The second round of EuroLeague Women group play begins this Tuesday, December 9, which means the stakes for Europe’s top international basketball competition are about to be raised.
The field has been narrowed, with the 12 best teams from the first round advancing, and they’ve been re-grouped to ensure that the second round will be full of fresh matchups.
As the competition heats up, the level of talent is increasing, too.
Gabby Williams, who was named EuroLeague Women Defensive Player of the Year last
season, returns to Fenerbahçe Opet, who went undefeated in the first round of group play and is among the few clubs expected to compete for a championship. Elsewhere, Spanish club Valencia Basket welcomes Nia Coffey, who last played in EuroLeague Women in 2020 for Gelecek Koleji Çukurova.
You can catch Williams’ and Coffey’s season debuts, as well as every other EuroLeague Women game this week, live and for free on FIBA’s EuroLeague Women YouTube channel. Let’s run through this week’s matchups, including players to watch for and keys to each game.
Tuesday, December 9
Casademont Zaragoza (3-3) vs. Valencia Basket Club (4-2)
- When: 1:15 p.m. ET
- Where: Roig Arena in Valencia, Spain
- How to watch: FIBA YouTube live stream
- Players to watch: Carla Leite, Stephanie Mawuli, Helena Pueyo, Mariona Ortiz, Nadia Fingall (Casademont Zaragoza); Leonie Fiebich, Nia Coffey, Awa Fam, Kayla Alexander, Raquel Carrera, Hind Ben Abdelkader, Leticia Romero (Valencia Basket Club)
- Matchup details: The departure of two-time EuroLeague Women MVP Alina Iagupova may hurt Valencia on paper, but there’s still enough reason to like them as a contender, with Alexander (16.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game) playing some of the best basketball of her career and one of the world’s most promising young talents, Fam, backing her up. Coffey, meanwhile, will add athleticism to a roster that already ranks second in the competition in scoring (82.8 points per game). Zaragoza may not have the offensive firepower to match Valencia, but they’ve been just as stout defensively (the two clubs are tied for the EuroLeague Women lead in steals per game at 11), which is an identity they’ll have to keep leaning into against the more talented clubs in the second round.
Wednesday, December 10
Umana Reyer Venezia (4-2) vs. Fenerbahçe Opet (6-0)
- When: 12 p.m. ET
- Where: Metro Energy Sports Hall in Istanbul, Turkey
- How to watch: FIBA YouTube live stream
- Players to watch: Kaila Charles, Lorela Cubaj, Joyner Holmes, Stephanie Mavunga, Ivana Dojkic (Umana Reyer Venezia); Emma Meesseman, Kayla McBride, Gabby Williams, Megan Gustafson, Julie Allemand, Iliana Rupert, Sevgi Uzun (Fenerbahçe Opet)
- Matchup details: Fenerbahçe entered the 2025-26 EuroLeague Women season looking like the team to beat, and not much has changed in that regard. They currently lead the competition in scoring (90.2 points per game), assists (27.2 assists per game) and field goal percentage (53.6 percent) by healthy margins, and the addition of Williams will only make them even more dangerous in the open court. Venezia has the athletes to make this a physical game, particularly in the frontcourt, but keeping Fenerbahçe’s surgical offense at bay will be easier said than done; they’ll need big games from Charles (13.7 points and 6.8 rebounds per game) and Mavunga (11.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game) to keep this one close.
Basket Landes (4-2) vs. DVTK HUNTHERM (1-5)
- When: 12 p.m. ET
- Where: DVTK Arena in Miskolc, Hungary
- How to watch: FIBA YouTube live stream
- Players to watch: Leïla Lacan, Julie Wojta, Murjanatu Musa (Basket Landes); Kathryn Westbeld, Nina Aho, Monika Grigalauskyte, Paula Ginzo (DVTK HUNTHERM)
- Matchup details: Landes was one of the pleasant surprises of the first round, winning Group D thanks to strong rebounding (41.7 rebounds per game; most in EuroLeague Women) and a penchant for coming out on top in close games. That late-game magic will be put to the test in the second round against stronger competition, though DVTK doesn’t necessarily represent the best EuroLeague Women has to offer; the Hungarian club only made it out of Group C by being marginally better than Olympiacos SFP (who also finished 1-5) and came in last place in FIBA’s latest EuroLeague Women power rankings. Needless to say, not much will be expected of them this week.
