Don't call it a comeback - unless, of course, Tully Bevilaqua and her Canberra Capitals would like you to call it that. In the absence of MVP Lauren Jackson, the Capitals have been revived by the Storm's bench energizer. When Bevilaqua first suited up for the WNBL, Canberra was 1-4, its playoff chances on life support. Since than, the Capitals have surged to a 7-2 record and six wins in their last seven games. Suddenly, they're just a game back of fourth-place Adelaide for the final playoff spot.

Bevilaqua has had a big impact in Canberra. Jeff Reinking/NBAE/Getty

At the same time, Bevilaqua and company have gotten fat against the bottom of the WNBL, beating 1-15 Perth and 3-12 Townsville three times apiece and 2-10 AIS once. The Capitals did split two recent games against Adelaide to hold serve in the battle for the playoffs. However, the schedule gets more difficult, with second-place Bulleen and third-place Sydney University coming to Southern Cross Stadium in the next eight days before the Capitals take the holidays off.

Bevilaqua scored double-figures in each of the five games Canberra played since the last Storm Off-Season Update, including 18 points in a lopsided defeat at Adelaide and 15 points and 12 rebounds as the Capitals took the rematch at home by a 79-58 final.

When Bevilaqua and the Capitals were in Albury to take on the Australian Institute of Sport, Jackson was in the stands and made a halftime presentation to the Albury Basketball Association. She told The Border Mail she is anticipating returning to the court in March.

Several continents away in Europe, it's Betty Lennox's league, and other players just play in it. Lennox now leads the Italian LegA Basket Femminile in total points despite having played only seven of ten games. She is far and away the league's leading scorer at 27.9 points per game (Penny Taylor of Famila Schio is the only other player in the 20s) and is second in the league in three-point percentage (53.2%).

Lennox's effort continues to translate into team success. After starting 1-2 without her, Lennox's Coconuda Maddaloni team has improved to 6-4 and a tie for seventh place in the league with Simone Edwards' Pasta Ambra Taranto squad. Maddaloni pulled out a 77-75 win over Taranto head-to-head in week nine action, with Lennox scoring a season-high 39 points on 13-for-23 shooting, adding nine rebounds. Edwards' 15 points and eight rebounds weren't quite enough to keep pace.

Edwards had double-doubles in each of her other games over the last three weeks, but Taranto dropped two of three to slip to 6-4. Edwards remains second in the league in its value rating, which appears to be similar to the WNBA's Efficiency Rating System, at 25.2 value points per game. Lennox, naturally, leads the league at 27.9 per game. The third Storm player in Italy, forward Alicia Thompson, is at 17th with 15.7 per game.

After scoring 18 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in a 76-67 loss to Napoli, Thompson has struggled the last two weeks, scoring just 10 points in each game. Her Acer Priolo club was still able to get a 68-67 win over Termocarispe La Spezia last week to move into a tie for eighth place at 4-6.

Next week, Thompson and Acer Priolo will square off with Lennox and Maddaloni, while Taranto and Edwards take on Famila Schio.

Kamila Vodichkova's Moscow Dynamo squad hasn't been busy in the month of December, playing just once, last Thursday vs. Delta Kosice. Dynamo cruised, 90-57, to move to 5-0 in Euroleague play. The only other undefeated Euroleague team is Russian rivals VBM-SGAU Samara, which is 5-0 in Group C. Vodichkova scored a team-high 18 points against Kosice, hitting all 10 of her free-throw attempts.

Through five games, Vodichkova is averaging a team-high 16.2 points per game (20th in Euroleague) and 8.6 rebounds (15th). She is third in Euroleague, making 64.3% of her shot attempts from the field.

Dynamo will be tested by 4-1 Bourges, whom it has yet to play, traveling to France on Wednesday. The following Wednesday, Dynamo will take on Ros Casares in Spain, its last game without Sue Bird. The Storm guard will be in Moscow in time for Jan. 5's matchup with Sporting Athens. With the holidays and her departure approaching, Bird is making her final preparations for going overseas, but found time to take in Monday Night Football last week when it traveled to Qwest Field for the Seahawks and the Cowboys.

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