Wright Joins Storm for Practice

Aaron Last/Storm Photos

A week after finishing her season in France, Tanisha Wright joined her Seattle Storm teammates for practice Sunday. In between, Wright went to her hometown of Pittsburgh and her offseason home in Charlotte, where she spent some time wrapping up details on her purchase of a home.

"It was good, but it was busy," Wright said after practice. "It was a busy couple of days. I went home to get stuff together for my house, and that's not an easy task. I'm glad to be back. It's bittersweet because I'd love to be back in my house, but I'm glad to be back as well and getting ready to start."

Wright's team played in what was apparently the final game played anywhere in Europe during the 2008-09 season, contesting the Coupe de France after playing in the French LFB Finals.

"It felt like a really long season - it was a long season," she said. "The good thing about it was it was a long season, but it was broken up. There were plenty of times where we would have four or five or six days off throughout the season. I think three or four times where we had that situation where we didn't play for several days. That helps."

In her first practice back, Wright felt the effect of the long season as well as her travel over the last week.

"I was tired - I'm not going to lie," she said. "Usually I'm not like exhausted exhausted, but I was exhausted today."

Still, Head Coach Brian Agler didn't notice much fatigue and lliked what he saw from Wright, who played primarily at shooting guard alongside either Sue Bird and Shannon Johnson, joining them in a versatile three-guard lineup at times.

"She looks in real good shape," he said. "We had her in and out - we didn't try to overdo it. She's still tired from traveling and a long season. She did a good job. It's great to have her back out here."

For Wright, the start of this training camp is very different from a year ago, when she came in late and was trying to pick up a new offense and adjust to a number of new teammates. She was also trying to establish a position then, having shifted between both guard spots. Now, she is solidly at shooting guard, though with the ability to swing to small forward in small lineups or play the point if needed.

"I think the difference this year is being more comfortable now - knowing the situation, knowing his system and knowing (Coach Agler) and the rest of the coaching staff as well as the players, because we have a lot of returning players," Wright explained. "This year, I think I'm more comfortable in my skin and can just play. I don't have to learn a lot on the run. You know what he expects, you know exactly what he wants and it's a matter of going out and doing it.

"There's some new stuff. The more I get out there the more it will be like the rest - I won't have to think about it."

Wright's Season Finished

Guard Tanisha Wright is one of four Storm players who is not here for today's Media Day, as Wright had the longest overseas schedule of any player (period, not just on the Storm). Her Tarbes team, which lost to Bourges last week in the French LFB Championships, got a rematch with the Coupe de France on the line. Alas, Bourges emerged victorious again by a 68-63 final.

Wright had a huge effort in the loss, scoring 27 points with eight rebounds and three assists. Tarbes took advantage of its superior depth, with six players scoring at least eight points.

Wright now heads home and will be in camp later this week. We'll pass it along when we hear a more exact date.

Wright's Team Falls in Final

Tanisha Wright and Tarbes fell short in their bid to win the French LFB, losing today's deciding Game 3 72-49 at Bourges. As in Game 2, Tarbes fell behind early. It was 18-8 Bourges after one quarter and 43-19 at the half. Tarbes had a tough time generating offense, shooting 36.4 percent from the field. Wright scored 12 points as one of three Tarbes players in double-figures.

Batkovic's Team Takes Title

Congrats to Suzy Batkovic and her Cras Basket Taranto teammates. With a 56-52 victory yesterday, Taranto defeated Umana Venezia 3-1 in the Italian LegA Basket Femminile finals to win the top Italian league.

Taranto win on the road to take the deciding game, outscoring Venezia 28-19 in the second half and holding the hosts to seven points in the final period of another slow-paced, low-scoring affair. Batkovic was one of three players, along with series MVP Emile Godin and Megan Mahoney, to pace Taranto with 12 points, shooting 6-for-12 from the field.

According to the incomparable Paul Swanson, this is Taranto's second Italian championship, having previously won in 2003.

The finals series in France is heading to a deciding Game 3 after Tanisha Wright's Tarbes squad was blown out 78-37 on the road in Game 2. Host Bourges led 30-5 following a dominant first quarter, and things got little better for Tarbes the rest of the way. The previous games between the two teams have been close, so a lopsided outcome was a definite surprise. Tarbes will get a chance to bounce back and take the series on Wednesday, the final game also to be played in Bourges.

Latest from Overseas

Having returned home for Games 2 and 3, Cras Basket Taranto and Suzy Batkovic have taken a 2-1 lead in their best-of-five series against Umana Venezia.

Game 2, played Tuesday, saw Taranto overcome an off night from Batkovic, who spent time in foul trouble and scored but three points on 1-of-6 shooting. She contributed six rebounds, and Taranto emerged victorious by a 56-52 final in a defensive battle where both teams hit fewer than 40 percent of their shots. Karen David came off the bench to score a game-high 14 points, and Elodie Godin had 10 points and 14 rebounds for Taranto. No Venezia players reached double-figures.

Today's Game 3 was scarcely more offensive, but Taranto's stars got back on track in the 57-50 win. Megan Mahoney led the way with 19 points, while Batkovic scored 10 and pulled down five rebounds. Michelle Greco also scored 10 points.

The series shifts back to Venezia for Game 4 on Sunday for an elimination game for the hosts.

In France, the finals series is through just one game. On Wednesday, Tarbes earned the 56-50 victory over Bourges on the strength of a 22-9 third-quarter advantage and now goes on the road needing one win to claim the championship of France. Again, the game was defensive in nature, Bourges shooting 33.3 percent from the field. Bourges clamped down on Tanisha Wright defensively, holding her to seven points with five assists and four rebounds. Isabelle Yacoubou stepped up for the victors with 23 points and 12 rebounds.

