Jillian withdraws from Tall Ferns

The Manawatu Standard reported today that Jillian has withdrawn from the Tall Ferns squad that is preparing for the Oceania World Championship series. She withdrew because Comense, the Italian club team she will play for this season, "insisted she arrive when requested".

Kathy Levinson, senior athlete

In the mid-1970s, Kathy Levinson competed in three varsity sports at Stanford — basketball, tennis and field hockey. This was about ten years before Tara VanDerveer was hired as women's basketball head coach, and a couple of years after Title IX was passed.

Off the court, she was active in the Organization of Stanford Women Athletes, which pushed for more experienced coaches, better uniforms and equal access to Maples, where only men were allowed to play. Levinson's teammate Mariah Burton Nelson wrote about this period at Stanford in "Escaping from Roble — Stanford Women's Basketball Then and Now".

This week Levinson was again an athlete at Stanford, playing racquetball in the 2009 National Senior Games. Shaun Bishop, Daily News Staff Writer, wrote about Levinson in this article.

She did win her next two matches, and earned the bronze medal in Women's Singles 50+ Racquetball.

Jillian rejoins Tall Ferns

Basketball New Zealand reports that Jillian is one of six Beijing Olympians who have joined a Tall Ferns training squad that is preparing for the FIBA Oceania Championship for Women later this month.

The squad will begin a week-long training camp next Sunday, August 23 before taking on the defending world champion Australia Opals in two games  — in Porirua, New Zealand  on August 31 and in Canberra, Australia on September 2.  Read more...

Nicole a star in All-Star game

Making her first appearance as an All-Star, Nicole scored 21 points for the West, who defeated the East 130-118 in the 2009 WNBA All-Star game.

She set an All-Star game record — briefly,  as Jake Curtis recounts in this article.

First All-Star appearance for Nicole

The Sacramento Monarchs today announced forward Nicole Powell will make her first All-Star appearance as selected by WNBA President Donna Orender. Powell will replace injured Los Angeles Sparks center Lisa Leslie as a reserve for the Western Conference.

Powell averages 15.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game in her fifth season in the WNBA. She currently ranks 13th in the League points per game, first in free throw percentage (1.000) – including a franchise-record 44 consecutive free throws made to date – and second in three-point field goals made (42).

The 2009 WNBA All-Star Game will be hosted by the Connecticut Sun on Saturday, July 25, at Mohegan Sun Arena. The game will be televised nationally on ABC, at 12:30 p.m. PDT.

It's hard to let go of Jillian

Jillian will be playing professional basketball next season in Italy for Comense, the same team as Brooke. Warren Grimes, devoted Cardinal fan, is having trouble letting go of Jillian. He writes:

As Summer wears on and we look to the Fall recruiting results and the forthcoming season, I’m having trouble letting go. The player involved – and you can guess – has to be one of the most tenacious, the most relentless, to ever wear the Stanford uniform. No, Jillian Harmon wasn’t the fastest, wasn’t the best shooter, wasn’t the best rebounder, wasn’t the best ball handler . . . but the truth is, she was damn good at all those things. Excellent in fact. Harmon was fast enough to steal the ball from an opposing guard and get down the court and score the lay up with consistent success. She did that against San Diego’s quick guards, and she did it again against Ohio State’s talented back court players. Those were spirit-breaking plays for Stanford opponents. Harmon was doing that sort of thing in virtually every game she played over the past four seasons, and she played in almost all of them.

Last year, Harmon led the team in steals, had the third highest minutes per game, was third in assists, was 4th in blocks, 4th in rebounds, and 5th in points. She brought the ball up court many times, effectively serving as a relief point guard, yet she could play the power forward position when needed (that wasn’t needed much this last year). She was a very good defender, often drawing the opponent’s most prolific point scorer as her assignment. Is there anything Harmon couldn’t do? Well, she didn’t dunk, but no one else on the team did either. Her free throw shooting was not stellar, but even that improved to the point that the coaches wanted her in the game in the last minutes.

None of these stats really tell the story on Harmon. I’ll go back to my words relentless and tenacious. If you want to see how Harmon made a difference, think back to the semi-final victory over U Conn two years ago. Harmon was a defensive star that night, stealing the ball and getting some key rebounds. In this year’s tournament, she was a difference maker in the Ohio State game, which, in case you have forgotten, was a close game until the last two minutes. Harmon scored eight or so of the team’s points in the last two minutes to help make the game look like an easy win, but even more impressive were her steals and clutch shots when the game really was in the balance. Harmon was there all the time, giving her best, which was really very good indeed. Was there ever a game that you watched in which Harmon wasn’t giving her best? I don’t think so.

So I hope Jillian does well in Italy, in New Zealand, or wherever she ends up playing more basketball. Her fundamentals should make any team very glad to have her.

Here is a gallery of photos of Jillian throughout her Stanford career.

Baller, Boxer, Beauty ...

... Triple Threat Wiggins is a Knockout

Here is a video interview of Candice during the filming of a Nike commercial.

Candice is WNBA Player of the Week

Candice earned her first WNBA Player of the Week award by leading the Minnesota Lynx to two victories last week, which helped them reclaim a share of first place in the Western conference.

She averaged 23.5 points on 45.7% shooting, 4.5 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 steals.

Her contributions were critical because the Lynx lost their top scorer, Seimone Augustus, for the season two weeks ago with a torn ACL.

Here's a full report from the Minnesota Lynx

Naomi has a son

Naomi Mulitauaopele  and her husband,  Solomona Tagaleo'o ...

... have a beautiful baby boy named Solomona Atapana Tagaleo'o Jr.

You can find more (lots more) pictures of Naomi and her family and friends in her My Space page.

Jennifer's experiences in Knoxville

Jennifer has posted a lot of photos and video clips in her blog that document her induction into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.

Get a box of Kleenex and share her experiences — in particular:

•  The video of her induction speech.

•  The video of her reunion with Miss Mimms, the director of the Day Care Center she attended as a child in Oak Ridge.