Dominique Faurie has covered women's basketball all over Europe and will write regularly for FIBAEurope.com during the EuroLeague season.

We asked players from several EuroLeague teams to talk about the squads they met in previous round and how they see the quarter-final match-ups breaking down.

We'll start in the west and visit with Nicole Ohlde of Valenciennes who has faced Brno twice this year as well as taking on their quarter-final opponent Ros Casares in the eighth finals.

Kathy Wambe thinks the key to beating Bourges is slowing down point guard Celine Dumerc.

Then we'll talk with Kathy Wambe of Villeneuve-d'Ascq who has experience with both Bourges and Fenerbahce.

Next week we'll head east and talk about the Russian giants.

Valencia - Brno

Nicole Ohlde, the American star from Valenciennes, is the leading rebounder in EuroLeague Women-currently tied with Ann Wauters. Her team played Brno twice this season and lost both games though they made it to the eighth finals where they fell 2-1 to Ros Casares.

She shared her thoughts on the match-up with the Faurie Files:

"It will be a tight series.  Both are really good teams. Brno is tall, they can beat you from the outside and from the inside. Valencia has a lot of experience. My prediction is Brno, but it will go to three games. Perhaps they'll have more motivation, after missing the Final Four last year."

"Both play as a team. Anyone can step up; you have to pay attention to every player on the court. We beat Valencia at home, but I think we surprised them, and made a good game. Both of these teams impressed me."

By the numbers:

Valencia                                  Brno

Offense: 76.4 (5th)                  Offense 80.8 (3rd)

Defense: 62.1 (3rd)                  Defense 66.1 (5th)

Average: 14.3 (5th)                 Average: 14.7 (4th)

Top scorer: Douglas 15.5        Top scorer: Zirkova 14.3   

Bourges - Fenerbahce

Kathy Wambe, the Belgian point guard from Villeneuve-d'Ascq, had a beautiful first season in Euroleague.  She scored the decisive basket against Fenerbahce, which sent the French newcomers to the eighth final. The road stopped there, against Ekaterinburg. 

She has plenty of experience with both of these teams and shared her thoughts with the Faurie Files:

"To me, Bourges can win 2-0. This team is really strong, and beat us easily twice in the domestic league by around 20 points. Bourges looks stronger than last year, when they reached the Final Four. They have more players, and the rhythm never goes down. There's no brake in their game, and everyone plays strong defense all the time. Sometimes, you know a player who is not really efficient in defense. In this team, it's different. The arrival of Snell also make them more dangerous offensively. I would almost say that the only way to beat them is to expect a bad day or to put a lot of pressure on Dumerc, because she's the leader and a really good player."

"Fernerbahce doesn't seem as strong. It's rather a team full of individual talents. Pondexter is an out of the norm player, but can't do anything alone. For our home game, we put a lot of pressure on her. She scored many points, but it disturbed them a lot."

By the numbers:

Bourges                                   Fenerbahce

Offense 67.3 (16th)                 Offense: 71.8 (10th)

Defense 59.6 (1st)                   Defense: 71.0 (9th)         

Average: 7.7   (6th)                 Average: 0.8 (8th)

Top scorer: Kireta 12.3            Top scorer: Pondexter 21.3

Bourges is among worst teams in attack, but they are great on defense. Fenerbahce, on the other hand, is rather badly placed in offense and defense.