On Thursday, Cecilia Zandalasini delivered by far her best game of her overseas season, scoring 24 points on nine-of-14 shooting, grabbing eight rebounds and adding an assist and a steal. She also went two-of-five from range and hit four of her six free-throw attempts. Behind her efforts, Fenerbahce earned an important 84-80 EuroLeague victory over Sopron.

CECI LA GRANDE!!

📽: @EuroLeagueWomen pic.twitter.com/OcgoLRMe9Q

— Minnesota Lynx (@minnesotalynx) January 24, 2019

Zandalasini hasn’t had the most consistent overseas season, but she’s had moments where she’s shown flashes of absolute brilliance. The 6-1 forward is still just 22 years old—the same age as most players entering the WNBA, but already has a full WNBA season plus five years of playing professionally overseas. This experience, combined with her still-developing but extremely natural shooting ability, and her length, size and quickness, make her arguably the brightest developing talent for the Lynx.

Last season, Zandalasini averaged 5.7 points per game on 40.9 percent shooting from the field. Those numbers need to improve, but given Zandalasini’s age and work ethic, she’ll certainly come into the 2019 season more ready to contribute. Fenerbahce is one of the best teams in Europe, so getting more experience playing and playing well in a non-featured role there is good preparation for her season with the Lynx. She also plays overseas against a similar level of competition she faces in the WNBA—incredibly valuable for a young player. Zandalasini is extremely important to Minnesota, but her biggest challenge will be to be productive as the Lynx’s fourth or fifth option. Her work overseas is a great start.