May 31, 2011

May 24, 2011

Kayla is expecting great basketball

Kayla discusses her expectations for 2011 in a story from the Tulsa Shock.

“Our fans can expect some great basketball to be played,” she said. Read more...

May 22, 2011

Jayne sidelined by knee injury

Silver Stars center Jayne Appel had arthroscopic surgery Friday to repair a minor tear of the meniscus in her left knee, the team said.

She is expected to be sidelined three to four weeks. Under that timeline, Appel could miss the team's two preseason games next week against Connecticut, and the first four games of the regular season.

The tear was discovered on Wednesday. When the injury occurred wasn't known.

May 20, 2011

Nicole on rites of passage and high school P.E.

From the Huffington Post:

Nicole took a break from preseason training camp to recall her first athletic test — freshman-year high school P.E. — and to remember that the stage she's on has changed but that the game remains the same. Read more...

May 19, 2011

Jeanette's first day as a pro

The Indiana Pacers have posted a series of photos of Jeanette at their first practice session of 2011. See more...

May 18, 2011

Jeanette and Kayla set for next chapter

By Mechelle Voepel, ESPN:

Now that their college careers at Stanford have concluded, it's time for Jeanette and Kayla to prove themselves all over again. Read more...

Shelley, Seb, Ezi, Morgan and Lauren in Suriname

Shelley Nweke ('06) is a Peace Corps volunteer in Suriname, South America. Sebnem Kimyacioglu ('05), Eziamaka Okafor ('06'), Morgan Clyburn ('09), and Lauren Greif (coaching intern) joined her recently to participate in a girls' basketball clinic.

May 17, 2011

Kayla, the fix-it player

A month ago, just after the WNBA draft, Jessica Lantz posted a story about Kayla in Swish Appeal: Kayla Pedersen - The Next 'Larry Bird' For The Tulsa Shock?. She based her story on comments by Tulsa Shock coach Nolan Richardson.

"I love Pedersen," he said. "You know one of my favorite players of all times was Larry Bird, and he did all the little things that people don't really see. And that's what I saw in Pedersen. She's 6-4, she can play out on the floor, she can play inside, she can run the floor, and I call those kind of players a fix-it player. She can fix things that break down. You just don't see the talent that this lady has."

In today's Tulsa World , Jimmie Trammel reports from the Tulsa Shock training camp: Shock's Kayla Pedersen likened to Larry Bird.

When asked about Kayla, coach Richardson said, "I love her. I think she is going to have a chance to be on that all-rookie team. She has got a chance to be really good because, the thing about Kayla, and that's why we were hoping to get her, is she is a Larry Bird-type."

Richardson believes he got one of the better picks in the draft.

"At the beginning of the year, she was in the top four or five as a lottery pick," he said. "I had no clue we would end up getting her. But I was sure hoping we could get her."

May 16, 2011

Jayne is a happy camper

The San Antonio Express-News reports that Jayne is thrilled to be healthy for the Silver Stars' preseason practice. She actually gets to participate in training camp this season.

“A whole new feeling,” she said. “I can actually get on the court. It's kind of a weight lifted off my shoulders, being able to be healthy and play." Read more...

May 13, 2011

Photos from USABB training camp

USA Basketball published about 50 photos from the three-day national team training camp that concluded yesterday. Below is a photo of the entire team and several of Candice and Jayne. This is a report of the third day.

May 11, 2011

USA Basketball training camp

USA Basketball has posted reports and photos of Day 1 and Day 2 of the national team training camp in Las Vegas.

The Day 2 report includes this video of Jayne talking about the competitiveness in Vegas, resting, and her Olympic aspirations:

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May 7, 2011

Jeanette readies for next stage of her career

Tom Reitman introduces Jeanette to Indiana Fever fans with a story about her preparations to relocate for her new job, her family, some highlights of her Stanford career and what she expects in the WNBA.

She feels, “A little nervous, anxious and excited.”

Read more...

May 6, 2011

Alumnae Abroad, 2010-11 Season-end Report


Nicole Powell, Wisla Can-Pak

Wisla dominated the Polish League (PLKK) this season. They were the regular season champion with a 22-2 win-loss record and the PLKK Tournament champion.

Wisla played in Euroleague this season. They placed second in their group (7-3) in the qualifying rounds, defeated Nadezhda in the eighth-final round, but lost to Halcon-Avenida (who subsequently captured the title) in the quarter-finals.

Nicole averaged 9.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 2.0 steals (ninth-best in the league) in the Polish league games. She averaged 13.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.8 steals in the Euroleague games.

She received honorable mention for the All-Polish PLKK team.


Kristen Newlin, Fenerbahce

Fenerbache finished second in their league (TKBL) with a 20-2 win-loss record. They won the TKBL championship for the sixth consecutive season. See this post for more about the championship game.

Fenerbahce played in Euroleague this season. They were perfect (10-0) in the qualifying rounds, defeated Galatasary (their Turkish arch-rival) in the eighth-final round, but lost to Sparta&K in the quarter-finals.

Kristen ruptured her plantar fascia late last season. Her primary goal for this season was to be healthy. She has been healthy enough to play in every game this season.

She played, on average, about 17 minutes in the Turkish league games, during which she averaged 7.0 points and 4.4 rebounds. In the Euroleague games, she averaged 8.2 minutes, 2.3 points and 1.3 rebounds.

Brooke Smith, Tarbes

Tarbes finished third in their league (LFB) with an 18-8 win-loss record. They lost to Bourges, the #1 seed, in the finals of the LFB playoffs.

Tarbes played in Euroleague this season. They placed sixth in their group (3-7) in the qualifying rounds, so did not advance.

Brooke averaged 9.9 points and 5.7 rebounds in the French league games.. She averaged 7.5 points and 2.5 rebounds in the Euroleague games.

She received honorable mention for the All-French LFB team.


Jillian Harmon, Comense

Comense finished sixth in their league (Italy A1) with an 11-11 win-loss record. They lost to Bracco Geas, the #3 seed, in the quarter-final round of the league playoffs.

Jillian made just over half of her field-goal attempts this season and was Comense's third-best scorer with 9.3 points per game. She was the second-best rebounder with 5.6 per game.


Cori Enghusen, Mersin

Mersin finished eighth in their league (TKBL) with an 8-14 win-loss record. They lost to Galatasaray, the #1 seed, in the quarter-final round of the TKBL playoffs.

At 31, Cori is the oldest player on her team, but she still plays about 16 minutes per game. She averaged 3.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and 0.6 blocks per game this season.


Cissy Pierce, Rhein Main Baskets

Rhein MB finished ninth in their league (DBBL) with a 7-15 win-loss record. They did not qualify for the DBBL playoffs.

Cissy was Rhein's top player. She led the team in almost all categories — points (14.5), rebounds (6.2), assists (2.1) and steals (1.9).

May 1, 2011

Kayla connections



Kayla has signed with the Tulsa Shock.

The Tulsa Shock was formerly the Detroit Shock.

Detroit is in Michigan.

So is Flint.

Kayla was born in Flint.

Eric Woodward has followed this train of thought to a very nice story about Kayla published in the Flint Journal.