNBA players do because these two already know how to play together. Kayseri's defense will be extremely aggressive on the home court, and any opponent will lose a lot of balls. The offense won't have any issues because in case of defense getting tighter, Mondt will punish it with the backcourt shots. Kosice were a sensation last year, but a lot has changed since then. First and foremost, the wonder creator Svitek left. Second, Quigley left, and she was the best scorer in Europe last year. She expanded the defense with her backcourt shots, and opened the space for the quality realizations of pick and rolls. Lacy is gone, too, and she's been great in all the entrances. Leuchanka will be here shortly, and she's a progress compared to Kulickova. It's their only plus considering the last season. Pierson might have a similar statistic, but with a far weaker realization. Abdi has a great potential, but she still has problems finding the efficient game. I expect Kayseri to win this easily. Details