The elite teams in Russian basketball descended upon Ekaterinburg on Thursday and Friday for the final four of the Cup of Russia.

Sparta&K Moscow Region got knocked off by Nadezhda 85-82 in the semifinals in a rematch of a league game won by Sparta&K days earlier. Sue Bird – who had made the game-winning shot in OT in the previous meeting – missed a triple that would have tied the game with four seconds left on the clock. Bird scored 11 points, handed out six assists and grabbed five rebounds. Ilona Korstin came off the bench to score a team-high 18 points. Lioudmila Sapova scored a game-high 20 points, shooting a perfect 10-of-10 at the free throw line. Tina Charles contributed 19 points and nine boards.

The other semifinal was no contest, as UMMC Ekaterinburg blew out Dynamo-GUVD by a 99-48 final. The hosts outscored Dynamo-GUVD by at least nine points in every quarter. Ekaterinburg shot 60 percent from the field while holding Dynamo-GUVD to 28.3 percent shooting. Maria Stepanova led the rout with 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Olga Arteshina scored 18 and pulled down nine rebounds.

Sparta&K bounced back to claim third place by defeating Dynamo-GUVD 83-69. Bird turned scorer, putting up 21 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including three three-pointers. Sonya Petrovic and Noelle Quinn added 12 points apiece.

The final was close throughout, but Ekaterinburg held on for the 79-73 victory to claim the Cup of Russia. Arteshina earned MVP honors after scoring 12 points, while Sandrine Gruda came up big in the final with 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Her Connecticut teammate Charles had a double-double (16 points, 10 rebounds) in defeat.

Ros Casares Valencia cruised to another Liga Feminina win, topping Celta Indepo 99-51 on Friday. Four players scored at least 14 points: Edwige Lawson with 16, Rebekkah Brunson with 15 and 14 apiece for Katie Douglas and Marta Fernandez. Nuria Martinez handed out seven assists, Cindy Lima had a double-double (11 points, 11 boards) and Jana Vesela made her usual well-rounded contributions: eight points, eight rebounds, five steals and four assists.

In a game with important playoff implications, the Bendigo Spirit beat the Dandenong Jayco Rangers 67-56. Foul trouble limited Abby Bishop, who scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds in 24 minutes. But only five total players scored as the Rangers shot 29.1 percent from the field. Kristi Harrower had 16 points and 10 boards for Bendigo.

The matchup of the top two teams in the WNBL saw the Bulleen Boomers solidify their spot atop the league with a 79-72 victory over the Canberra TransAct Capitals. Suzy Batkovic’s big game was not enough for Canberra. Batkovic had 24 points, six rebounds, five steals and four assists. Outside of the five players who scored at least eight points, however, the rest of the team totaled just seven points. On the other side, Bulleen was more balanced. Rachel Jarry scored 17 points, Elyse Penaluna had 16 points and 11 rebounds and Liz Cambage scored 15.

Earlier today in Israel, Elizur Ramla blew past Elizur Holon 89-67. Kia Vaughan went off for Ramla, scoring 31 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Le’coe Willingham scored 21 points and had 17 boards, while Tanisha Wright scored seven points and grabbed seven rebounds. Shay Doron threw in 16 points. Kerri Gardin led Holon with 18 points and 10 boards.

This was a rare two-game week in Israel. On Monday, Elizur Ramla survived a scare from Raanana Hertzeliya to win 89-86. Le’coe Willingham had 17 points and 13 rebounds, Tanisha Wright scored 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting and grabbed six rebounds and Kia Vaughan chipped in 18 points and 14 boards. Meanwhile, Electra Ramat Hasharon snapped a losing streak by knocking off Elizur Holon 70-60. Camille Little came up with a team-high 19 points and eight rebounds. Sheri Sam had 12 points and 14 rebounds for Holon.

On Thursday, Storm teammates squared off as Ramla defeated Ramat Hasharon 87-60. Wright had an excellent all-around game, providing 13 points, six rebounds, six assists and eight steals. Willingham, meanwhile, led all scorers with 21 points. Little had 15 points and six rebounds in a losing effort. Storm center Ashley Robinson, over in Israel visiting, attended the game. Check out her Twitter feed for observations and plenty of photos, including this of teammates reunited:

Sparta&K Moscow Region earned a thrilling 81-80 victory in Orenburg against Nadezhda on Sunday, working overtime. Jelena Milovanovic forced the extra session with a score late in regulation and Sue Bird – who else? – made the eventual game-winner with 54 seconds left in OT. Sparta&K made it stand up by holding Nadezhda scoreless the rest of the way. Bird finished with 16 points on 8-of-14 shooting, six rebounds and five assists. Epiphanny Prince dropped 22 points for Sparta&K, but Nadezhda’s Olga Ovcharenko led all scorers with 27 points. Tina Charles added 20 points and 11 boards in defeat.

