Just a few weeks after the Los Angeles Sparks and Minnesota Lynx finished putting on a show in the WNBA Finals, overseas competition is already in full swing. From Europe to Asia and Australia, WNBA stars are in action all over the globe this offseason.
Here are some of the players that have stood out so far:
Jewell Loyd
Seattle Storm guard Jewell Loyd is on a tear to start her first season in the Women’s Chinese Basketball Association, averaging a league-high 35 points per game. The 2015 WNBA Rookie of the Year dropped 53 in a win over Liaoning last Wednesday. Phoenix Mercury center Kelsey Bone countered with 37 points and 13 rebounds for Liaoning, but Loyd’s team got the victory as part of its 7-2 start to the season.
In addition to her astronomical scoring output, Loyd is averaging 7.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.6 steals through nine games.
Ogwumike Sisters
Connecticut Sun forward Chiney Ogwumike is just behind Loyd on the WCBA leaderboard with 33.1 points per game and her Henan squad sits in first place at 8-1. She bested Loyd’s standout performance by pouring in 56 points on 23-of-24 shooting and grabbing 12 boards on Oct. 25 against Shandong. Ogwumike is shooting 62.6 percent from the floor and ranks second in the league in rebounds (14.4 per game).
Her sister Nneka, coming off an MVP and title-winning season with the Sparks, has only just begun suiting up for Russian club Dynamo Kursk. The Stanford product had 21 points and 19 rebounds in her lone Euroleague appearance thus far.
Jamierra Faulkner
After a stellar WNBA campaign in which she was among the league leaders in assists – despite coming off the bench most of the season – Chicago Sky guard Jamierra Faulkner is dishing the rock at a high rate in Turkey. As a member of Mersin MBK, Faulkner paces the Turkish League with 12.3 dimes per game, including an 18-point, 17-assist outing on Oct. 29. This comes after a 2015-16 offseason in which she led the Israeli League in assists.
Faulkner is also second on Mersin MBK with 14 points per game.
Stefanie Dolson
Although her WCBA team is just 2-7, Washington Mystics center Stefanie Dolson is dominating with 22.3 points and 15.1 boards per contest (first in the league). In her first seven appearances for Sichuan, Dolson has already recorded 26-20 and 35-21 games. The two-time national champion at UConn is shooting an efficient 63.5 percent from the field.
Jefferson
A former teammate of Dolson’s at UConn, San Antonio Stars guard Moriah Jefferson is off to a solid start in her debut campaign overseas after finishing as the runner-up for WNBA Rookie of the Year. In guiding Galatasaray to victories in its first three Turkish League games and its first two EuroCup contests, Jefferson is averaging four assists and a team-high 20.2 points per game, including 25 points per contest in EuroCup play.