Archive for the ‘kobryn’ Category

Wisla Takes Polish Cup

Monday, March 5th, 2012

With the Euroleague’s Final Eight all set, the elite teams in Europe have briefly turned their full attention to domestic action. Let’s take a look at what happened over the weekend.

Sunday was the finals of the Polish Cup competition, with Wisla Can-Pack Krakow facing Lotos Gdynia. The game was close throughout and Gdynia took a one-point lead to the final period, but Wisla rallied to win 81-75 and reign as cup holders for the first time since 2009, snapping a two-year Lotos run. Behind 19 points and seven boards, Ewelina Kobryn (right) was named MVP of the final game; teammate Nicole Powell (15 points, six boards) was MVP of the cup. Taj McWilliams had 12 points and seven rebounds and Erin Phillips had 11 points, five boards and five assists.

In Russia, Sue Bird played the role of passer in an 88-53 UMMC Ekaterinburg win over Vologda-Chevakata. Bird did not score but handed out seven assists in 25 minutes. She set up Sandrine Gruda, who scored 21 points, and Deanna Nolan, who scored 16, among others. Svetlana Abrosimova came off the bench for eight points, two rebounds and two assists.

Ros Casares Valencia got a bit of a test Saturday from RC Celta Baloncesto, but emerged with a 69-56 victory. Ann Wauters had 14 points and seven boards for Ros Casares, while Lauren Jackson and Jana Vesela scored 12 points apiece. Sancho Lyttle led the team with 16 points and 13 rebounds.

Rebounding from an upset loss, Elizur Ramla topped Hapoel Rishon Lezion 79-75 today. Le’coe Willingham had game highs of 24 points and 13 rebounds for Ramla, Tanisha Wright scored 13 points and Alana Beard had 14. New Storm forward Victoria Dunlap, playing for Hapoel, had 16 points and 11 boards. So far this season, Dunlap is averaging 14.5 points and 8.9 rebounds per game.

In a key showdown Saturday, Pecs 2010 fell to Uni Seat Gyor, 75-65. Allie Quigley scored 20 points with seven rebounds and four assists, but her performance was topped by 25 points from Nora Bujdoso for Gyor. The loss drops Pecs a game back of Gyor for second place in the Hungarian League with a matchup in next week’s final round against undefeated UNIQA Euroleasing Sopron.

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Kobryn Finding Her Way

Thursday, July 7th, 2011

After her first real practice with the Seattle Storm, newcomer Ewelina Kobryn was given a map to find her way around the city. Both on and off the floor, Kobryn is in unfamiliar territory. For the newest member of the Storm, Thursday’s practice at Seattle Pacific University was an opportunity to catch her breath and begin getting comfortable in the team’s system.

Kobryn joined the Storm last Thursday, at the start of a three-game East Coast road trip. A day later, the Polish post made her WNBA debut by playing 30 seconds against the Connecticut Sun. Kobryn also saw three minutes of action Tuesday in Indiana, but had yet to go through a full practice with the team because the Storm was busy traveling last week.

“I’m so happy, but it was hard for me because I came before the road trip,” Kobryn told media after practice. “Now that I am here finally in Seattle, I hope I can help the team. I will give what I can give.”

It was a whirlwind journey for Kobryn, who was representing her host country in EuroBasket competition less than two weeks ago. When Poland was eliminated in the second round, she became available to the Storm, looking to add post depth with Lauren Jackson sidelined following hip surgery. Kobryn, who had previously been in training camp with the New York Liberty this season and the Washington Mystics the year before, leapt at the opportunity to fulfill what she calls a dream of playing in the WNBA.

“Everybody said, ‘You have to go. This is the champions of the WNBA and this is a chance for you to get a ring,’” she recalled. “I’m so happy that I can be here and can be where there are a lot of fantastic players. What can I say more? I’m so happy.”

The Storm is as pleased to have Kobryn, an experienced veteran of Euroleague and international play who is skilled for a player capable of seeing action at either power forward or center.

“She’s a very delightful person,” said Storm Head Coach Brian Agler. “You probably found that out – smiles on her face. This was really her first practice today and she did pretty well.”

Agler was impressed with how Kobryn handled seeing game action almost immediately after joining the team.

“We had her in, let her play and get her feet wet, then pulled her out and talked to her about it and put her back in,” he explained. “She did pretty well.”

With more experience playing for Agler and with her new teammates, Kobryn should feel more at home on the court. Already, her teammates – many of them familiar as long-time opponents in European competition – are helping her make the adjustment.

“This is my new team and of course everybody has helped me and I feel like part of the team,” she said.

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