2017–18 Úrvalsdeild kvenna (basketball)

The 2017–18 Úrvalsdeild kvenna was the 61st season of the Úrvalsdeild kvenna, the top tier women's basketball league on Iceland. The season started on October 4, 2017[1] and concluded on April 30, 2018, with Haukar winning their fourth title after beating Valur 3–2 in the Úrvalsdeild finals.[2] Helena Sverrisdóttir was named the Playoffs MVP after averaging 20.2 points, 12.2 rebounds and 10.8 assists in the finals series.[3]

Domino's deild kvenna^1
Teams	8
Dates	October 4, 2017 – April 30, 2018
TV	Stöð 2 Sport
Final positions
Top seed	Haukar
Champions	Haukar
Runners-up	Valur
Semifinalists	Keflavík, Skallagrímur
Relegated	Njarðvík
Awards
Finals MVP	Helena Sverrisdóttir
Domestic MVP	Helena Sverrisdóttir
Foreign MVP	Danielle Rodriguez
Statistical leaders
Points Carmen Tyson-Thomas 34.0 Rebounds Shalonda Winton 18.5 Assists Brittanny Dinkins 9.2
Records
Highest scoring	Keflavík 107–92 Skallagrímur (25 October 2017)
Winning streak	Keflavík, Haukar 14 games
Losing streak	Njarðvík 26 games
← 2016–17 2018–19 → All statistics correct as of 30 April 2018. ^1 Sponsored league name, referring to Úrvalsdeild kvenna.

Competition format

The participating teams first play a conventional round-robin schedule with every team playing each opponent twice "home" and twice "away" for a total of 28 games. The top four teams qualify for the championship playoffs whilst the bottom team will be relegated to Division 1.

Teams

Team	City, Region	Arena	Head coach
Breiðablik	Kópavogur	Smárinn	Hildur Sigurðardóttir
Haukar	Hafnarfjörður	Schenkerhöllin	Ingvar Þór Guðjónsson
Keflavík	Keflavík	TM Höllin	Sverrir Þór Sverrisson
Njarðvík	Njarðvík	Ljónagryfjan	Ragnar Halldór Ragnarsson
Skallagrímur	Borgarnes	Fjósið	Ari Gunnarsson
Snæfell	Stykkishólmur	Fjárhúsið	Ingi Þór Steinþórsson
Stjarnan	Garðabær	Ásgarður	Pétur Már Sigurðsson
Valur	Reykjavík	Valshöllin	Darri Freyr Atlason

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Replaced with	Date of appointment
Njarðvík	Agnar Gunnarsson	End of contract	-	Pre-season	Hallgrímur Brynjólfsson	7 May 2017[4]
Valur	Ari Gunnarsson	End of contract[5]	-		Darri Freyr Atlason	3 April 2017[6]
Skallagrímur	Manuel Angel Rodriguez Escudero	Sacked[7]	25 May 2017		Ricardo González Dávila	3 June 2017[8]
Skallagrímur	Ricardo González Dávila	Sacked[9]	14 January 2018	6th	Ari Gunnarsson	16 January 2018[10]
Njarðvík	Hallgrímur Brynjólfsson	Sacked	19 January 2018	8th	Ragnar Halldór Ragnarsson	19 January 2018[11]

Regular season

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Haukar	28	21	7	2236	2006	+230	42	Qualification to playoffs
2	Keflavík	28	20	8	2295	2107	+188	40
3	Valur	28	19	9	2200	1975	+225	38
4	Skallagrímur	28	14	14	2150	2135	+15	28
5	Stjarnan	28	14	14	2040	2008	+32	28
6	Snæfell	28	12	16	2007	2072	−65	24
7	Breiðablik	28	11	17	1931	2083	−152	22
8	Njarðvík	28	1	27	1781	2254	−473	2	Relegated

Updated to match(es) played on 26 March 2018. Source: Úrvalsdeild kvenna 2017-18

Playoffs

The playoffs are played between the four first qualified teams with a 1-1-1-1-1 format, playing seeded teams games 1, 3 and 5 at home.

Bracket

	Semifinals					Finals
	1	Haukar	3
	4	Skallagrímur	0
						1	Haukar	3
						3	Valur	2
	2	Keflavík	1
	3	Valur	3

Updated to match(es) played on 30 April 2018. Source: KKÍ

Semifinals

Team 1	Series	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg	3rd leg	4th leg	5th leg
Haukar	3–0	Skallagrímur	88–74	75–64	77–63
Keflavík	1–3	Valur	77–88	87–80	95–79	82–99

Final

Team 1	Series	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg	3rd leg	4th leg	5th leg
Haukar	3–2	Valur	85–68	76–80	96–85	66–68	74–70