Returning from the game, Sparta&K traveled through Moscow’s Domodedevo International Airport just hours before Monday’s suicide bombing that killed 35 people and injured nearly 200 more. While thankful that Sue and her teammates are safe, our thoughts go out to the victims of the bombing.

UMMC Ekaterinburg had a much easier time of things against Dynamo Moscow, winning 81-50 at home. Ekaterinburg turned a comfortable margin into a lopsided one by outscoring Dynamo 22-7 in the final period. Svetlana Abrosimova had six points and six rebounds in 21 effective minutes. Candace Parker was hot offensively for Ekaterinburg, scoring 26 points on 11-of-15 shooting.

In Spain, Ros Casares Valencia earned an 86-48 victory over an Extrugasa team led by one-time Storm forward Mandisa Stevenson (there’s a blast from the past). After halftime, it was all Ros Casares: a 45-14 margin. Rebekkah Brunson proved difficult to stop, scoring 21 points and grabbing nine rebounds in just 20 minutes. Four other Ros Casares players reached double-figure scoring. Jana Vesela played 27 minutes, coming up with seven points, four rebounds and three steals.

The Canberra TransAct Capitals got back on track after last week’s loss with a 96-78 win over the West Coast Waves, sparked by 11-of-21 shooting from beyond the arc. Jessica Bibby had five of the triples and finished with 27 points. Marianna Tolo added 16 points and five rebounds. Alison Lacey scored three points, grabbed three rebounds and handed out a pair of assists.

After knocking the Caps out of first place, the Dandenong Jayco Rangers were unable to do the same to the red-hot Bulleen Boomers, who took control in the second quarter en route to an 88-71 triumph. Abby Bishop scored 23 points and nine rebounds for Dandenong. She was no match, however, for Liz Cambage. The talented teen put up 33 points in 30 minutes on 15-of-22 shooting and added nine rebounds. She carried Bulleen, which saw just one other player (Rachel Jarry, with 15) score double-digits.

Needing to lose by fewer than nine points in today’s second leg of the home-and-home EuroCup eighth-finals, Elizur Ramla did one better, beating Dynamo Moscow outright in Russia by a 60-57 final to advance to the quarterfinals. Le’coe Willingham led Ramla with 17 points and a game-high 16 rebounds. Tanisha Wright was also a key factor with 15 points and six steals. Shay Doron (14) provided most of the rest of Ramla’s scoring. Marina Kuzina had 19 points for Dynamo, but 20 turnovers doomed the Russian side.

“We knew that it wouldn’t be easy come here to Moscow and play on their home court,” said Willingham. “They are a very good team, they played well. I’m just really proud of my teammates. We were very committed on defense. Our defense created this win.”

Based on the schedule, it appears Ramla will face Gran Canaria in the quarterfinals after the Spanish team, led by former Syracuse star Nicole Michael, pulled out a 128-126 aggregate win over Energa Torun. The two games of the quarterfinals are scheduled for Feb. 3 and Feb. 10.

Euroleague teams are preparing for the postseason after wrapping up group play yesterday. Ros Casares Valencia ended any worry about finishing first in Group D early, blowing out Frisco Sika Brno 98-49 in a game that secured the best record in the group (8-2). Ros Casares led by 17 after one quarter and 30 by halftime behind hot shooting. Katie Douglas knocked down six of Ros Casares’ 10 three-pointers en route to 35 points. Marta Fernandez scored 20 and Jana Vesela, playing in her native Czech Republic, had 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting and eight rebounds. Ros Casares’ defense held Brno star Cheryl Ford to three points on 1-of-10 from the field.

Sparta&K Moscow Region controlled its destiny for first place in Group C, visiting leader Halcon Avenida yesterday. Sparta&K took an early lead and held a one-point advantage at the break, but the home team pulled away in the third quarter on the way to a 75-64 win. With Epiphanny Prince held to seven points, Sparta&K had a tough time finding enough scoring. Jelena Milovanovic led the team with 17 points and Sue Bird scored 13 on 6-of-9 shooting in addition to handing out five assists, but they were the lone Sparta&K players to reach double-figures. Four Avenida players scored at least 10, topped by 19 from Alba Torrens, while Erika de Souza had a double-double with 12 points and 16 rebounds.

Wednesday’s big Euroleague showdown was in Istanbul, where powers Fenerbahce and UMMC Ekaterinburg squared off with one loss between them – Fenerbahce’s head-to-head win earlier this season in Ekaterinburg. Fenerbahce opened up a lead early in the third quarter and fended off an Ekaterinburg comeback to earn the 82-75 victory and finish atop Group B. Angel McCoughtry powered in a game-high 26 points and Ivana Matovic scored 24 on 7-of-10 shooting. Candace Parker and Cappie Pondexter scored 18 apiece for Ekaterinburg. Svetlana Abrosimova had a rebound and a steal in three minutes of action.

