When most basketball fans think of April, they think of playoffs and championships.  When women’s basketball fans think of April, they think of the NCAA championship, the WNBA Draft and that it is almost time for their favorite players to finally return home from overseas in preparation for WNBA training camp.

It’s no different for Atlanta Dream fans.  For the Dream players still overseas, the regular seasons of the overseas domestic leagues have concluded and everyone is either playing in the playoffs or preparing for their postseason runs.  One Dream player took home a domestic league championship – her team’s third straight.  Another Dream player won her league’s regular season scoring title, averaging 24.3 points per game. Sadly, one Dream player’s team didn’t make it to the postseason.  To learn which Dream players are striving for overseas glory, here is this week’s Dream Overseas Report.

 

Cierra Burdick

(Napoli, Italy)

On Sunday Napoli had to struggle with San Giovanni, the second worst team in the Italian league. Napoli needed an overtime period to earn a decisive 85-74 home win.  Napoli finishes the regular season with a 12-14 record.

Twelve teams enter the Italian postseason with the top four seeds getting byes to the quarterfinals.  This means that No. 8 seed Napoli will take on No. 9 seed Torino in the first round of the Italian playoffs starting on April 14.

Napoli was down 46-27 at halftime and had to fight for a comeback.   Noelle Quinn and Cierra Burdick worked the score down to 56-54 in favor of San Giovanni when the visitors found a run to go up 69-60 with four minutes left.  Napoli then scored the next eight points, but Burdick hit a late shot to close to 71-70 and after San Giovanni missed on the other end, Quinn was fouled on a potential game-winning shot.  She missed her first free throw but hit the second to tie the game 71-71 after regulation.

In overtime it was no contest as Napoli won the final five minutes by a 14-3 margin.

According to Eurobasket.com Burdick’s 10.0 rebounds per game was good enough for eighth place in the Italian league regular season.

Napoli:  Gintare Petronyte 30/14 reb, Noelle Quinn 18/7 reb, Burdick 13/15 reb, Sara Bocchetti 11.

San Giovanni:  Antiesha Brown 21, Simina Mandache 17, Martina Kacerik 14.

Box score Napoli-San Giovanni: 

http://lbf-web.dataproject-stats.com/Tabellino.asp?IdGara=16078

Complete game Napoli-San Giovanni: 

 

 

Damiris Dantas

(Corinthians, Brazil)

On Friday, the Brazilian postseason began with Corinthians facing Maranhao in a best-of-three semifinals match.   Game One turned out to be a surprise for No. 1 seed Corinthians as it was upset 81-74.  Corinthians was placed in the position of needing to beat No. 4 Maranhao on both Tuesday and Thursday April 14 to advance to the Brazilian finals.

Maranhao was down 41-30 at halftime when it began its comeback.  Winning the third quarter Maranhao took the lead early in the fourth on a 3-point basket by Patricia Teixeira and managed to extend the lead to six points.  A 3-pointer by Damiris Dantas briefly closed the gap to three points, but Corinthians couldn’t get any closer.

Corinthians:   Dantas 26/9 reb, Karla Martins 15, Babi Generoso 8/10 reb.

Maranhao:  Ineidis Casanova 30, Leila Zabani 19, Patricia Teixeira 14, Clenia Noblet 9/11 reb.

Game Two on Tuesday was a must-win game for Corinthians, and they pulled through 80-70 to tie the three game series at one game each.   The game was tied 42-42 at the half and Corinthians started the third period with a 13-4 run.  Maranhao came right back and the third period ended with Corinthians up by just one point, 60-59.  Corinthians started the fourth period with a 15-4 run and Maranhao couldn’t recover.

Game Three takes place on Thursday April 14 with the winner going to the Brazilian league finals.

Corinthians:  Gilmara Justino 23/7 reb, Dantas 20/8 reb, Melisa Gretter 11.

Maranhao:  Ineidis Casanova 22/6 reb, Patricia Teixeira 14, Clenia Noblet 12/8 reb.

Box score Corinthians-Maranhao (Game One): 

http://ligadebasquetefeminino.com.br/noticias/vitoria-heroica/

Box score Corinthians-Maranhao (Game Two): 

http://ligadebasquetefeminino.com.br/noticias/muito-vivo/

 

Reshanda Gray

(Battipaglia, Italy)

On Sunday Gray’s Battipaglia team traveled to Torino and lost the final game of the regular season 78-72 despite a comeback in the final 10 minutes.  Battipaglia finishes the regular season at 9-17 and in tenth place.  They will face Meighan Simmons’s team Umbertide in the postseason as Umbertide holds the No. 7 seed.

It was an odd game.  Battipaglia turned the ball over 22 times but held a +23 rebounding margin over Torino.  With Torino leading by 18 going into the last period, both teams emptied their benches…and Battipaglia’s young players led a rally that fell short.

