EuroLeague Women champions UMMC Ekaterinburg came out of the  blocks flying today at the FIBA World Cup for Women’s Clubs in Samara, Russia. They faced Brazilian club Sau Paulo in their opening match and literally blew them away,  82-52.

Virtually all of the damage was done in the fourth quarter as Ekaterinburg stretched a 9-point lead to 31 after a remarkable 26-4 run.

		Irina Ossipova

Ekaterinburg has gathered a veritable collection of stars for the tournament and can boast US standouts Sheryl Swoopes, Delisha Milton, Nathalie Williams and Andrea Stinson. Added to that they have Portuguese star Tina Penecheiro plus Russian national team playes Diana Goustilina, Irina Ossipova, Anna Arkhipova and Svetlana Abrosimova.

They all got in on the act tonight, with Williams and Stinson scoring 15 points apiece and Milton (10 points) and Abrosomiva (11 points) also reaching double digits.

However, it was on defense that the Russian champs excelled and they harried the Brazilians into 32% shooting from the field, including just 3/14 from behind the arc.

Cristina Marcal topped Sau Paulo with 16 points and Janeth Arcain added 14.

Full Tournament Results and Standings