New will play in EuroBasket Women semifinals

These are exciting times for the Turkish National Team and one of its members, Kristen Newlin. They are playing in EuroBasket Women, a bi-annual competition between European national teams that also serves as a qualifying tournament for the FIBA World Championship for Women and the Olympic Games.

On Monday, Turkey advanced to the quarterfinal round for the first time in the 61-year history of the competition. Today, they defeated Montenegro 56-44 and advanced to the semifinals. Here is the game card (game report, box score and play-by-play).

New scored 11 points along with seven rebounds, two assists and a block.

Of the quarterfinal game, New said, "Montenegro really put their country on the map with the way they ran through the tournament. But we came in very focused. We always knew we had a chance and as long as we have a chance we will keep fighting. We don't want it to end."

She was less restrained in her twitter, "Ohhhhh Turkiye!!! Final 4 baby!!"

Turkey will play France in the semifinals on July 1 at 18:30 GMT (11:30 a.m. PST). You can watch the game online here. The other two semifinalists are Russia and the Czech Republic. The bronze and gold medal games will be played on July 3.

Jeanette providing energy (and points) for the Fever

Tom Reitmann, writing for the Indiana Fever reports that coach Linn Dunn says, "The broadest measure of success for the Indiana Fever's bench players is whether they are providing “positive energy” when inserted in the lineup."

He goes on to say of Jeanette:

For Pohlen, the only rookie on the Fever roster, finding instant energy is the goal. Her decorated career at Stanford prepared her for many, but not all, aspects of the WNBA.

At the professional level, the game is faster and the players are more aggressive. WNBA offenses rely heavily on pick-and-roll maneuvers instead of the motion and five-player screening that Stanford used in its triangle attack.

But the injury to Katie Douglas compelled Pohlen to do some fast, on-the-job learning.

“It kind of goes to show that you have to be ready for anything at any time,” said Pohlen, who has hit 8-of-11 field goal attempts and 7-of-8 3-point tries in the past two games.

Jeanette sealed the Fever's win against the New York Liberty on Sunday night by sinking two free throws in the last five seconds of the game. Read more in this Indianapolis Star game report.

Jillian leads Tall Ferns in tournament upset

The Tall Ferns lost all three games of the first round of the Four Nations Tournament by fairly narrow margins. They lost 70-77 to China, 74-79 to Australia, and 62-73 to Brazil.

Jillian was the leading scorer for the Tall Ferns in the first two games with 19 points against China and 21 against Australia. She was New Zealand's second-best scorer against Brazil with 14 points.

The second round of the tournament began better for the Tall Ferns — they upset China 83-82. Jillian was again the top scorer with 18 points and eight rebounds. Read more...

Kayla is a fighter for the Shock

Kayla is playing major productive minutes for the Tulsa Shock. In the first seven games of her professional career, she's averaged 31 minutes, 11 points, five rebounds and three assists per game.

Read more in this post by Jessica Lantz in Swish Appeal.

Kayla helps Tulsa to first win

The Tulsa Shock won their first game of the season with a big contribution from Kayla.

She scored 12 points and had seven rebounds and seven assists. She made 71% of her field goal attempts, including a pair of three-pointers.

Here's a story from Kayla's hometown newspaper, the Flint Journal and the box score.

Jillian is a Tall Fern again

Jillian has joined the New Zealand Women's National Team to compete in a Four Nations Tournament.

The Tall Ferns fly out of Auckland today and will face Australia, Brazil and China in a seven-day tournament beginning on Friday.

The tournament is part of their build-up to their three-test Olympic qualifying series with Australia in September for a place in London next year.

Read more...

Nicole a standout at every level

In celebration of Arizona's centennial, the Arizona Daily Star is showcasing 100 of Arizona's best athletes, moments and teams.

Nicole is one of Arizona's great athletes — at Grosse Point High School in Phoenix, at Stanford, and in the WNBA. Read more...

Report on Stanford alum in the WNBA

Here's a report on how Stanford alumnae and their teams are doing 10 days into the 2011 WNBA season.

Nicole Powell '04, New York Liberty

This is Nicole's eighth season in the WNBA, her second with the New York Liberty following five seasons with the Sacramento Monarchs. The Monarchs were disbanded after the 2009 season, and Nicole was selected by the Liberty in the dispersal draft.

Nicole's production dropped last season &mdash from her career-high 16.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game in 2009 to 9.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists.

She's hitting her stride again this season, with a now-familiar team and a familiar coach — John Whisenant, who coached the Monarchs during Nicole's first two seasons there, is now head coach of the Liberty. In three games this season, Nicole has averaged 12.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists.

The Liberty are off to a good start: 2-1.

Candice Wiggins '08, Minnesota Lynx

This is Candice's fourth season with the Minnesota Lynx. The St. Paul Pioneer Press reported a few months ago that her usual enthusiasm was in overdrive in anticipation of playing basketball again after rehabbing the Achilles tendon that she tore almost a year ago.

She wears a heavy brace on her right leg, but is moving well and in no apparent pain. Head coach Cheryl Reeve said during training camp that Candice looked the healthiest she has ever seen her.

Candice is expected to be a key player off the bench again this season, but hasn't played major minutes so far — about 15 per game. In four games, she has averaged 5.0 points and made 44% of her three-point attempts.

The Lynx lost the first game of the 2011 season (to the L.A. Sparks), but have won the last three.

Jayne Appel '10, San Antonio Silver Stars

This is Jayne's second season with the San Antonio Silver Starts. She had minor surgery about three weeks ago to repair the torn meniscus that was discovered during training camp. If the prognosis made then holds true, she'll be back on the court next weekend.

Although Jayne hasn't played yet this season, she's on the 2011 All-Star ballot.

The Silver Stars have begun the season very well. They've won three games and are the only undefeated team in the WNBA.

Kayla Pedersen '11, Tulsa Shock

The Tulsa Shock are off to a miserable start with four losses and no wins.

Kayla, however, is off to an impressive start in her professional career — playing major minutes very well and helping to provide some of the leadership the Shock needs so badly.

She has started three of the four games and played about 27 minutes per game. She has averaged 9.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists.

Kayla keeps improving. In the Shock's most recent game, she played 39 minutes, scored a career-high 15 points, grabbed the game-high 8 rebounds and made 5 assists.

Jeanette Pohlen '11, Indiana Fever

Jeanette started her professional career modestly, as most rookies do. She played just four minutes in her first game and two in her second.

But she burst into prominence last Saturday when the Fever rallied in the fourth quarter to defeat the New York Liberty. Jeanette came off the bench for 24 minutes and scored 14 points on 71% shooting. She launched four three-pointers and sank all of them — the fourth one in the last minute of the game sealed the victory for the Fever.

The Fever are 2-1 for the season.

Kayla defends home court

Kayla has a 66-game homecourt winning streak going — 3 at Mountain View High, followed by 63 at Stanford. She hopes to continue the streak tomorrow night when the Tulsa Shock play their first home game of the season against the San Antonio Silver Stars.

Read more... by Jimmie Tramel in the Tulsa World.

Jayne makes best of bad luck

Jayne writes about her recent torn meniscus injury in this post to ESPNw.