According to Eurobasket.com, Gray finished seventh overall in scoring in the Italian league with 17.8 points per game and third in rebounding with 11.5 rebounds per game.

Battipaglia:  Gray 20/9 reb, Asia Boyd 17, Kourtney Treffers 16/21 reb, Marida Orazzo 11.

Torino:  Jenna Smith 20/11 reb, Yvonne Anderson 16/7 ast, Katerina Sotiriou 11, Ada Puliti 10.

Box score Battipaglia-Torino: 

http://lbf-web.dataproject-stats.com/Tabellino.asp?IdGara=16079

Complete game Battipaglia-Torino:

 

Tiffany Hayes

(Yakin Dogu, Turkey)

Last Wednesday Tiffany Hayes’s season in Turkey came to an end with Yakin Dogu hosting Canik Blvd and winning, 85-81.  Sadly, the win wasn’t enough to get Yakin Dogu into the playoffs as they finished the regular season with a 10-16 record and tied for tenth place.  (Only the top eight teams make it into the post-season.)

Yakin Dogu scored an astonishing 62 points in the paint and Hayes closed out her Turkish season with a 25 point performance.  The home squad shot 50 percent from the field but almost let it slip away.  Leading 71-49 after three quarters, Canik Blvd staged a comeback and got to within five points in the last 24 seconds, but Yakin Dogu hung on for the win.

Hayes’s 17.6 points per game were good for fifth overall in the Turkish league regular season.

Yakin Dogu:  Hayes 25, Alyssa Thomas 22/13 reb, Kelsey Bone 15/8 reb, Yelena Leuchanka 12/7 reb.

Canik Blvd:  Essence Carson 22/5 ast, Burcu Cigil 21, Ivan Perovanovic 16/13 reb, Deniz Colakoglu 14.

Box score Yakin Dogu-Canik Blvd: 

http://www.tbf.org.tr/ligler/kbsl/mac-detay?Lig=7368&MacNo=1BA1507&Sezon=156

 

Roneeka Hodges

(Miskolc, Hungary)

On Saturday Miskolc hosted UNI Gyor in Game One of a best-of-three semifinals series and won 82-73.  Miskolc had to hold Alyssia Brewer and Dora Horti out of the game due to injury.  This game was pretty close throughout with Miskolc up just 63-61 with six minutes left.  Miskolc then went on a 12-2 run that decided the outcome.

Miskolc:  Tatsiana Likhtarovich 23, Tina Jovanovic 20/7 reb, Roneeka Hodges 13, Orsolya Szecsi 10.

UNI Gyor:  Zsofia Varga 17, Cyesha Goree 16/6 reb, Tamara Radocaj 14/6 reb, Monika Grigalauskyte 11.

Box score Miskolc-UNI Gyor: 

http://kosarsport.hu/game/whun_ply/x1516/whun_ply_14

Highlights Miskolc-UNI Gyor: 

Miskolc fans cheer on their team!

 

Sancho Lyttle

(UMMC, Ekaterinburg)

On Saturday UMMC faced Dynamo-GUVD in Game Two of a best-of-three quarterfinals series.  UMMC took the second game 108-48 to win the series two games to none.  UMMC’s next game will be against Sparta&K MR.

It was another overwhelming win for undefeated UMMC as no member of the team played more than 27 minutes and the squad wen deep into its bench.   UMMC won every quarter and was ahead by 39 points at halftime.

UMMC:  Diana Taurasi 25, Tatiana Popova 21, Brittney Griner 19/6 reb, Lyttle 9/9.

Dynamo-GUVD:  Adelina Abayburova 17/8 reb, Yuliya Chayskovskaya 14.

Box score UMMC-Dynamo-GUVD:

http://www.russiabasket.ru/game/?id=114346&compId=11004&tab=1

 

Angel McCoughtry

(Mersin, Turkey)

Last Wednesday No. 3 Mersin traveled to No 2. Hatay for their final regular season game and almost pulled off a road upset, losing 70-67.  Mersin finished with regular season with an 18-8 record and moved on to the postseason to take on Elizabeth Williams and No. 6 seed Istanbul Univ in the quarterfinals.

McCoughtry finished with the Turkish scoring title by averaging 24.3 points per game and many believe that Mersin could have finished higher in the standings were it not for Mersin adding her to the roster after two regular season games had passed.  Her 2.58 steals per game gained her another statistical title as she finished first in takeaways as well.

The game went back and forth with Hatay staking a 25-15 first quarter lead that evaporated in the second quarter with Mersin leading 42-39 at halftime.  I can’t find out much more about the circumstances of the game, but it looks like Hatay needed their +17 rebounding advantage as they only hit 11 of 21 free-throw attempts.

Mersin:  McCoughtry 24/9 reb/5 ast, Marina Kuzina 13/9 reb, Duygu Firat 10.

Hatay:  Courtney Paris 19/15 reb, Anna Vajda 15/10 reb, Natalie Hurst 13, Bahar Ozturk 12/7 reb/8 ast.

