Spartak Moscow Region is through to the quarterfinals of the Euroleague with Friday’s 91-69 win over Lotos Gdynia that completed a two-game sweep of the teams’ eighth-final series. As in Game 1, host Gdynia got off to a quick start and led 19-13 after one quarter. The final three periods belonged to the three-time defending Euroleague champs. Spartak dominated the next two quarters, putting together a seven-point advantage by halftime and building on it from there.

Diana Taurasi led the Spartak attack, scoring 31 points on 12-of-19 shooting, including five makes from beyond the arc. Sue Bird helped set up her close friend, handing out eight assists to go along with seven points. Tanisha Wright had seven points and five assists for Lotos.

Janell Burse and TS Wisla Can-Pack will have to face a deciding Game 3 on Wednesday after falling 68-64 at Mizo Pecs. After two Burse free throws brought Wisla within four points inside the final minute, the team was unable to capitalize by making a three-pointer.  Burse made 15 trips to the free throw line and scored 16 points, tying Marta Fernandez for game-high honors. Wisla could not overcome a dominant performance from veteran Mizo Pecs point guard Dalma Ivanyi, who recorded a triple-double – 24 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds as well as four steals.

The series will return to Krakow for Game 3, and Wisla has to feel good about its chances after controlling Game 1 at home and playing tough in Game 2. “I am sure that the next game is going to end with the same result as the first one in the series,” Burse said after the game.

The WNBL was also in action Friday night. The Sydney Uni Acuvue Flames came up with a big road win at Townsville, 77-73. The victory ensures that Sydney and Lauren Jackson’s Canberra TransAct Capitals will finish in the top three in the WNBL ladder. Which one finishes second and which third still has yet to be resolved. Still, the win could be costly for Sydney because Suzy Batkovic-Brown left the game in the third quarter with a knee injury. No word yet on severity. Batkovic-Brown was having a phenomenal game, scoring 19 points in the first half and 28 before she left, but Sydney was able to overcome her absence and 26 points from the Fire’s Rohanee Cox.

Canberra kept pace by blowing out Perth 90-59 at home. Jackson needed just 20 minutes to put 27 points on the board, shooting 9-of-14 from the field and grabbing six rebounds. The Capitals have a chance to pull even with Sydney in the standings by winning Sunday at Adelaide.

Opening the best-of-three eighth-final Euroleague series on their home floors, the two elite teams with Storm players got off to great starts Tuesday, winning in lopsided fashion.

Actually, Tanisha Wright and Lotos Gdynia gave Spartak Moscow Region an early scare, taking a 10-0 lead at the start of Game 1 of their series. Any danger was short-lived, however. Spartak answered with an 11-0 spurt and led by 17 by halftime en route to doubling Gdynia up, 98-49. Sue Bird scored nine points, all from beyond the arc, in 19 minutes and did not commit a turnover. It was backcourt-mate Diana Taurasi who did much of the playmaking, handing out 10 assists in addition to recording six steals. Meanwhile, Sylvia Fowles (21 points, 10 boards) and Janel McCarville (22 and 7) dominated the paint.

Wright had 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists, but shot just 5-of-17 from the field. As a team, Gdynia was barely over 30 percent from the field, had seven free throw attempts and committed 21 turnovers.

Janell Burse and TS Wisla Can-Pack held just a five-point advantage at the break, but they controlled the second half by stifling Mizo Pecs 2010 on offense in an 80-53 victory. The second-half margin was 38-17 as just two Mizo Pecs players (Nicole Ohlde, with 14, and former Storm draft pick Allie Quigley with 11) reached double-figures. Five scored at least 10 for Wisla, led by Burse’s 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting, nine boards and four steals. Iziane Castro Marques added 13.

Now, it’s out on the road for the middle game of the series for Spartak and Wisla, while Gdynia tries to stay alive at home. Game 2s of these series will be played on Friday.

