This is how our ten Cardinal alumnae who are playing professional basketball abroad are doing about midway through the season.
Italy
The Italian Serie A1 league has completed round 14 of 18. The regular season ends in mid-February.
(Click photos to enlarge)
Jillian Harmon –
Dike Napoli
Napoli stands sixth in the Italian Serie A1 league with a 7-7 record.
Jillian is having an outstanding season as Napoli's starting power forward. She leads the league in scoring with 18.8 ppg, is the fourth-best rebounder with 9.0 rpg, and ranks fifth in assists with 3.6 apg. She has scored in double-digits in all but two games (she fell short by just one point) and has tallied five double-doubles.
Hungary
The Hungarian A Division league has completed round 13 of 22. The regular season ends the last week of March.
FIBA EuroCup Women, in which Bird, Bri and Amber's teams competed, has completed group play and the first two playoff rounds. The quarter-finals (a two-game series) will be played the first week of March.
Erica McCall –
Atomeromu KSC Szekszard
Atomeromu went 4-2 in FIBA EuroCup group play, and have advanced to the quarter-finals.
They stand at the top of the Hungarian A Division with a perfect 12-0 record.
Bird is having an excellent rookie season as Atomeromu's starting power forward.
In EuroCup games, she averages 9.5 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.
In Hungarian league games, she makes 53.3 % of her shots and leads her team in scoring with 13.8 ppg, which ranks ninth in the league. She adds 5.7 rebounds per game.
Briana Roberson –
PEAC Pécs
PEAC went 2-4 in FIBA EuroCup group play, and did not advance to the playoffs.
They stand eighth in the Hungarian A Division with a 6-6 record.
Bri is PEAC's starting point guard and is averaging 12.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game in the Hungarian league games.
She averaged 12.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists in the EuroCup games.
Germany
The German DBBL league has completed round 13 of 22. The regular season ends in mid- March.
Amber Orrange –
Gruner Stern Keltern
Keltern went 1-5 in FIBA EuroCup group play, and did not advance to the playoffs.
They are tied for first place in the DBBL with a 12-2 record.
As Keltern's starting point guard, Amber is an excellent ball handler and her team's leading scorer.
She makes 66% of her shots in DBBL games for an average of 14.1 points per game. She averages the fourth-most steals in the league (2.1 per game) and the fifth-most assists (3.6 per game with just 1.1 turnovers).
She averaged 12.3 points, 3.5 assists and 2.0 steals in the EuroCup games.
Alissa (Cissy) Pierce –
Goettingen Veilchen Ladies
Goettingen, which was the champion of Germany's secondary league last season, is having a tough go in its first season in the DBBL. It stands at the bottom of the league with a 2-12 record.
Alissa starts as the shooting forward for the Violet Ladies. She averages 11.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.
France
The French LF2 league has completed round 13 of 22. The regular season ends the third week of March.
Mikaela Ruef –
Toulouse Metropole.
Toulouse is tied for first place in the LF2 with a 12-2 record.
Mikaela is Toulouse's starting center and leads her team in scoring and rebounding. She makes 47.7% of her shots and 81.5% of her free throws (!) for an average of 20.5 points per game. Along with 11.7 rebounds per game, she's tallied seven double-doubles.
Bulgaria
The Bulgarian NBL league has completed an 11-round regular season and have just begun a scond stage in which the top four teams compete for 12 rounds and teams 5-11 compete for seven rounds. The second stage ends the first week of April.
Sarah's team also competes in the Women's Adriatic Basketball Association (WABA), which is a regional league of twelve teams from countries located east of the Adriatic Sea. WABA has completed its regular season and has played the first round of the next phase (called "superleague"), in which the top eight teams compete. There are seven more superleague rounds to go
Sarah Boothe –
Montana 2003.
Montana went 7-3 in the WABA regular season and advanced to superleague play where they have won their first two games.
Montana placed second in the NBL regular season and have won their first second-stage game.
Sarah participates only in the WABA games as Montana's starting center, where she leads her team in scoring, rebounding and shot-blocking. She makes 61.2% of her shots and 77.8% of her free throws for an average of 13.0 points per game. Along with 8.9 rebounds per game, she's tallied seven double-doubles.
Russia
The Russian PBL league has completed round 11 of 21. The regular season ends the last week of March.
FIBA EuroLeague Women, in which Nneka's team is playing, has completed eleven rounds of group play and has three more to go. Playoffs begin on February 28.
Nneka Ogwumike –
Dynamo Kursk.
Dynamo Kursk is on track for a second consecutive championship season. They are the reigning EuroLeague Women champions and won the PBL silver medal last season. They are undefeated in both competitions so far this season — 12-0 in EuroLeague Women and 11-0 in PBL.
Nneka starts as Kursk's shooting forward. Her statistics are not quite as impressive as last season. She ranks among the top 15 in EuroLeague Women (instead of the top 10) with 13.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. She averages 11.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists in the PBL games.
Turkey
The Turkish KBSL league has completed round 14 of 26. The regular season ends in mid-April.
Kristen Newlin/Nevlin –
Bottasspor Adana
Botas stands in a four-way tie for fourth in the 14-team KBSL league with an 8-6 record.
New is playing well as Botas' starting center. She's averaging 10.4 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.
Australia
The Australian WNBL league shortened its regular season to 21 games in three months, which were completed at the end of December. The playoffs are in progress now and will finish next week.
The shortened season will give elite Australian players the opportunity to take up lucrative deals to finish the European season after WNBL.
Kayla Pedersen –
Dandenong Rangers.
Dandenong, which has long been one of the most successful teams in the WNBL was hard hit by injuries this season. They lost ten of their last 13 regular season games after their star player, Sara Blicavs, suffered a devastating knee injury.
and finished the season 7-14.
Kayla was a strong defensive presence as Dandedong's starting shooting forward. She was their leading rebounder wth 8.2 rpg, which ranked sixth-best in the league. She added 11.1 points and 2.4 assists per game and tallied six double-doubles.
Kayla was named the WNBL Robyn Maher defensive player of the year (story)
