Stephanie Mavunga was a last-minute pickup for Çukurova Basketbol Mersin ahead of the EuroLeague Women playoffs, and her play was one of the reasons her new team beat Zaragoza in the quarterfinals to advance to the Final Four.
This Thursday, April 12, Mersin and Mavunga will play Fenerbahçe for a chance to appear in the EuroLeague Women Final two days later. We caught up with Mavunga to talk to her about the move to Turkey, the road to the Final Four and her team’s chances of winning the competition.
Let’s start with the obvious question: How did you end up with Mersin? How did they convince you that you were the missing piece?
It was a week-long process. Originally, I had said “No,” and they kept trying and I eventually decided it was what I wanted to do. I’m thankful they didn’t stop trying! The most convincing thing is obvious: a chance to do what I hadn’t done in my European career yet, advance to the Final Four… So it was a huge opportunity for me and something I wanted to be able to compete for.
What were your first days in Mersin like? Did it take long to adjust? Because on the court, you’ve fit right in, but you haven’t played in Turkey up until now. How is the basketball culture different on a day-to-day basis?
My first days were spent with getting straight into practice, trying to learn the plays on the fly. I think overall I have to pat myself on the back for how quickly I did end up learning the plays after getting here. Because I must admit, it’s not always the easiest thing for me. Surprisingly, it was also a bit tough to get used to the time difference. Though it’s only two hours ahead of Poland, I initially felt like the days ended so quickly or it was so late before I could even realize! Basketball in Turkey has been fun! I love the group we have. Both the girls and the coaches push me to be better and I feel like they challenge me while still helping me to grow.
How is that different than in the past?
It’s different than in the past four years, for me, because I’ve had mostly two-a-days all season and not a lot of time for individual work or full-time access to the gym. Here in Mersin, it’s the opposite. We practice once a day and I have had many individual workouts with my coaches to work on different things. I really like it because I also have the chance to continue to get better on specific things during the season. I also am now lifting more, which I like. It just gives you more room to do what you may need to do specifically for your body—whether that be rest, treatment, extra cardio, extra shooting, etc. So I’ve found that as a bonus! I can get in the gym as early as I want and as late as I want, as many times as I want.
I’m dying to know what happened prior to the tip off of Game 1 against Zaragoza. Why was it delayed? The commentator said that it had something to do with your headband.
Apparently, they don’t want you to wear “hair ties” anymore because it’s seen as some sort of hazard. So, now you can’t have the knot in the back. So though we asked the official if we can tuck it, she was adamant about us removing it. Our staff got the situation checked ahead of Game 2 and we were able to cut our hair ties, leaving only a small knot in the back and leave them on.
Game 2 in Zaragoza, you were one shot away from progressing to the next round. Sometimes those narrow losses can break a team. What was the locker room like after that game and how did you guys bounce back mentally before Game 3, knowing that you were so close?
Our team isn’t like that. We knew we didn’t play our best in Zaragoza. We knew what we needed to correct…and we all had the same mentality: that we had to set the tone from the start in Game 3. So I didn’t see our locker room ever get bad. We watched the film with coach and he broke down what we needed to work on and avoid during the following game. I think we did a much better job. Personally, I had already rewatched the full game, and as I watched myself, I knew I made A LOT of mistakes, especially defensively. I was really hard on myself trying to avoid those same mistakes in Game 3.
Well, it worked! Game 3, you enter the game hot and never look back. The best thing about your performance was that it was a team effort. Everybody did what they were supposed to and you guys are in the Final Four. What are your strengths?
I think one of our biggest strengths is we have so many different pieces and we all play differently, but make it work together. If one player is off, three, four, five more can step up immediately. It’s hard to guard a team where everyone is capable of doing something on offense. I think another thing is that we adjust fairly quickly. Kah [Kahleah Copper] and I came just before quarterfinals and there were times when you couldn’t tell that we hadn’t all played together before. That’s credit to the team and the staff for helping us to fit in .
Another thing I like is we all compete—all the time! We all have some type of “dawg” in us, if you will. Things can get a little “spicy,” for lack of a better term. We’re all huge competitors and I think it’s obvious to see when you watch us. We are passionate! But at the same time, we have so much fun out there. We get hyped for one another. Our energy is through the roof and you can tell we really enjoy the game.
So if you were to characterize Mersin as a team, what words would you use?
I think words to describe us would be: grit, determination, hustle, competitive, ambitious, joyful, passionate. Just to name a few.
In the EuroLeague Women semifinals you’re playing Fenerbahçe, the favorites of this year’s competition. Mersin played Fener twice this year in the Turkish League and it lost both games; however, Stephanie Mavunga wasn’t on the roster in any of those game. Apart from that, what do you think or hope will be different this time?
I think our team is different from when we played Fener earlier this season, and I’m not just talking about the roster changes . As the season goes on, players start to jell more. You naturally get more comfortable with one another on the court. You learn each others’ style of play and things just click better. You learn from your mistakes from previous games, you get better individually and you also have more chances to compete since then, which overall makes for a better team in the end.
Obviously, Fener also has the same chance and has also added to their roster, but I do believe we’re a better team than we were since the last matchup. And I know we will continue to work to improve and get even better. I think it will be a very competitive game between two great teams! And of course my hope and goal is to always win. I’m a competitor. This is why we play.
A special thank you to Maxym Lejeune of LBM Management for arranging the interview.