Italy
The Italian Serie A1 league has completed round 14 of 22. The regular season ends the last week of March.
Lucca and Familia Schio were co-champions of the Italian league last season. Lucca is having another excellent season and is currently in first place with a 12-1 record, one game ahead of Familia Schio and Venezia. Their only loss was by one point to Napoli. They have defeated both of the second-place teams and are scheduled to play them once more in the regular season.
Jillian, Lucca's starting shooting guard, is a key factor in their success. She leads her team in scoring (17.5 ppg, which is 4th best in the league). She makes just over 50% of her shots, has scored in double digits in all but one game, and has one double-double. She is Lucca's second-best rebounder (6.7 rpg) and ball thief (2.8 spg). She draws the most fouls and makes 81% of her free throws.
Kayla starts at the center for Lucca and is also having a very good season. She leads her team in rebounding (6.8 rpg) and is the third-best scorer (9.3 ppg). She makes just a bit less than 50% of her shots. She gets fouled almost as often as Jillian, but unfortunately makes only 62.5% of her free throws. She's had two double-doubles.
Vigarano is not doing so well. They stand 10th in the 12-team league with a 3-10 record.
Amber is having a very good second season as Vigarano's starting point guard. She leads her team in scoring (14.9 ppg, which is 9th best in the league), assists (2.5 apg, 9th best in the league) and steals (3.8 spg, 2nd best in the league). She has improved considerably over her rookie season in all three of these categories.
Russia
The Russian Professional Basketball League (PBL) is in Round 15 of 21. The regular season ends the first week of March.
FIBA EuroLeague Women, in which Nneka's and Kristen's teams are playing, has completed nine rounds of group play and has five more to go. Playoffs begin on March 15.
Dynamo Kursk is the only undefeated team in EuroLeague Women with a 9-0 record. They stand second in the Russian PBL with a 12-1 record.
Nneka is playing very well in both competitions, although she's not as dominant as last season. She is the second-best of all EuroLeague players in rebounds per game (10.1) and fifth in points per game (16.1) . She's made 53.5% of her field goal attempts, scored in double-digits in all but one game and has tallied three double-doubles.
Nneka has made 63.4% of her shots in the PBL games. She's third on the team in rebounds (6.4 rpg) and scoring (11.6 ppg).
Kazanochka stands at ninth in the 11-team PBL with a 4-9 record.
Sarah starts for Kazanochka as the power forward and plays about 20 minutes per game. She's the second-best scorer (8.5 ppg) and rebounder (5.7 rpg).
Turkey
The Turkish Women Basketball Super League (KBSL) has completed 13 of 26 rounds. The regular season ends the first week of April.
Mersin has had a tough time in their first-ever EuroLeague Women appearance. They've lost all nine of their group play games, so will clearly not advance to the playoffs.
Mersin stands eleventh in the 14-team Turkish league with a 4-8 record.
Kristen has done well in both competitions as a reserve center for Mersin. She has averaged 8.4 points and 4.7 rebounds in the EuroLeague games; 9.6 points and 6.3 rebounds in the Turkish league games.
Australia
The Australian Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) has completed round 15 of 20. The regular season ends in mid-February.
The Caps, who are in a rebuilding phase with a new coach and 14 new players, are doing pretty well. They stand fifth in the eight-team league with a 10-8 record.
Mikaela is the starting power forward and plays about 30 minutes per game. She leads her team and the league in rebounding (10.7 rpg) and is third on the team in scoring (12.6 ppg) and assists (1.9 apg). She's scored in double-digits in 12 games and tallied nine double-doubles.
Germany
The German 2.Bundesliga has completed 13 of 22 rounds. The regular season ends in mid-March.
Goettingen is in a three-way tie for first place in the Northern conference with an 11-2 record.
Alissa is the starting shooting forward for Goettingen. She averages 15.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.
China
The Chinese WBCA league has a very demanding schedule — almost three games a week for a total of 32. The regular season ended a week ago.
Henan had been the top-ranked team in the league before Chiney tore her Achilles tendon in late November. They lost all but one game since then and finished at the bottom.
Chiney played in 13 games before her injury and averaged 33.6 points and 12.4 rebounds per game. She scored more than 20 points in every game and had nine double-doubles.
Almost every Chinese team has one tall, strong American import, but at the end of the season Chiney still stands as the second-best scorer and the fifth-best rebounder in the league.