Now it’s on to the eighth-finals. Ros Casares faces Storm draft pick Tijana Krivacevic and MKB Euroleasing Sopron, which was weakened by losing McCoughtry to Fenerbahce (she was replaced by Marissa Coleman). Ekaterinburg squares off against Spanish team Rivas Ecopolis. Behind DeWanna Bonner and Amaya Valdemoro, Rivas Ecopolis won La Copa de la Reina, but lost both head-to-head matchups to Ekaterinburg during group play. Lastly, Sparta&K takes on Beretta-Famila Schio and former teammate Janel McCarville.

A week after losing in Canberra, the Dandenong Jayco Rangers got another chance against the Capitals, beating them 72-68 at home. Tracy Gahan’s score with 1:11 to go gave the Rangers the lead for good, and Abby Bishop split to free throws to increase the margin to three and force Canberra to foul in vain the rest of the way. Bishop, who had 13 points and seven rebounds, was one of four Dandenong players to score double-figures. Kathleen MacLeod made a big impact despite her poor shooting with 13 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Alison Lacey had an excellent game for the Capitals, scoring a team-high 16 points on the strength of 4-of-7 shooting from downtown and adding seven rebounds. Teammate Suzy Batkovic had 14 points and seven rebounds.

The loss knocked Canberra, now 14-3, out of first place in the WNBL. The Bulleen Boomers are percentage points ahead at 13-2, having won 13 games in a row behind the play of center Liz Cambage after dropping their first two of the season.

While Spartak Moscow Region had the weekend off, UMMC Ekaterinburg cruised in Russian SuperLeague action, beating Dynamo Moscow 81-50. Svetlana Abrosimova got 21 minutes of action in her longest outing of the season, scoring six points and grabbing a season-high six rebounds. Ekaterinburg outscored Dynamo by 22 points with Abrosimova on the floor, pulling away steadily after the game was close in the early going. Candace Parker paced Ekaterinburg with 26 points on 11-of-15 shooting and Maria Stepanova adding 16 points and six boards.

In a low-scoring, defensive affair, Ros Casares Valencia topped Mann Filter Zaragoza 54-45 on Saturday. Ros Casares’ tough defense limited Zaragoza to one three-pointer in 14 attempts and just three tries from the free throw line. Katie Douglas (14 points, seven rebounds) and Rebekkah Brunson (12 points, eight boards) supplied all the scoring that was needed to back up that defensive effort. Jana Vesela added four points, five rebounds and two steals.

Despite an early scare, Elizur Ramla rolled onward in Israeli action with an 86-62 victory over Elizur Natanya. With Le’coe Willingham and Tanisha Wright coming off the bench, Ramla trailed 24-14 after one quarter before rallying to tie at the break and pull away after halftime. Wright had 19 points and five rebounds in 20 minutes, making all five of her three-point attempts, while Willingham finished with 15 points and nine boards while going a perfect 9-of-9 at the charity stripe.

Electra Ramat Hasharon continues to struggle to find chemistry with a new lineup after the new year.  Ramat Hasharon fell 69-57 on Monday to Hapoel Rishon Lizion. Camille Little had 10 points and four boards in the loss. Connecticut draft pick Danielle McCray led Hapoel with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

This week marked the beginning of playoff action in the EuroCup, which features four rounds of two-legged aggregate-score matchups. In the eighth-finals, Storm players Le’coe Willingham and Tanisha Wright have seen their Elizur Ramla team drawn against Russian squad Dynamo. Thursday, Ramla hosted the opening game and took the early series lead with a 66-57 victory. Wright led the team with 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Willingham wasn’t hitting from the field, but did everything else well, adding eight rebounds, four assists and four steals to her 11 points.

Ramla opened up a 19-point lead after three quarters only to see Dynamo cut into the advantage in the final period. That’s crucial because every point counts in the aggregate format. Ramla will advance to the quarterfinals by winning next Thursday’s return leg in Moscow or losing by fewer than nine points.

Elsewhere on the continent, the Euroleague picked up after the holiday break with games Wednesday and Thursday. On Wednesday, Ros Casares Valencia blew past Gorzow 86-52 to stay atop Group D. With a win next week at Frisco Sika Brno, Ros Casares will win the group. On Wednesday, Ros Casares pulled away from an outmatched Gorzow side by outscoring them 29-6 in the second quarter. Another dominant performance in the third gave Ros Casares a 40-point lead entering the final period. Trademark balance saw five Valencia players score double-figures and three more add at least six points. Jana Vesela had seven points, a season-high eight rebounds and a European career-high six blocks. Rebekkah Brunson paced the team in scoring with 16 points.

