Israeli League

Latta

Ivory Latta was the first Shock player to set foot on foreign soil this offseason and has already impressed fans of the Israeli League. She signed with Elizur Holon in August and joined the team in time for the Ramat Gan preseason tournament in early October.

Detroit’s second-year point guard led Holon with 25 points in the team’s win over Ramat Hen in the first round of the tournament and paced the team again with 23 points in its Finals loss to Elizur Ramla. On October 13, Latta drained 22 points in a preseason win over Tel Kabir.

Elizur Holon’s regular season got underway on October 18 with a 92-89 overtime loss to Maccabi Ashdod. Latta nailed six threes on the night, including the bucket that sent the game to overtime, on her way to a 33-point effort.

Despite a team-high 19 points, Latta and company fell to 0-2 on the season on October 22 with a 71-59 loss to Electra Ramat Hashaton. They finally got into the win column on October 29 with an 81-68 win over Hapoel Tel Aviv, and they evened their record at 2-2 with an 87-73 win over Bnei Yehuda. Latta led Holon with 32 points in the win.

Elizur Holon fel back into sixth place in the league standings on Monday night with an 84-72 loss to Hapoel Tel Aviv. Latta just missed a double double scoring nine points and handing out nine assists in the defeat. Next up for Latta is a November 12 meeting against Maccabi Tel Kabir (1-4).

Be sure to check out Latta’s blog on wnba.com throughout the offseason.

Israeli League Standings

	Team	W	L	Pts
1	Elizur Ramla	5	1	11
2	Raanana Hertzliya	5	0	10
3	Electra Ramat Hasharon	4	1	9
4	Maccabi Ramat Hen	3	3	9
5	Maccabi Ashdod	2	4	8
6	Elizur Holon	2	3	7
7	Bnei Yehuda	2	3	7
8	Maccabi Tel Kabir	1	4	6
9	Hapoel Tel Aviv	0	5	5

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Italian League

Johnson

Shannon “Pee Wee” Johnson’s Italian League season is four games old, and she has her Umana Venezia squad tied atop the league standings with Cras Basketb Taranto at a perfect 4-0.

League play began on October 21 with Venezia taking on Gescom Viterbo (1-3). Johnson’s 27 points led all scorers in the team’s 92-73 win. They ran their record to 2-0 with an 88-59 win over Fiera di Roma Pomezia (0-4) behind Johnson’s 16 points.

On All Hallows Eve, Umana Venezia had its first scare of the season eeking out a 67-62 win over Famila Wuber Schio (2-2). Johnson’s 16 points led both teams. In a November 4 win over Banco di Sicilia Ribera (1-3), Johnson paced both squads with 24 points including four for four shooting from three point range as Venezia rolled 74-56.

Venezia puts its undefeated record on the line on November 10 vs. Phard Napoli (1-3).

Italian League Standings

	Team	W	L	Pts
1	Umana Venezia	4	0	8
2	Cras Basket Taranto	4	0	8
3	Lavezzini Parma	3	0	6
4	Germano Zama Faenza	3	1	6
5	Famila Wuber Schio	2	2	4
6	Pool Comense	2	2	4
7	Acer Priolo	2	2	4
8	Carispe La Spezia	2	2	4
9	New Wash Montigarda	1	2	2
10	Grescom Viterbo	1	3	2
11	Pall. Pozzuoli	1	3	2
12	Phard Napoli	1	3	2
13	Bacno di Sicilia Ribera	1	3	2
14	Fiera di Roma Pomezia	0	4	0

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Russian League

Nolan

Pierson

Smith

Deanna Nolan’s UMMC Ekaterinburg (2-0) squad is at the top of the Russian League standings in the early stages of the season, although they have done it without her services thus far as she injured her ankle during the first game of the 2007 FIBA World League Tournament. UMMC hasn’t missed a step, though, posting convincing wins over Shelen-ETK (Krasnoyarsk), 98-56, and Dynamo-Energiya (Novosibirsk), 99-54 in their first two Russian League Games.

Next up for UMMC is a November 11 meting with winless (0-5) Spartak (St. Petersburg).

