Candice stars in EuroCup semifinal

Sony Athinaikos, the team for which Candice plays, won their two-game EuroCup semifinal round by defeating Russian team Dynamo Kursk 64-58, 60-55.

Candice is Athinaikos' leading scorer. She averages 15.9 points per game at a rate of 50.6%. She was the star of the first semifinal game, making four of six 3-point attempts and a total of 25 points, and was named the EuroCup Women Player of the Week.

Athinaikos will play Nadezhda, another Russian team, in the final round. The first game will be on April 1, the second on April 8.

The semifinal victory was especially sweet for Athinaikos because they are the first Greek team to ever reach a women's European final.

Jillian signs with Comense for 2010-2011

Comense has announced (as translated by Google):

Harmon still nerostellato

Gymnastics Comense informed that they have renewed the engagement for the next season 2010 - 2011 by Jillian Harmon, proved a pleasant surprise as both performance and as a sound professional.

Google can't translate nerostellato, nor can I, but nero stellato means black starry and is, I think, the team's nickname.

I hope that Jillian's second season in Italy is as successful as her first. With three games left in the season, Comense is ranked sixth in its league of 12 teams. Jillian is their second best scorer and rebounder (12.4 ppg, 6.3 rpg).

Jamie is USA Basketball Women's National Team Assistant Director

USA Basketball today announced the hiring of Jamie Carey as the Women's National Team Assistant Director. Carey is a two-time national team member and medalist with USA Basketball, who played at Stanford, Texas and for the WNBA Connecticut Sun. She recently completed her second season as the head girls basketball coach at Legacy High School (CO), leading her team to the Colorado Class 5A girls state championship finals and a 26-2 record in 2009-10. Read more...

Candice added to USA Basketball National team roster

USA Basketball announced today that Candice is one of 12 players that have been added to the 2010-12 USA Basketball Women’s National Team roster from which the 2010 USA World Championship Team and the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team will be selected.

Candice had this to say:

What does it mean for you to be named to the USA Basketball Women’s National Team?
This is an amazing honor. Playing for the USA has been a dream of mine since I was a young player, and will continue to be so in my career as a professional athlete. It’s amazing to be a part of this "dream" team’s journey, and to have a chance to compete for a spot. America is full of so many talented players and it’s great. It breeds healthy competition and I'm ready for that.

You have a lot of international experience playing with USA Basketball. What did you learn from that and how do you think it played a factor in your selection?
I’ve been playing for USA Basketball since I was 17, and it’s taught me a lot in these six years. I’ve been able to grow a healthy appreciation for the international game through my participation in the various international competitions. I’ve always seen playing on the national team as the ultimate achievement. USA sets the highest standard for women’s basketball in the world, and I’ve learned to always take pride in that.

What are your strengths, what do you bring to the mix?
I believe my strengths are not only what I can bring individually, but what I can bring to the team. I’ve matured as a player and I understand the international game much better from a basketball perspective. But I also understand what it means to sacrifice and play for a bigger cause, and that’s exactly what USA Basketball is all about. I’m honored to have the opportunity to help make this team great.

Read more...

Fenerbahce loses in EuroLeague quarter-final

Fenerbahce, the team for which Kristen Newlin and Nicole Powell play, competed in EuroLeague this season as well as in the Turkish League.

They played against Spartak Moscow in the quarter-final round of EuroLeague last week. Spartak has been the EuroLeague champion for the past three seasons and the EuroCup champion in 2006. Their coach (since 2007-08) is Pokey Chatman, and their players include Diane Taurasi, Sue Bird and Sylvia Fowles.

Spartak dominated the first quarter-final game on Feb 23 and defeated Fenerbahce 90-79.

Fenerbahce came back strong for the second game on Feb 28.

With less than two minutes to go in regulation, Fenerbache was ahead by four. Then Spartak took the lead 73-71 on two three-point shots from Diane Taurasi. With 13 seconds to go, Nicole Powell made an unbelievable long two-point shot against two opponents to tie the game.

In overtime, Spartak battled to an 87-85 lead. With two seconds to go, Nicole launched a three-pointer, but that one didn't fall. (I can still hear the clank off the rim in Stanford's loss to Tennessee in the Elite Eight in Norman, Oklahoma in 2004.)

It was announced yesterday that, "Sylvia Fowles of Spartak Moscow has been named the EuroLeague Women Player of the Week after leading her team to the Final Four in a two game sweep of Quarter-Final Round opponent Fenerbahce." She had a total of 44 points and 31 rebounds and an efficiency rating of 44, eight points better than her closest competitor.

Nicole was the leading scorer for Fenerbahce with 47 points, which included nine of 19 three-pointers. Kristen did not play in either game – I don't know why.