Overseas Competition Update: November 5

Josh Zavadil

Sylvia Fowles was dominant in the WNBA Finals and was recognized for her performance with the WNBA Finals MVP award. And less than a month later she’s back on the hardwood dominating opponents.

Fowles is playing for Beijing in the Women’s Chinese Basketball Association, a league that has become a popular destination for some of the WNBA’s stars. She made her season debut Tuesday. Fowles and Beijing knocked off Shenyang, 76-63, behind 27 points on 13-of-19 shooting from Big Syl.

MORE: WNBA Players Playing Overseas

Liberty forward Tina Charles has her Xinjiang team off to an incredible start at 6-0. Charles posted two monster games last week and is averaging 23.3 points per game on 50.9 percent shooting. She’s also cleaning up the glass; Charles is pulling down an average of 11.2 rebounds per contest.

Russia

Seimone Augustus is also in action overseas with Dynamo Kursk. She and Liberty guard Epiphanny Prince have gotten off to good starts in both Russian and EuroLeague play. Their squad is 3-1 in EuroLeague regular season play.

EuroLeague newcomes Castors Braine have proven to be a tough test for nearly every team they’ve faced, and that was still true against UMMC Ekaterinburg. Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner helped the Russian squad avoid an upset as UMMC Ekaterinburg eked out the 75-70 win. Taurasi and Griner both scored 24 points.

Japan

Fresh off a solid rookie campaign, Seattle Storm center Ramu Tokashiki is back starring as a center in the Japanese league. She’s been dominant in the league in the past, so much so that she’s won the MVP award four – yes, FOUR – times. And she’s only 24 years old.

Tokashiki is off to a great with JX Eneos, averaging 18 points. 10.3 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game.

Turkey

Tokashiki’s Storm teammate, Jewell Loyd, is also off to a good start. Loyd put together another great performance for Galatasaray. Loyd notched a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds. She’s guided the Turkish squad to a 2-2 record, which puts them in third place in Group A in EuroLeague regular season play.

South Korea

A host of WNBA players are back in action in South Korea, where the league tipped off earlier this week. Shekinna Stricklin is playing for Woori Hansae, Dearica Hamby and Natasha Howard are teammates on KB Stars, Markeisha Gatling is suiting up for Shinhan Bank S. Birds, and Kiah Stokes is take her blocking talents to Bichumi.