In the opening quarterfinals match against Elizabeth Williams and No. 6 seed Istanbul Univ, Mersin won at home 78-72 to take a one game lead in the best-of-three series.

It was McCoughtry who would have the biggest game with a double-double of 25 points and 10 rebounds.  Istanbul Univ was down 38-28 at halftime but closed to within one point, down 55-54 after three quarters of play. Unfortunately, there’s not much information about the details of this game only, only the box score.  Mersin had a +11 advantage in rebounds and 22 assists.

Mersin:  McCoughtry 25/10 reb, Bria Hartley 21, Aneika Henry 10/10 reb.

Istanbul Univ:  Viktoria Mircheva 20, Sasa Cado 19, Williams 16/13 reb.

Box score Mersin-Hatay: 

http://www.tbf.org.tr/ligler/kbsl/mac-detay?Lig=7368&MacNo=1BA1513&Sezon=156

Box score Mersin-Istanbul Univ (Game One): 

http://www.tbf.org.tr/ligler/kbsl/mac-detay?Lig=7368&MacNo=1BA1517&Sezon=156

 

Meighan Simmons

(Umbertide, Italy)

On Sunday Umbertide beat visiting Di Lupari 60-54 to finish out the season with a 12-14 regular season record.  They face Reshanda Gray and No. 10 seed Battipaglia in the first round of the postseason playoffs.

In an even game Di Lupari might have had a chance but Jasmine Bailey (University of Illinois-Chicago) was forced to sit out the game due to the flu.  Di Lupari had a very flat performance early in the third quarter, but came back to actually lead in the fourth quarter at 52-47.  However, a 3-pointer from Simmons put Umbertide back up again 54-53 and Di Lupari could not find the basket again and were forced to send Umbertide to the free throw line in hopes of getting the ball back.

Simmons’s 21.6 points per game this season was good enough to finish second overall in the Italian league according to Eurobasket.com.

Umbertide:  Simmons 13, Ilaria Milazzo 11, Giulia Moroni 9, Wumi Agunbiade 8/8 reb.

Di Lupari:  Valentina Fabbri 14, Florina Pascalau 10/7 reb, Jori Davis 4/8 reb.

Box score Umbertide-Di Lupari: 

http://lbf-web.dataproject-stats.com/Tabellino.asp?IdGara=16076

Complete game Umbertide-Di Lupari: 

 

Elizabeth Williams

(Istanbul Univ, Turkey)

On Wednesday the regular season came to an end for Istanbul Univ with a 70-49 road loss against No. 1 ranked team Fenerbahce.  Istanbul Univ finishes the regular season at 12-14 and sixth place and prepares to face No. 3 seed Mersin in the first round of the playoffs.

Istanbul Univ scored a measly 18 points in the paint and this game was over by the third quarter as Istanbul Univ finished the game with a 26.4 percent field goal percentage.  All eleven of Fenerbahce’s players scored.

Williams finished sixth in the Turkish league in rebounds with 9.2 per game.

Istanbul Univ:  Williams 14/9 reb, Sasa Cado 12, Betul Kalfali 10,

Fenerbahce:  Kamile Nacickaite 12, Quanitra Hollingsworth 10, Jantel Lavender 9, Tugce Canitez 7/8 reb.

In order to find out the results of the Sunday game against Mersin, go to the Angel McCoughtry entry.

Box score Istanbul Univ-Fenerbahce: 

http://www.tbf.org.tr/ligler/kbsl/mac-detay?Lig=7368&MacNo=1BA1510&Sezon=156

 

Overall Statistics

Cierra Burdick (Italy):  26 games, 12.1 ppg/10.0 rpg/1.4 apg

 

Damiris Dantas (Brazil):  16 games, 20.2 ppg/8.0 rpg/1.6 apg

Reshanda Gray (Italy):  26 games, 17.8 ppg/11.5 rpg/0.8 apg

Tiffany Hayes (Turkey):  26 games, 17.6 ppg/4.5 rpg/2.3 apg

Roneeka Hodges (Hungary – regular season):  4 games, 8.8 ppg/3.3 rpg/1.0 apg

Roneeka Hodges (Hungary – playoffs):  4 games, 9.5 ppg/3.5 rpg/0.5 apg

Sancho Lyttle (Euroleague):  16 games, 7.4 ppg/7.2 rpg/1.5 apg

Sancho Lyttle (Russia):  17 games, 12.4 ppg/8.4 rpg/2.1 apg

Angel McCoughtry (Turkey):  25 games, 24.3 ppg/7.7 rpg/3.6 apg

Meighan Simmons (Italy):  26 games, 21.6 ppg/3.9 rpg/1.2 apg

Elizabeth Williams (Turkey):  24 games, 13.3 ppg/9.8 rpg/1.3 apg

* – Season complete.