Russia’s Elena Danilochkina will not be returning to the national team as they bid to retain their Eurobasket Women crown this summer.
The 2011 Eurobasket Women MVP is taking a break from the sport to get married later this year and start a family, as revealed by new Russian head coach Alfredas Vainauskas.
Danilochkina is the fourth high profile player who will miss this summer’s tournament, to be held in France, following on from the injured Olga Arteshina plus Maria Stepanova and Svetlana Abrosimova have both retired. Epiphanny Prince though will be the team’s naturalised player who will succeed Becky Hammon.
Russia begin training camp on May 12. They are in Group B at Eurobasket Women and will play in Vannes against Italy, Spain and Sweden.
17-player roster:
Epiphanny Prince (Dynamo Kursk), Natalia Zhedik (Nadezhda), Evgeniia Beliakova (Sparta&K M.R. Vidnoje), Ilona Korstin Dynamo Moscow), Liudmila Sapova (Nadezhda), Anna Petrakova (UMMC Ekaterinburg), Natalia Vodopyanova (Dynamo Kursk), Tatiana Vidmer (Dynamo Moscow), Irina Osipova (Istanbul University), Nadezhda Grishaeva (Dynamo Moscow), Natalia Vieru (Sparta&K M.R. Vidnoje), Marina Kuzina (Sparta&K M.R. Vidnoje), Ekaterina Lisina (Dynamo Kursk), Maria Cherepanova (Dynamo Kusk), Veronika Dorosheva (Dynamo Moscow), Elena Volkova (Chevakata) and Ekaterina Ruzanova (Sparta&K M.R. Vidnoje)
