Off the Record - Nov. 05
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Back Overseas
Posted on November 14
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In Euroleague action, two of the four teams with Storm players are 2-1 through three weeks, both of them Russian clubs. Dynamo Moscow easily defeated K Cero ICP by a 67-52 final. Storm forward Natalia Vodopyanova led the way, scoring a team-high 20 points on 6-for-11 shooting. Vodopyanova added eight rebounds and three assists in a strong all-around performance.
Storm center Suzy Batkovic was also her team's leading scorer Wednesday, dropping 19 points and five points in a losing effort as UMMC Ekaterinburg suffered its first defeat at the hands of Bourges Basket, 77-53. The rest of Batkovic's Ekaterinburg teammates shot just 12-for-47 from the field (25.5%).
On Thursday, Phard Napoli was hammered by Lietuvos Telekomas, 88-44. Napoli trailed 23-5 early and never got much closer. It was a rough night for Storm guard Francesca Zara, who had three points and three assists but shot just 1-for-7 from the field. Still, Zara ranks tied for third in Euroleague with 5.3 assists per game for 1-2 Napoli.
Janell Burse's USK Praha squad continues to look for its first Euroleague victory. Praha lost a heartbreaker to Ros Casares Valencia Friday, Elaine Powell scoring with two seconds left to snap a tie and give Ros Casares an 80-78 victory.
"Burse could not have done much more," said FIBA Europe's recap, "as she finished with a game-high 28 points and 10 rebounds." Burse shot 12-for-16 from the field and added three blocks in a brilliant effort. She's tied for fourth amongst all Euroleague players in scoring at 18.7 points per game, and her 9.7 rebounds put her fifth. She's also tied for second with 2.0 blocks per game.
In Russian Superleague play, Dynamo lost a key matchup with VBM-SGAU 75-62 on Saturday. Vodopyanova struggled, scoring three points on 1-for-10 shooting. She did have five points and three steals. Ann Wauters of the New York Liberty led VBM-SGAU with 17 points and seven boards.
With the win, VBM-SGAU remained tied atop the Superleague at 6-0 with Ekaterinburg, which earned a 90-63 victory over Nadezhda. No statistics were posted from the game.
Praha got back on track in Czech League play, posting a 93-45 victory over Hradec Králové. Burse's minutes were limited by foul trouble and the size of the final margin, but she still finished with 12 points and eight rebounds.
In Italy, Phard Napoli won its fourth straight game, defeating Banco di Sicilia Ribera 63-44 behind Zara's 15 points on 6-for-12 shooting. "Optimal, like always, the performance of Francesca Zara," reads the Babelfish translation of the game recap. The winning streak has propelled Napoli into a tie for first place in the Italian League with three other teams.
Letter From The President
Posted on November 11
Good News For LJ
Posted on November 8
 Jackson could return to the court sooner than expected. |
checks in with the last November update from the local dailies, but she offers an important tidbit: Storm forward 
Lauren Jackson's rehabilitation from a stress fracture in her left leg is going better than expected.
"They changed her diagnosis," Storm Coach Anne Donovan told Carpenter. "It wasn’t as bad as initially thought - it looks like she will come back and play in December, though she will have to be reevaluated."
The new timetable would put Jackson back in plenty of time to play in March's Commonwealth Games. Monday, Jackson was officially named to the Opals' roster for the tournament. Storm center 
Suzy Batkovic is not on the roster because Batkovic is playing in Russia.
Donovan also suggests in Carpenter's article that the WNBA's schedule could be compacted next season to accommodate next fall's World Championships. While the WNBA has yet to make an official announcement, a condensed schedule would be great news for the Storm's cadre of international players, including Jackson, who were worried about a potential overlap.
Batkovic's UMMC Ekaterinburg squad was in action over the weekend, running its record to 5-0 with an 84-59 win over Vologda-Ñhevakata. Batkovic played less than 17 minutes as her team cruised, recording 10 points and four rebounds. For the season, Batkovic is averaging 11.6 points and 6.3 boards per game.
In Italy, 
Francesca Zara's Phard Napoli squad moved into a tie for second place with a 79-57 win over Germano Zama Faenza. Zara played 32 minutes, scoring a team-high 15 points and handing out three assists. For the season, she's averaging 14.4 points and 3.1 assists and shooting a solid 53.9% from the field. She continues to rank second in the league in assists per game and is in the league's top ten in both two-point and 3-point percentage.
USK Praha, featuring Storm center 
Janell Burse, suffered a surprising first defeat in the Czech League, falling to Gambrinus Brno by an 89-71 final. Burse still recorded her third straight double-double in league play, posting 24 points on 9-for-12 shooting and 10 rebounds. She's averaging 26.3 points and 12.7 rebounds. DeLisha Milton-Jones led Brno with 28 points. At 5-1, USK Praha remains in first place in the Czech League.
We leave you today with this fun bit of news: Storm COO Karen Bryant has been named one of 20 "local women of influence" by the Puget Sound Business Journal. "I am reminded every day of how fortunate I am to work for The Basketball Club of Seattle and Wally Walker and Howard Schultz, whose commitment to women's professional basketball is second to none in the WNBA," says Bryant in her profile. Congrats to KB!
Big Week For Burse
Posted on November 4
 Burse |
an 84-80 win over MKB Sopron despite 24 points from MKB's Nikki Teasley. Batkovic had 16 points and seven rebounds, tying for the team lead in both categories.
Also victorious in Round Two was Natalia Vodopyanova's Dynamo Moscow team, which defeated Lietuvos Telekomas 52-43. Vodopyanova played a team-high 34 minutes off the bench, pulling down a game-high 13 rebounds and adding six points. Katie Douglas had 19 points for Lietuvos.
Phard Napoli dropped to 1-1 on the season with a 69-50 loss to Valenciennes, which is atop Group C at 2-0 with wins over Dynamo and Napoli. Francesca Zara had a team-best 13 points in the losing effort, as well as five assists. Alicia Thompson added two points off the bench.
USK Praha is still looking for its first victory of the season after losing a heartbreaker 85-84 to Dexia Namur in overtime. Two free throws by Anna Wielebnowska sealed the game. Matched up with Nicole Ohlde and Rebekkah Brunson, Janell Burse posted a double-double of 18 points and 13 rebounds, holding Ohlde to 7-for-17 shooting from the field.
In league play, Phard Napoli earned its second straight win last weekend, running by Lenzi 83-62. Zara played just 20 minutes in the blowout, scoring 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting (3-for-4 from 3-point range). At 4-2, Napoli is now in a wild five-way tie for third place.
Both Dynamo Moscow and UMMC Ekaterinburg were victorious in Russian Superleague play. Dynamo blew out Nadezhda 78-57, while Ekaterinburg survived a test against Dinamo by a 79-73 final. Vodopyanova had just two points on 1-for-6 shooting, but pulled down seven boards. Batkovic scored a team-high 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to key her team's victory.
Burse had an absolute monster game as Praha moved to 5-0 in Czech League play. Burse scored 37 points on 17-for-21 shooting and added 17 rebounds - eight offensive - as USK Praha crushed Olomouc 108-46. Burse has recorded double-doubles in both league games and is averaging 27.5 points and 14.0 rebounds thus far.
Elsewhere, protected lists for the Chicago Sky Expansion Draft were due to the WNBA league office on Tuesday. Those lists will not be made public, but we'll know in less than two weeks who if anyone the Storm will lose. Jayda Evans of the Seattle Times and Mark Bergin of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer both offered pieces on the draft process this week.