Monday was the final round of the regular season in Israel. Already assured of the second seed in the playoffs, Maccabi Ashdod improved to 15-3 with a 78-76 win over ASA Jerusalem. A three by reserve Lena Mustafina with just three seconds left to play gave Ashdod the win. Ashley Walker had nine points and nine rebounds.

Camille Little had a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards to help Maccabi Ramat Hen to an 89-83 win over Raanana Hertzeliya. Tiffany Jackson scored 27 points for Ramat Hen, which will take on Natanya as the No. 5 seed. Ashdod will face Raanana Hertzeliya in the quarterfinals next Monday.

Jeff Reinking/NBAE/Getty Images

The highly anticipated matchup between Suzy Batkovic-Brown’s Sydney Uni Acuvue Flames and Lauren Jackson’s Canberra TransAct Capitals needed an extra session to decide a winner. After Batkovic-Brown missed the potential winning shot at the end of regulation, Jackson put Canberra ahead for a good by knocking down a three-pointer with 18 seconds left to play. Canberra got a stop and went on to complete the 81-78 victory, pulling even with Sydney in the loss column and just a half-game back in the race for second place in the WNBL.

The two stars held each other well below their lofty averages. Jackson had 25 points and 13 rebounds, making 11 free throws in 13 attempts. Baktovic-Brown was held to 10 points, her lowest scoring output of the season after eight consecutive games with 20-plus points. She added six rebounds and four steals. See a photo gallery and video highlights from the game.

The Flames did get a win from their trip to the capitol, crushing AIS 87-51 on Friday night. In that game, Batkovic-Brown had 20 points and seven boards in just 22 minutes of play before calling it a night and preparing to face Canberra on the second half of a back-to-back set.

Sunday was the final of the Cup of Russia and a showdown between rivals UMMC Ekaterinburg and Spartak Moscow Region, the first meeting of the two sides since Spartak got Sue Bird back in the lineup and Ekaterinburg added Candace Parker. It took the full 40 minutes to decide things. With five seconds left and Ekaterinburg up three, Bird was fouled. She intentionally missed the second shot and got her own rebound, but could not connect at the buzzer to force OT as Spartak fell 77-75.

Bird scored 24 points, tying Diana Taurasi for game-high honors and making five three-pointers, and grabbed nine rebounds. Parker led Ekaterinburg with 23 points. Spartak reached the final by beating Vologda-Chevakata 102-72 in Saturday’s semifinal. Bird had 10 points and three assists in 19 minutes of action.

An odd game for Swin Cash’s Guangdong Asia Aluminum team. Guangdong trailed by 14 at the half before outscoring Yunnan 47-17 in the final 20 minutes to win going away, 80-64. Cash led all scorers with 19 points, knocking down a pair of three-pointers and seven free throws. She added six rebounds and three assists.

Liomatic Umbertide lost at home to Lavezzini Parma 61-52. Chelsea Newton, who played the full 40 minutes, scored six points and grabbed three boards.

Both teams with Storm ties in the Polish PLKK scored victories over the weekend. Lotos Gdynia remained atop the league with a 63-47 win over UTEX Row Rybnik on Friday. Tanisha Wright contributed 11 points, five assists and four rebounds for Gdynia. Wisla Can-Pack toppled AZS Poznan 84-65 behind 14 points, seven rebounds and four assists from Janell Burse.

On the final day of the Euroleague’s group play, Lotos Gdynia and Storm guard Tanisha Wright got bad news, then good news and the net result appears to be a mixed blessing. While Lotos Gdynia lost to Spartak Moscow Region 85-60 in Vidnoje, Russia, Gdynia’s fate also depended on the outcome of the other two games in Group D. When Tarbes BG and Szeviep also fell, Lotos advanced to the knockout rounds as the fourth seed from the group. The team’s reward? It appears Lotos – which had the worst record of any team to make the eighth-finals – will be matched up with undefeated Spartak in a best-of-three series starting Feb. 2.

“We were outplayed, especially in the first quarter,” said Lotos coach Jacek Winnicki. “If as it seems we finally will play against Spartak in the playoffs we need to improve our game.”