Galatasaray Çağdaş Faktoring (6-0) vs. ZVVZ USK Praha (3-3)
- When: 1 p.m. ET
- Where: Královka Arena in Prague, Czech Republic
- How to watch: FIBA YouTube live stream
- Players to watch: Marine Johannès, Elizabeth Williams, Dorka Juhász, Awak Kuier, Kamiah Smalls (Galatasaray Çağdaş Faktoring); Janelle Salaün, Bridget Carleton, Kaitlyn Chen, Valeriane Ayayi, Maite Cazorla, Pauline Astier (ZVVZ USK Praha)
- Matchup details: Galatasaray’s return to EuroLeague Women has been a hands-down success so far, and the vaunted Turkish club got reinforcements late in the first round when Johannès joined their roster, making them just as dangerous in the backcourt as they are up front. Praha, meanwhile, has had a bit of a letdown as the defending EuroLeague Women champions, and it’s perfectly valid to acknowledge that they simply don’t have the level of talent they did in previous seasons. Players like Carleton (11 points per game; 52.6 percent shooting) and Salaün (12.2 points per game; 49 percent shooting) are plenty capable of getting hot and taking over a game, though, so no matter what the records suggest at the moment, Praha will remain dangerous as long as they’re in the competition.
Beretta Famila Schio (4-2) vs. Spar Girona (5-1)
- When: 1:30 p.m. ET
- Where: Pavelló Fontajau in Girona, Spain
- How to watch: FIBA YouTube live stream
- Players to watch: Jessica Shepard, Cecilia Zandalasini, Kitija Laksa, Marième Badiane, Maria Conde (Beretta Famila Schio); Laeticia Amihere, Justė Jocytė, Arica Carter, Mariam Coulibaly (Spar Girona)
- Matchup details: Can Girona maintain the blistering pace they set in the first round? Not much was expected of the Spanish club at the beginning of the season, but with a 5-1 record, the competition’s leading scorer (Coulibaly) and perhaps its brightest young star (Jocytė), all eyes are suddenly on Girona. They’ll take on a veteran Schio club that can both shoot the ball and dish it; Schio ranks second in EuroLeague Women in assists per game (22.3), and with perimeter players like Zandalasini, Laksa and Conde, they’re capable of putting up points in a hurry.
Flammes Carolo Basket (2-4) vs. Tango Bourges Basket (4-2)
- When: 2 p.m. ET
- Where: Caisse d’Epargne Loire-Centre in Bourges, France
- How to watch: FIBA YouTube live stream
- Players to watch: Liz Dixon, Maïa Hirsch, Noémie Brochant, Isabelle Strunc (Flammes Carolo Basket); Monique Akoa Makani, Kariata Diaby, Tima Pouye (Tango Bourges Basket)
- Matchup details: Carolo is a good example of a club that’s played better than their record indicates, sitting at 2-4 yet owning a positive cumulative point differential (+9), thanks in large part to a ridiculous 45.2 percent 3-point shooting percentage. Can they sustain that kind of efficiency in the second round? Bourges will present a formidable challenge, ranking second in EuroLeague Women in rebounds per game (41.3), and they recently welcomed Akoa Makani to their roster, shoring up their depth in the backcourt. Between the two French clubs, Bourges is more likely to make a run in the EuroLeague Women playoffs, but don’t be surprised if Carolo ends up playing spoiler somewhere down the line.
