RosGO makes the Nigerian National Team

I don't know if Ros said, "Well, it's worth a try." But she must have said something to that effect as she tried out for the Nigerian National Women's Basketball Team and a chance to play in the 2012 Olympics. It was definitely worth a try — she was named a member of the team yesterday.

The Nigerian National Team will compete in Belgium and France this summer before going to Mali for the AfroBasket Women tournament from Sept 23 to Oct 2.

The winner of that tournament will qualify for the 2012 Olympics. The 2nd and 3rd place finishers will qualify for the 2012 Olympic Qualifying Tournament, a 12-team tournament that will take place in June/July 2012. The top five teams will earn a place in the Olympic Basketball Tournament.

There could be as many as five Stanford alumnae playing in the 2012 Olympics.

The USA Basketball National Team has already qualified for the 2012 Olympics by virtue of winning the 2010 FIBA World Championship. Jayne Appel and Candice Wiggins are on the 24-member national team roster as of April 26, The selection of the Olympics team will be made sometime next year.

Kristen Newlin is a member of the Turkish National Team, which has qualified for 2012 Olympics Qualifying Tournament by virtue of taking 2nd place in the EuroBasket Women tournament last month.

Jillian Harmon is a member of the New Zealand National Team, which will compete in the FIBA Oceania Tournament Sept 7-11. The winner will qualify for the 2012 Olympics. The runner-up will qualify for the 2012 Olympics Qualifying Tournament

Candice's downtime wasn't lost time

By Jim Paulsen (Minneapolis Star Tribune):

What should have been the bleakest time in Candice Wiggins' basketball life turned out to be far brighter than even she could have hoped ...

But it didn't take long for her to start thinking that her glass wasn't just half-full, it was spilling over the edges ...

The time off helped her see past her basketball career and get a feel for what the next chapter in her life might be.

Read more...

Kayla & Jeanette are among top 10 rookies

Nate Parham (Swish Appeal) presents his pick of the top 10 rookies in the WNBA after one month of play.

He ranks Kayla as #1, with this overall evaluation: Every single player on this list does something better than Pedersen: defensively, passing, rebounding or shooting. So as usual, it's easy to overlook Kayla Pedersen, only made easier because she's playing on the team with the worst record in the league right now. But here's the thing about Pedersen: there isn't much she doesn't do. Pedersen is proving that she's exactly what she was at Stanford: the ultimate teammate.

He ranks Jeanette as #8 because of her scoring efficiency and three-point shooting.

Read more...

Turkey wins the silver

Turkey couldn't keep up with a very strong Russian team and lost 42-59 in the EuroBasket 2011 championship game.

Not quite making it all the way is disappointing, as Cardinal fans well know. But, still, what a run for the Turkish team, who had never before even made it to the final eight. As New twittered, "Proud to bring home the silver. #goturkiye"

Here is the game card.

The second-place finish qualifies Turkey to compete in the 2012 Olympic Qualifying Tournament, a 12-team tournament that will take place in June/July 2012. The top five teams will earn a place in the 2012 Olympic Basketball Tournament.

New's reaction to EuroBasket semifinal victory

Listen to New's reaction to Turkey's victory over France in this video from FIBA

New is game hero as Turkey advances to Gold Medal game

Turkey defeated reigning champion France 68-62 in overtime in their semifinal game of EuroBasket Women 2011.

New was declared the game hero: "Nevin Nevlin (Kristin's Turkish name) was restored into the Turks' starting line-up to nullify the power of the French. It was the perfect tactic and she delivered 23 points and 8 rebounds."

Here is the game card, which includes a game highlights video as well as the usual game report, box score and play-by-play.

Turkey will play Russian for the gold medal on Sunday July 3 at 11:30 a.m. Pacific Time. You can watch the game online here

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.