Tanisha Wright had a tough shooting night but finished with seven points and seven boards for Lotos. Sue Bird, meanwhile, was part of a balanced Spartak scoring effort. Bird, who had 10 points, was one of four players in double-figures. Three others added eight points. Bird also handed out five assists and shot 5-of-8 from the field as Spartak raced out to a 19-point lead after one quarter and cruised from there.

Meanwhile, Wisla Can-Pack sweated out an 85-84 win at Gospic Croatia to finish 9-1 and atop Group B. Gospic had two chances at the winning bucket in the final second, but missed both. Wisla will be either the second or third overall seed heading into the eighth-finals, though the team has struggled since the holiday break after starting the Euroleague season 8-0. Janell Burse had 17 points and 10 rebounds for her eighth double-double in 10 Euroleague games and finished one board ahead of Kosice’s Candice Dupree for the title of leading regular-season rebounder at 11.4 per game. She was also sixth in scoring at 17.2 points per game and fourth with 1.3 blocks per game.

UPDATE: The Euroleague has announced matchups for the eighth-finals, and indeed Spartak Moscow Region and Sue Bird will host Tanisha Wright and Lotos Gdynia in the 1-16 matchup. Wisla Can-Pack, seeded third, will take on MiZo Pecs 2010 in a best-of-three series. MiZo Pecs is led by two members of the Phoenix Mercury, Kelly Mazzante and Nicole Ohlde, and former WNBA player Dalma Ivanyi.

After a lengthy holiday break that featured just one game (Spartak Moscow Region winning a game that was postponed earlier), the Euroleague was back in full swing yesterday and today. Two of the biggest results involved members of the Seattle Storm.

Earlier today, Wisla Can-Pack suffered its first loss in Euroleague play, falling 92-88 in Italy to Beretta Famila Schio. The fourth quarter was filled with taut, back-and-forth action, and Janell Burse brought Wisla within two points with 10 seconds to play. However, Laura Macchi sealed things by making two free throws with three seconds on the clock to push the margin to two possessions. Burse got into early foul trouble and never really found a rhythm, finishing with eight points and four boards – both season lows during what has been an excellent Euroleague campaign for her. But Ewelina Kobryn (27 points), Marta Fernandez (22) and Iziane Castro Marques (17) stepped in to fill the scoring void. Where Wisla really suffered was at the defensive end. Macchi scored 24 points, making all 13 of her free throw attempts.

In practice, the loss is unlikely to have much impact. All Wisla needs to do is beat 1-8 Gospic Croatia next Wednesday to secure first place in Group B. This does mean the lone remaining undefeated team in Euroleague is Spartak Moscow Region, which got a stiff test from Tarbes GB but pulled out a 78-75 road win by holding Tarbes scoreless over the game’s final 2:58. The UConn backcourt was key for Spartak. Sue Bird scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting and Diana Taurasi put up a game-high 33 points, making five three-pointers.

Also in Group D, Lotos Gdynia surprised Frisco Sika Brno 77-73 at home in a game that could carry them into the knockout stages. The rebuilt roster came together to beat a Brno team that entered 5-3. In her debut for Gdynia, Tanisha Wright had four points, four steals, three rebounds and three assists. Erin Phillips had 16 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, while Gdynia’s defense held DeWanna Bonner (4-of-14) and Taj McWilliams-Franklin (3-of-11) in check.

At 3-6, Gdynia is now alone in fourth place in Group D, but will probably still need some help to reach the postseason. Next week, Lotos travels to face Spartak on the road, a likely loss. Barring an upset, Gdynia would need Tarbes to lose to Fenerbahce to advance, while a win by Szeviép would mean a tie that would come down to points scored and allowed. Fortunately for Gdynia, both the 2-7 teams tied for fifth will be considerable underdogs next week.

While we’re focused on Euroleague, All-Star voting is ongoing now. Because they missed most of the season, neither Bird nor Wright is eligible, but Burse is on the ballot and her stats (17.2 points and 11.6 rebounds per game) are certainly worthy of the honor, so be sure to cast your vote.