With the beginning of the signing period in full swing, most of the attention has gone to players signing with teams or resigning with new franchises, and not just in Atlanta. (For example, Aneika Henry has now signed with Connecticut).
Last year’s Dream players are still at work overseas as the international domestic leagues are in the second halves of their regular seasons and in some cases there are just a few more games to go before the playoffs get underway.
To find out more about what’s been going on out of sight (but not out of mind), here’s this week’s Dream Overseas Report.
Matee Ajavon
(Energa Torun, Poland)
On Saturday, February 6 the Energa Torun traveled to Gdynia and fell short by one basket, 76-74. The loss dropped Torun to 7-10 on the regular season with five regular season games left to go. Energa Torun is in seventh place in the Polish league and the top eight teams go to the playoffs.
Down by 14 points in the final quarter, Torun went on a 12-1 run capped by a pair of free throws by Matee Ajavon with 2:14 to go. A triple by Renee Taylor with 43 seconds left brought Torun within two points and Gdynia missed two attempts, but Taylor’s final layup attempt fell short as time expired.
Energa Torun: Ajavon 18 points (9-for-10 foul shooting), Paulina Misiek 13/6 reb, Joanna Walich 12/6 reb, Renee Taylor 11.
Gdynia: Jelena Škerović 16/7 ast, Aneta Kotnis 14/6 reb, Paris Johnson (SDSU 2011) 10/11 reb.
Box score Energa Torun/Gdynia:
http://basketligakobiet.pl/mecz/35093/basket-90-gdynia—energa-torun.html
Cierra Burdick
(Napoli, Italy)
On Monday, February 8, Cierra Burdick and her Napoli team fell 70-57 in a road loss to Lucca, the team at the top of the Italian League standings. Napoli falls to 7-11 and eighth place in the league.
Napoli had a “lost quarter” – the first quarter, with the visitors down 15-4 at the end of the first 10 minutes. It’s hard to come back from such a deficit, and Napoli spent most of its time looking up at the scoreboard. They shot only 39 percent and turned the ball over 21 times.
Napoli: Noelle Quinn 12/6 reb, Sara Bocchetti 12, Gintare Petronyte 11/8 reb, Burdick 9/5 reb (3-for-16 shooting).
Lucca: Kayla Pedersen 17, Martina Crippa 14, Elisa Templari 13, Jillian Harmon 12/6 reb.
Box score Napoli/Lucca:
http://lbf-web.dataproject-stats.com/Tabellino.asp?IdGara=16021
Sydney Carter
(TTT Riga, Latvia)
TTT Riga continued its domination of the Latvian second round of the regular season with a 109-48 whipping of Tallina U.
Carter did not play in this game. From what I can translate from Latvian web sites, it was implied that “Sidnija Kārtere” was out for family reasons. On Twitter, it was implied that Carter attended a recent game at Texas A&M.
❤️❤️❤️ RT @FvmousTootss: Aggies game yesterday ft. @Sydney_Rene & Danielle Adams.🏀 https://t.co/YB7PfSUiIw
— Sydney Carter (@Sydney_Rene) February 1, 2016
Damiris Dantas
(Corinthinans, Brazil)
On Thursday, February 4 and Friday February 5, Corinthians played back-to-back games against America de Recife, winning the first 70-64 and losing the second 90-67. Currently Corinthians is in a three-way tie for first place with America de Recife and Sampaio at 8-2.
In the first game, Corinthians led 42-27 at the half and that was enough to secure the win. Corinthians had the edge in offensive rebounds and shot 6-for-17 from behind the three point arc.
Corinthians: Dantas 21/16 reb, Karla Martins 20, Gilmara Justino 17/8 reb.
America de Recife: Adriana Pinto 18/6 ast, Kelly Santos 13/9 reb, Taina Paixao 12, Jennifer Lacy 11, Erika de Souza 2/11 reb (1-for-6 shooting).
In the second game, Corinthians found themselves quickly behind, outscored 21-8 in the second quarter. Erika de Souza found the shooting touch she had missed the previous day, hitting eight of eleven attempts. Americana shot 50 percent from the fields and dominated 42-24 on the boards.
Corinthians: Dantas 18/7 reb, Babi Generoso 15/6 reb, Karla Martins 14.
America de Recife: Ariadna Felipe 18/9 reb, Jennifer Lacy 17, Erika de Souza 16/12 reb, Tatiane Nascimento 13, Adriana Pinto 12/5 ast.
Box score Corinthians/America de Recife (Feb 4):
http://ligadebasquetefeminino.com.br/noticias/prova-de-forca/
Box score Corinthians/America de Recife (Feb 5):
http://ligadebasquetefeminino.com.br/noticias/tripla-lideranca/
Reshanda Gray
(Battipaglia, Italy)
On Saturday, Battipaglia hosted the worst team in the Italian League, San Giovanni, and were upset in a shocking 80-60 loss. Gray did her work on the boards, but no one else did as the team loss the rebounding battle 52-38. The home team got off to a bad start, down 22-8 after the first quarter and they let a possible win get away. Battipaglia falls to 6-12 and 10th place with eight regular season games to go.
Battipaglia: Gray 25/10, Tagliamento Marzia 15, Kourtney Treffers 9/7 reb.
San Giovanni: Antiesha Brown 23/7 reb, Emily Correal 21/12 reb, Maria Barberis 14.