In Group C, Spartak Moscow Region stayed in the hunt for first place with Thursday’s 78-61 road win over French side Tarbes. Hot-shooting Spartak made 57.8 percent of its two-point attempts. Epiphanny Prince led the attack with 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting. Sue Bird scored 12 points and had four steals in her first Euroleague action of the season. With a win next Wednesday at Halcon Avenida, Spartak would tie Avenida for first place in Group C with a 7-3 record plus sweep two head-to-head matchups, earning the tie-breaker.

In that game, Spartak will have the services of newly signed post Taj McWilliams, who has replaced Lauren Jackson on the team’s roster. While Jackson may return from an Achilles injury in time for the Euroleague Final Four, there was no guarantee based on the way Spartak has played this season that the team would still be alive for her to rejoin them. As a result, Spartak had to strengthen its roster by bringing in the WNBA and international veteran.

Before resuming second-half Liga Feminina play, Spain paused last weekend for the semifinals and finals of la Copa de la Reina – the Queen’s Cup, handed out annually to the winner of a single-elimination tournament. Host Ros Casares Valencia reached the finals with a narrow 68-66 victory over Mann Filter Zaragoza on Saturday. Rebekkah Brunson powered the win with 28 points on 10-of-14 shooting and 12 rebounds. Marta Fernandez added 13 points and Katie Douglas 12, while Jana Vesela chipped in five points and three rebounds.

The final pitted Ros Casares against upstart Rivas Ecopolis, which has emerged as a contender this season after adding Amaya Valdemoro and DeWanna Bonner. The two teams battled back and forth for the better part of 40 minutes, but Rivas held on for the 63-59 win to claim la Copa for the first time ever and snap Ros Casares’ four-year run as champions. Behind 21 points and 10 boards, Bonner was named MVP, while Valdemoro scored 12 points. Brunson had 15 points and 10 rebounds for Ros Casares, but Douglas (10) was the only other Valencia player to reach double-figures as the team shot 37 percent from the field. Vesela had six points and four boards, making both of her three-point attempts.

Spartak Moscow Region, still playing without Lauren Jackson, squeezed out another victory by a narrow margin on Saturday, beating Vologda-Chevakata 62-61. After Jessica Davenport tied the game with a three-point play with 22 seconds left to play, Irina Osipova scored the winning free throw at the eight-second mark. Epiphanny Prince grabbed the board when Osipova missed the second shot, allowing Spartak to run out the clock. Prince scored a game-high 18 points. Sue Bird added 12 and four rebounds. Davenport led Vologda with 17 points and 11 boards.

While Spartak was returning Bird, UMMC Ekaterinburg added Candace Parker to the lineup at the start of the new year. Parker helped Ekaterinburg blow out Spartak-ShVSM 107-41 on Saturday. With a 34-point lead by halftime, Ekaterinburg showcased its depth. 10 of the 11 players who saw action scored at least seven points. Sandrine Gruda scored 18 points and Maria Stepanova had a double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds).  Svetlana Abrosimova knocked down a pair of triples en route to scoring eight points. Parker had 14 points and seven boards.

The Canberra TransAct Capitals held off a test from the Dandenong Jayco Rangers on Saturday, winning 100-92 to move to 14-2 on the season. A solid first half saw the visiting Rangers take a six-point lead to the break, but Canberra responded by outscoring Dandenong 38-22 in the third quarter to take the lead for good. Getting 28 points (and 10 rebounds) from Suzy Batkovic and 21 points (and 10 boards) from Marianna Tolo, the Capitals shot 53 percent from the field. Abby Bishop’s 24 points helped the Rangers keep pace in the first half, but ultimately they did not have enough firepower. Alison Lacey chipped in eight points and three assists for Canberra, which heads on the road for next week’s rematch between the teams.

On Friday, Dandenong got its road trip off to a winning start by dominating the Australian Institute of Sport 89-46. The Rangers led by 23 after one quarter and 37 at the half. Seven players scored double-digits, led by 19 from Kathleen MacLeod. Abby Bishop had 11 points and six rebounds.

Earlier today in Israel, Elizur Ramla got a scare from Maccabi Ashdod but hung on for the 68-66 win. Ramla trailed by six at the break and one through three quarters before rallying on the strength of its American players. Tanisha Wright had 21 points and seven rebounds, Le’coe Willingham put up 18 points and nine boards and Kia Vaughan had 16 points and 17 rebounds. The three players combined for 80.9 percent of Ramla’s scoring and 73.3 percent of the team’s rebounds. Renee Montgomery scored 25 points for Ashdod.

Electra Ramat Hasharon suffered its second loss in as many weeks in 2011, dropping a 69-57 decision to Raanana Hertzeliya. Tough defense held Camille Little to 11 points and nine rebounds, while Ramat Hasharon shot a combined 4-of-22 from beyond the arc. Indiana’s Jene Morris paced Hertzeliya with 24 points.