Showdown in France

Tarbes Bigorre Elite and Bourges Basket have established themselves as France's top two teams, and they met for the first time Saturday. Tanisha Wright's Tarbes squad built a 16-point halftime lead and fought off a Bourges comeback attempt for a 64-56 victory. Wright's 17 points tied her for game high honors, and she added six rebounds and three assists. The win means Tabes and Bourges are now tied atop the French LFB at 12-1 apiece.

After a couple weeks off in Russia, Spartak resumed Superleague play yesterday with an 83-62 win over Vologda-Chevakata. The visitors were able to keep things reasonably close in the first half before Spartak outscored them 28-13 in the third quarter to blow the game open. Lauren Jackson continued her hot shooting, scoring 19 points on 6-of-11 from the field in fewer than 18 minutes of action. Sue Bird, with 15, was Spartak's second-leading scorer. She knocked down all three of her attempts from long distance and added four rebounds and three assists.

Earlier in the week, Vologda-Chevakata also took on Dynamo Moscow. It was a closer matchup, but Dynamo ultimately prevailed 78-73 on the strength of a 21-9 fourth-quarter advantage. Janell Burse paced Dynamo with 16 points and eight rebounds.

Kelly Santos had one of her best games of the season Saturday, scoring 24 points on 8-of-10 shooting (with a matching 8-of-10 effort at the free-throw line). Alas, it wasn't enough as Cadi La Seu fell 79-73 to a Joventut Mariana squad which got 22 points from Armintie Price.

Similarly, TED Kayseri Koleji saw Camille Little's high-scoring effort go for naught. Little scored 27 and Lisa Willis added 18, but their teammates combined for just 21 points in an 81-66 loss to Mersin. By contrast, Mersin's balanced scoring saw five players score at least nine points, led by 17 from new Chicago Sky post Mistie Williams. Little shot 11-of-22 from the field and added seven rebounds.

ZVVZ USK Praha played extremely short-handed over the weekend, with Swin Cash one of four regulars sitting out. As a result, a game against second-division squad Karlovy Vary was more exciting than anticipated, with USK Praha hanging on for the 82-74 win behind 22 points from Lindsay Whalen.

In Greece, Athinaikos cruised to 9-0 in league play, crushing Ano Liosia 100-65. Katie Gearlds was one of five Athinaikos players to score double-figures, finishing with 11 points on 5-of-11 shooting. She added three rebounds.