Box score Battipaglia/San Giovanni:
http://lbf-web.dataproject-stats.com/Tabellino.asp?IdGara=16023
Complete game Battipaglia/San Giovanni:
Tiffany Hayes
(Yakin Dogu, Turkey)
Two Atlanta Dream players – one current, one future – met on Saturday when Elizabeth Williams’s Istanbul Univ team traveled to play Yakin Dogu, with Yakin Dogu winning the contest 74-62. Yakin Dogu moves up to 6-12 and is in 11th place, a couple of places above relegation. Istanbul Univ falls to 9-9 and is in sixth place. The top eight teams in the Turkish league move on to the postseason.
A 16-9 fourth quarter helped put the game away for Yakin Dogu. Yakin Dogu shot 52 percent with Istanbul Univ being held to just under 40 percent.
Yakin Dogu: Kelsey Bone 24/10 reb, Hayes 20, Yelena Leuchanka 13/8 reb/6 ast.
Istanbul Univ: Sasa Cado 17/7 reb, Williams 14, Tan White 13.
Box score Yakin Dogu/Istanbul Univ:
http://www.tbf.org.tr/ligler/kbsl/mac-detay?Lig=7368&MacNo=1BA1451&Sezon=156
Angel McCoughtry
(Mersin, Turkey)
Mersin went on the road on Sunday and beat Botas 86-68 to advance to 13-5 overall and in possession of third place in the Turkish league. The game was a three-point fest, with both teams combining for 55 triple attempts. Botas fell behind 30-14 after the first quarter. The game would be decided by defense, as Botas was forced into 22 turnovers.
Mersin: McCoughtry 21/6 reb, Aneika Henry 15/15 reb, Bria Hartley 15/6 ast, Marina Kuzina 12, Nilay Kartaltepe 10.
Botas: D’Andra Moss 20/8 reb/7 ast, Avery Talbert 13/11 reb, Milica Jovanovic 12, Pelin Bilgic 11/5 ast.
Box score Mersin/Botas:
http://www.tbf.org.tr/ligler/kbsl/mac-detay?Lig=7368&MacNo=1BA1454&Sezon=156
Sancho Lyttle
(UMMC, Ekaterinburg)
On Wednesday, February 3 UMMC whipped visiting Turkish team Abdullah Gul 93-48 to move to 11-2 overall in Group B. With one more game to go in the opening round, both UMMC and Group A team Fenerbahce have identical 11-2 records.
Not much to say about this game, with UMMC winning every single quarter and starting off the game with a 23-5 run.
UMMC: Diana Taurasi 28/7 reb/6 ast, Lyttle 14/13 reb, Brittney Griner 12, Alba Torrens 11/5 ast.
Abdullah Gul: Mirna Mazic 13/6 reb, Zoi Dimitrakou 12.
On Monday, February 8, UMMC beat Dynamo Moscow 101-52 in domestic league play to stay at the top of the league at 16-0 with just six regular season games to go. Dynamo Moscow’s loss should have been no surprise as they fall to 1-15 overall and last place.
Stat of the game: Dynamo Moscow was outrebounded 61-21. No contest.
UMMC: Lyttle 20/13 reb, Kristi Toliver 16, Sandrine Gruda 14, Natalia Vieru 12/10 reb, Eugenie Belyakova 11.
Dynamo Moscow: Anastasia Loginova 13, team shooting: 30 percent.
Box score UMMC/Abdullah Gul:
http://www.fibaeurope.com/euroleaguewomen/gameID_11814-B-49-13.html
Box score UMMC/Dynamo Moscow:
http://www.russiabasket.ru/game/?id=109990&compId=11004&tab=0
Complete game UMMC/Abdullah Gul:
Elizabeth Williams
(Istanbul Univ, Turkey)
Elizabeth Williams’s game is summarized above under Tiffany Hayes’ recap.
Current Overall Statistics:
Matee Ajavon (Poland): 14 games, 13.9 ppg/3.6 rpg/4.5 apg
Cierra Burdick (Eurocup **): 8 games, 10.1 ppg/10.3 rpg/1.4 apg
Cierra Burdick (Italy): 18 games, 10.8 ppg/8.5 rpg/1.3 apg
Sydney Carter (Eurocup **): 10 games, 15.9 ppg/3.0 rpg/3.2 apg
Sydney Carter (Latvia): 8 games, 10.3 ppg/2.5 rpg/3.6 apg
Sydney Carter (EEWBL): 7 games, 9.1 ppg/2.0 rpg/2.1 apg
Damiris Dantas (Brazil): 4 games, 21.3 ppg/7.5 rpg/1.3 apg
Reshanda Gray (Italy): 18 games, 16.4 ppg/10.8 rpg/0.8 apg
Tiffany Hayes (Turkey): 18 games, 19.2 ppg/4.5 rpg/2.3 apg
Sancho Lyttle (Euroleague): 13 games, 7.8 ppg/7.6 rpg/1.1 apg
Sancho Lyttle (Russia): 11 games, 11.5 ppg/8.5 rpg/2.1 apg
Angel McCoughtry (Turkey): 17 games, 24.8 ppg/7.1 rpg/3.4 apg
Elizabeth Williams (Turkey): 15 games, 13.4 ppg/10.2 rpg/1.4 apg
** Eurocup season complete.