Notable occurrences

• On October 8, Kristen McCarthy scored 53 points in a victory against Skallagrímur in the Úrvalsdeild kvenna.[12][13]
• On October 8, Njarðvík released Erika Williams.[14]
• On October 21, Danielle Victoria Rodriguez notched a triple-double for Stjarnan against Snæfell with 31 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists.[15]
• On November 12, former Icelandic national team member and Skallagrímur's forward Fanney Lind Thomas announced her retirement from basketball due to head injuries sustained in a game against Valur on October 11.[16]
• On November 22, Kristen McCarthy broke the fifty-point barrier again when she scored 50 points in a losing effort against defending champions Keflavík.[17]
• On November 29, Skallagrímur's forward Sigrún Sjöfn Ámundadóttir dislocated her shoulder in a game against Valur.[18]
• On December 3, Kristen McCarthy had a quadruple-double in a victory against Njarðvík with 31 points, 15 rebounds, 12 steals and 10 assists.[19]
• On December 6, Keflavík's Emelía Ósk Gunnarsdóttir tore a cruciate ligament in her knee in a game against Skallagrímur and was expected to miss the rest of the season.[20] In her place, Keflavík signed national team member Embla Kristínardóttir from Grindavík.[21]
• On December 13, Danielle Victoria Rodriguez notched her second triple-double of the season with 46 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists against Skallagrímur.[22]
• On December 15, Helena Sverrisdóttir was named the best player of the first half of the season and to the All-First team of team of the first half of the season, along with Hallveig Jónsdóttir, Thelma Dís Ágústsdóttir, Danielle Victoria Rodriguez and Berglind Gunnarsdóttir. Hildur Sigurðardóttir of Breiðablik was named the best coach of the first half of the season while Ragna Margrét Brynjarsdóttir was named the best defender and Ísabella Sigurðardóttir the best young player of the first half.[23]
• On December 16, Helena Sverrisdóttir had a triple-double in a win against Skallagrímur with 23 points, 16 rebounds and 15 assists.[24]
• On December 20, Haukar loaned Helena Sverrisdóttir to Good Angels Kosice until the end of January 2018.[25]
• On December 29, top-placed Valur announced they had released Alexandra Petersen and signed Aaliyah Whiteside in her place.[26] Petersen joined Division I club KR on January 4, 2018.[27]
• On January 4, Skallagrímur signed former WNBA and EuroLeague player Ziomara Morrison to a short-term contract.[28]
• On January 6, former Icelandic Basketball Player of the Year Gunnhildur Gunnarsdóttir returned to the court for Snæfell after missing the first half of the season due to pregnancy.[29]
• On January 6, Keflavík held Snæfell scoreless in the fourth quarter of its 80-53 victory against them.[30]
• On January 8, Haukar released Cherise Daniels and signed former Grindavík player Whitney Frazier.[31]
• On January 13, Keflavík announced that Þóranna Kika Hodge-Carr would miss the rest of the season after tearing a cruciate ligament in her knee. She was the second Keflavík player to go down with a torn cruciate ligament, after Emelía Ósk Gunnarsdóttir who suffered the same injury a month earlier.[32]
• On January 14, Skallagrímur fired Ricardo González Dávila as its head coach. Skallagrímur had lost in the Icelandic Basketball Cup semi-finals two days before and a rift between Dávila and star player Carmen Tyson-Thomas became public after the game.[9]
• On January 16, Skallagrímur hired former Valur head coach, Ari Gunnarsson, as their replacement for Ricardo González Dávila.[10]
• On January 19, Njarðvík replaced Hallgrím Brynjólfsson as head coach with Ragnar Halldór Ragnarsson. Njarðvík had lost all sixteen games in the league but had reached the Icelandic Basketball Cup finals where it lost to Keflavík.[11]
• On January 24, Danielle Victoria Rodriguez notched her third triple-double of the season with 30 points, 19 rebounds and 17 assists.[33][34]
• On January 27, Breiðablik signed former WNBA player Whitney Knight,[35] replacing Ivory Crawford.[36]
• On March 21, Njarðvík ended its 30 game Úrvalsdeild kvenna losing streak by beating Breiðablik, 77-59. It was Njarðvík's first Úrvalsdeild victory since March 1, 2017. They had lost the last four games of the 2016–17 season and first twenty-six games of the 2017–18 season.[37] Due to a rash of injuries in her Breiðablik squad, former international and head coach of Breiðablik, Hildur Sigurðardóttir, donned a uniform during the game for the first time since the end of the 2014–15 season. In six minutes, she had two points and 4 assists.[38]