Plenette Pierson joins Nolan this season in the Russian League suiting up for BC Moscow who is also undefeated early in the year. The team’s first win came against Spartak on October 23 with Pierson’s 21 points pacing BC Moscow in the 100-56 rout. Pierson’s 17-point effort led the team once again in a 75-60 win over Slavyanka on October 30. Their first test of the season came on November 3 when they had to come back from a first-half deficit against Vologda-Chevakata in a 78-72 squeeker. Pierson scored 25 points on the night to pace all scorers. Next up in the Russian League for BC Moscow is Shelen-ETK (0-5) on November 12.

Tyresa Smith is in the middle of her first overseas experience playing for Dynamo-Energiya (Novosibirsk). She scored three points in her Russian debut in a 77-61 loss to Dynamo (Kursk) on October 16. She scored five points in the team's first win of the season on October 19 in an 82-76 win over Nadezhda.

Smith scored four points in Dynamo-Energiya's 81-66 loss to Spartak on October 30 before picking up her first start of the season and scoring seven points in a 91-54 loss to Nolan's UMMC squad on November 2. Smith scored six points two days later in an 82-74 win over Dynamo (Moscow). Her next Russian League game - the first home game for Dynamo-Energiya in the young season - is slated for November 18 against Slavyanka (0-4).

Russian League Standings

	Team	W	L	Pts
1	Dynamo (Kursk)	5	0	10
2	Spartak (Moscow Region)	3	0	6
3	BC Moscow	3	0	6
4	CSKA (Moscow)	2	0	4
5	UMMC (Ekaterinburg)	2	0	4
6	Vologda-Chevakata (Vologda)	3	1	7
7	Dynamo (Moscow)	2	2	6
8	Dynamo-Energiya (Novosibirsk)	2	3	7
9	Nadezhida (Orenburg)	1	3	5
10	Slavyanka (Cherlyabinsk)	0	4	4
11	Shelen-ETK (Krasnoyarsk)	0	5	5
12	Spartak (St. Petersburg)	0	5	5

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FIBA Euroleague Women

Nolan

The 2007-08 Euroleague Women season gets underway with the Qualifying Round on November 11 with 24 teams vying for bragging rights including Deanna Nolan’s UMMC squad. The Qualifying Round will whittle the 24 teams down to 16 as the top four seeds in each of four groups advance to the Eight-Final Play-Offs. UMMC is in Group B with ZWZ USK Prague, Jolly JBS Sibenik, Halcon Avenida, Wisla Can-Pack Krakow and Bourges Basket. Their first game is against USK Prague.

The Qualifying Round ends on January 23, 2008 with the Eight-Final running from February 5-13. Eight teams advance to the Quarter-Final Play-Offs, to be played from February 26-March 5, followed by the Final Four which begins on April 11.

Group B Standings

	Team	W	L	Pts
1	ZWZ USK Prague	0	0	0
2	Jolly JBS Sibenik	0	0	0
3	Halcon Avenida	0	0	0
4	Wisla Can-Pack Krakow	0	0	0
5	Bourges Basket	0	0	0
6	UMMC Ekaterinburg	0	0	0

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FIBA Eurocup Women

Johnson

Pierson

The Preliminary Round of the 2007-08 Eurocup Women competition is also ready to get underway with first games slated to tip off on November 7. Shannon Johnson’s Emana Venezia squad is competing in Group L – one of 12 four team Groups – along with EXMA BBTL Letzebuerg, Lattes Montpellier Agglomeration and Baloncesto San Jose. They open with Baloncesto San Jose.

Plenette Pierson and BC Moscow are in Group I with Beretta-Famila Schio, Sdent Sierre basket and Extrugasa-Cortegada. Their first game is against Sdent Sierre Basket.

The Prelimnary Round ends on December 13 with the Sixteenth-Finals, featuring the top 32 teams beginning on January 10. That is followed by the Eight-Finals on January 31, the Quarter-Finals on February 21, the Semi-Finals on March 6 and the Finals on March 27.

Group I Standings

	Team	W	L	Pts
1	Beretta-Famila Schio	0	0	0
2	Sdent Sierre Basket	0	0	0
3	BC Moscow	0	0	0
4	Extrugasa-Cortegada	0	0	0

Group L Standings

	Team	W	L	Pts
1	Umana Reyer Venezia	0	0	0
2	EXMA BBTL Letzbuerg	0	0	0
3	Lattes Montpellier Agglomeration	0	0	0
4	Baloncesto San Jose	0	0	0