Latest news with #SevgiUzun
Reuters
01-08-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Skidding Sky seek to tighten up defensively vs. Valkyries
August 1 - Mired in a season-long six-game losing streak, the Chicago Sky return home Friday to take on the Golden State Valkyries. The Sky (7-19) lost Ariel Atkins to a leg injury at the start of the losing streak and received just seven games out of Courtney Vandersloot before she was lost for the season with a knee injury in June. Rookie Hailey Van Lith (ankle) has missed the past two games as well. Angel Reese returned from a back injury and collected 22 points and 13 rebounds, but it wasn't enough to overcome a 103-86 road loss to the Washington Mystics on Tuesday. Chicago dabbled with a zone defense that proved to be problematic. "We really are just trying this on the fly," Sky guard Rachel Banham said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. "Teams are doing a good job getting in the middle, finding those gaps. It's a work in progress." The Sky could have Atkins and Van Lith back for against the Valkyries and are set to debut point guard Sevgi Uzun, who was just signed for the remainder of the season. Uzun has 47 games (19 starts) of WNBA experience over the past two seasons. The expansion Valkyries (13-13) enter off a 68-67 road victory over the Mystics on Thursday. Golden State is back to .500 after it slipped under the break-even point after losing five of six games from July 5-16. The victory came with a number of key pieces missing, including Cecilia Zandalasini (ankle). Zandalasini had 18 points and hit the game-winning shot in a 77-75 victory over the Atlanta Dream on Tuesday. The Valkyries scored just six points in the fourth quarter but won by holding the Mystics to one field goal over the final 7:20 of the game. "I don't even look at the six points, I look at the score," Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase said. "Both teams couldn't move that scoreboard at all, and so I was like, 'Hey, look, we're still up.' ... I thought that was a really good execution on the defensive end." Golden State is also 3-1 since leading scorer Kayla Thornton (14.0 points) was lost for the season to a knee injury. Monique Billings (7.5 points) has played nine minutes over the past four games because of an ankle injury. --Field Level Media
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
WNBA Team Announces Major Roster Decision on Monday
WNBA Team Announces Major Roster Decision on Monday originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Entering 2025 under second-year head coach Nate Tibbetts and general manager Nick U'Ren, the Phoenix Mercury aimed to recover from the loss of franchise icons Diana Taurasi (retired February 2025) and Brittney Griner (signed with the Atlanta Dream in free agency). Advertisement So far, Phoenix has posted a 5-2 record and is off to a 1-0 start in Commissioner's Cup play following an 85-80 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks on Sunday. Through the first seven games of the season, Phoenix has leaned on newcomers Satou Sabally (21.3 points and 8.1 rebounds per game) and Alyssa Thomas (15.3 points, 8.0 assists and 7.6 rebounds per game). On Monday, the Mercury made another pivotal move to its roster, announcing that it had waived guard Sevgi Uzun. Uzun, a 5-foot-10 point guard from Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey, carved her reputation in Europe before arriving in the WNBA. After beginning her pro career in 2013 with Beşiktaş, she played for Çukurova Basketbol (2018-19), Fenerbahçe (2019-21), Ormanspor (2021-22) and Botaş SK (2022-23). Advertisement In 2023-24, Uzun returned to Fenerbahçe and captured a EuroLeague Women championship, a Triple Crown (Turkish League, Turkish Cup, Turkish Super Cup), two consecutive FIBA Europe SuperCup Women titles (2023, 2024) and multiple Turkish league titles (2021, 2024, 2025). Her transition to the WNBA came in 2024 with the Dallas Wings, where she appeared in 40 games (19 starts) and averaged 4.4 points, 3.0 assists and 1.6 rebounds over 20.5 minutes per contest. Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese (5) and Dallas Wings guard Sevgi Uzun (1).Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports via Imagn Images After being traded to Phoenix in February, Uzun appeared in all seven games, averaging 1.6 points, 2.0 assists and 0.9 rebounds in 14.6 minutes per game. Advertisement The Mercury chose to waive her contract to clear her roster spot and allow Uzun to focus on Turkey's EuroBasket 2025 campaign, running June 18-29. Related: Lexie Hull's Mother Sends Indiana Fever Message After Third Straight Loss Related: Angel Reese Sends Message After Announcement on Friday This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 2, 2025, where it first appeared.