References

1. Baldursson, Davíð Eldur (23 June 2017). "Keflavík hefur titilvörnina í Hólminum". Karfan.is. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
2. Hjörvar Ólafsson (1 May 2018). "Haukar meistarar eftir níu ára langa bið". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 1 May 2018.
3. Ingvi Þór Sæmundsson (30 April 2018). "Helena með þrefalda tvennu að meðaltali í úrslitunum". Fréttablaðið (in Icelandic). Retrieved 1 May 2018.
4. "Hallgrímur tekur við kvennaliði Njarðvíkur" (in Icelandic). umfn.is. 7 May 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
5. Andri Yrkill Valsson (23 March 2017). "Ósáttur við Valsmenn – "Forkastanleg vinnubrögð"". Mbl.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 29 December 2017.
6. "Darri Freyr ráðinn þjálfari Vals". Mbl.is (in Icelandic). 3 April 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
7. Hans Steinar Bjarnason (24 May 2017). "Skallagrímur lætur þjálfarann fara". RÚV (in Icelandic). Retrieved 29 December 2017.
8. Ingvi Þór Sæmundsson (3 June 2017). "Fyrrverandi landsliðsþjálfari Norður-Kóreu tekur við Skallagrími". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 29 December 2017.
9. Ástrós Ýr Eggertsdóttir (14 January 2018). "Ricardo rekinn frá Skallagrím". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 14 January 2018.
10. Óskar Ófeigur Jónsson (16 January 2018). "Ari tekur við Skallagrímsstelpunum". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 16 January 2018.
11. "Hallgrímur hættir með Njarðvík". karfan.is (in Icelandic). 19 January 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
12. Lárusson, Dagur (8 October 2017). "Kristen McCarthy með 53 stig í sigri Snæfells". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 8 October 2017.
13. "Skallagrímur - Snæfell: Boxscore". fibalivestats.com. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
14. Ingvi Þór Sæmundsson (8 October 2017). "Njarðvík skiptir um Kana". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 12 December 2017.
15. Kristinn Páll Teitsson (21 October 2017). "Danielle með þrefalda tvennu í stórsigri Stjörnunnar". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 12 December 2017.
16. Ingvi Þór Sæmundsson (12 November 2017). "Skórnir upp í hillu vegna höfuðmeiðsla". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 12 December 2017.
17. Tómas Þór Þórðarson (22 November 2017). "Blikarnir halda áfram að koma á óvart - Öll úrslit kvöldsins". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 3 December 2017.
18. "Sigrún fór úr axlarlið". Skessuhorn.is (in Icelandic). 30 November 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
19. Dagur Lárusson (3 December 2017). "Snæfell með sigur á Njarðvík". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 3 December 2017.
20. Ingvi Þór Sæmundsson (8 December 2017). "Tímabilið búið hjá Emelíu". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 12 December 2017.
21. Óskar Ófeigur Jónsson (8 December 2017). "Keflvíkingar ekki lengi að redda landsliðskonu fyrir Emelíu". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 12 December 2017.
22. "Haukar og Stjarnan upp að hlið meistaranna". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 13 December 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
23. Eiríkur Stefán Ásgeirsson (18 December 2017). "Helena og Taylor kjörin best". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 18 December 2017.
24. "Helena með tröllaþrennu í sigri Hauka". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). 16 December 2017. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
25. "Helena á leiðinni aftur til Slóvakíu". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 20 December 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
26. Ástrós Ýr Eggertsdóttir (29 December 2017). "Valur skiptir um bandarískan leikmann". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 29 December 2017.
27. Ástrós Ýr Eggertsdóttir (4 January 2018). "Alexandra í KR". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 16 January 2018.
28. "Kemst Skallagrímur í úrslit annað árið í röð: "Viljum fá sömu stemmningu og í fyrra."". Karfan.is (in Icelandic). 11 January 2018. Archived from the original on 12 January 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
29. "Gunnhildur sneri aftur á parketið í dag". karfan.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 6 January 2018.
30. Arnór Óskarsson. "Umfjöllun og viðtöl: Snæfell - Keflavík 53-80 - Keflavík hélt Snæfellsliðinu stigalausu í fjórða leikhluta". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 6 January 2018.
31. "Whitney Frazier á leiðinni til landsins". karfan.is (in Icelandic). 8 January 2018. Archived from the original on 9 January 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
32. "Þóranna sleit líka krossband". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 13 January 2018. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
33. Ástrós Ýr Eggertsdóttir (27 January 2018). "Dani best eftir stórbrotinn leik". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 27 January 2018.
34. "Leikur: Njarðvík 64 - 86 Stjarnan". kki.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 27 January 2018.
35. Dagur Lárusson (27 January 2018). "Breiðablik fær öflugan liðsstyrk". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 27 January 2018.
36. "Breiðablik fær nýjan Bandaríkjamann". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 28 January 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
37. Anton Ingi Leifsson (21 March 2018). "Njarðvík vann loksins deildarleik í 27. tilraun - Öll úrslit kvöldsins". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 22 March 2018.
38. "Hildur Sig tók fram skóna á ný". karfan.is (in Icelandic). 22 March 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2018.

External links

• Official Icelandic Basketball Federation website
• 2017-2018 Úrvalsdeild statistics