Game 2 will be played on Saturday.

Storm Players Into Finals

As we head into May and approach WNBA training camps, overseas play is winding down. Just two Storm players are still in action, and both of their teams are currently playing for national league championships in finals series.

In the Italian Lega Basket Femminile, Game 1 of the finals was today. Suzy Batkovic's Cras Basket Taranto team went on the road under the 1-2-1-1 format used by the LBF and fell 74-62 to Umana Venezia. Taranto led through much of the first half, but was outscored 19-8 in the third quarter as Venezia took command of the game.

Batkovic scored 14 points for Taranto, making four of her five shot attempts and all six of her tries from the free-throw line. The rest of Batkovic's teammates had a tough time finishing, as Taranto shot 35.9 percent on two-point shots. Megan Mahoney scored 15 and Michelle Greco 11 for Taranto.

Venezia features WNBA players Essence Carson and Vanessa Hayden-Johnson as well as WNBA vet Mery Andrade, but it was Italian vet Simona Ballardini - one of the team's go-to players - who led Venezia with 24 points on 7-of-11 shooting.

The series now shifts to Taranto for games Tuesday and Thursday.

Tanisha Wright's Tarbes Bigorre Elite team won its way to the French LFB Finals last Wednesday, sweeping a semifinals matchup against Villeneuve d'Ascq with a 74-56 victory. Wright had 12 points and seven assists and five Tarbes players scored double-figures. Bourges also swept into the finals, setting up a showdown between the two top teams in France.

The best-of-three series opens Wednesday, with a last possible date of the following Tuesday, May 12.

Wright's Israel Season Over

Elizur Ramla beat Ranaana Hertzeliya 77-69 in Game 4 of the Israeli D1 Finals today, taking the series three games to one. Looking to force a deciding fifth game, Raanana was within 60-57 with six minutes left to play but saw Ramla score the next nine points to blow the game open and win.

"We always look to win, but down the stretch we got tired mentally and started making mistakes, and they capitalized on it," said Storm guard Tanisha Wright. "They scored on our mistakes, they got stops, they did a lot of things to help themselves win. It’s just disappointing"

Wright had 16 points and six rebounds, but Ramla kept her from beinga playmaker; she did not have an assist in the game. While her team fell short of the championship, Wright still had a terrific second season in Israel. She averaged 21.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 3.2 steals during the regular season.

Her season over, Wright will head back to Seattle to rejoin the Storm in the near future.

In Italy, Famila Wuber Schio took a 2-0 series lead yesterday over Phard Napoli and Storm color analyst Adia Barnes. Schio is a win away from claiming the best-of-five series with Game 3 at Schio on Saturday.

While we're talking members of the Storm championship team, congrats to Trina Frierson, who has been promoted to associate head coach at Northwestern State University in Louisiana. Frierson has spent three years on the coaching staff at Northwestern State and will play a larger role as associate head coach. (HT: StormFans)

Wright's Team Falls Behind

Raanana Hertzeliya dropped Game 3 of the Israeli D1 Finals 81-69 to Elizur Ramla on Monday, giving Ramla a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series.

By her MVP standards, Storm guard Tanisha Wright had an off night for Raanana, needing 19 shots to get her 20 points. Wright also handed out six assists and grabbed five boards but committed seven turnovers. Wright was the most consistent scoring threat for her team, which shot but 4-of-18 from three-point range. Meanwhile, Sherill Baker, Shay Doron and Michelle Snow combined for 60 points for Ramla.

Game 4 will be played Thursday at Ramla, and there is no margin for error for Raanana.

"Our backs are against the wall, lose and we go home," Wright told Safsal. "We’ve been in this situation before [Raanana trailed 2-0 in the semifinals], so the only thing that we can ask from ourselves is to go out and play the hardest that we can play. We’ve won there before so we know that we can win there. We gotta believe that."

If Raanana extends the series, Game 5 would be played next Monday. That's the latest Wright could wrap up her season and begin the process of getting back to Storm camp.

Forcing Game 5 in Israel

Tanisha Wright and Raanana Hertzliya are headed to a Game 5 in their first-round playoff series with a convincing 75-64 win Monday over Ramat Hen. Raanana Hertzliya becomes the first team ever to force a fifth game after falling behind in the series 2-0.

"We feel the same way as we did before Game 3 and 4," Wright told Safsal. "We feel like our backs are against the wall and we have one chance to win and move on. Same approach, same focus, and same intensity. Obviously it doesn’t matter what happened in the last two games."

Wright had 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting and pulled down 11 rebounds. Houston's Mistie Williams led Raanana with 28 points, shooting 12-of-19.

Elsewhere ...

- The USA Basketball Senior Women's National Team - including Storm forward Swin Cash - gathered in Chicago yesterday for three days of training. Then it's off to China for the The April 19-26 Good Luck Beijing Tournament, held at Wukesong Arena, site of the 2008 Olympic basketball competition. The U.S. will face 2006 World Champion Australia, host China, Cuba, New Zealand and South Korea in the tournament. While neither Austrlia nor the U.S. will be at full strength because of international commitments, this should be a good tune-up for the Olympics.

- While googling, I found that Sheryl Swoopes gave a speech at Jackson State University's Oman Arena last Thursday. Here's an interview in the Jackson Sun and the paper's recap of the appearance. Swoopes' message was about the importance of education.

"Not very many people get the opportunity to go to the next level and be a professional athlete," she said. "The thing I'm most proud of is my degree. I don't just have to settle for the minimum wage. I have an education. I have a degree. I can go get a job with the best of them."

- Some follow-up on the Storm's selections in last week's WNBA Draft. The Joliet Herald News has Allie Quigley's reaction to coming to Seattle, while The GW Hatchet wrote about the Storm picking Kimberly Beck.