T'nae to be inducted into hall of fame

T’Nae Thiel has been selected for induction to the 2009 class of the Weatherford High School Athletic Hall of Fame. Read more in this report from the Weatherford Democrat.

Candice will play in Russian tournament with USA Basketball

Candice is one of 13 players selected to play in the 2009 Ekaterinburg International Invitational tournament as a member of the USA squad led by three members of the 2009-12 USA Basketball Women’s National Team.

The tournament will take place Oct 9-11. Also competing in the tournament will be professional teams from Russia, Hungary and the Czech Republic.

Read here for more information about the tournament and about other upcoming USA Basketball events.

New is back at it in Turkey

Kristin Newlin (shown above with teammate Nicole Powell after winning the Turkish championship last season) is back in Istabul ready to start a brand new basketball year. She working hard to get back in shape and ready to play again. Her summer away from basketball was jam packed with travel, friends and family. You can read all about that in this post to her blog.

Candice's appreciation of Lisa Leslie

The Los Angeles Sparks play their final regular-season home game tonight. It's Lisa Leslie's Farewell Game. In a Los Angeles Times blog, Candice thanks Lisa for what she has done for her and for all women, women's sports and basketball. (Read more ... )

Photos from Comense

Here are some photos of Jillian from Comense — at a photo shoot last week and at the official presentation of the team last night to their fans, citizens of Como and the press.

Jillian joins her team in Italy

Pool Comense' 2009-2010 season began officially last week as the available players met with their new coach. Brooke and several other players have not arrived yet, but Jillian was there (upper row, second from right).

Here is a report of that meeting, translated fairly awkwardly by Google.

The report includes these comments about Jillian (my interpretation of Google's translation): 

"She is a fighter in defense, one of those who never pulls back."

"She gave up [her place on the New Zealand national team] to start training here, demonstrating that she is one of the smart girls who wants to work for her Comense jersey."

Elsewhere on their website, Comense noted Jillian's arrival with five Stanford WBB videos about her.

Candice gets Delicious

As you can see in this video that advertises NikeWomen's new line of training apparel.

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...