Minnesota Lynx Overseas Update Vol. 2

It’s Monday, which means it’s time for another check-in on your favorite WNBA team’s offseason.

Since our update last week, the WNBA has a crowned a new champion, who — for the second season in a row — knocked out the Minnesota Lynx en route to their title. The Chicago Sky, led by two Chicagoland natives in their starting five, Candace Parker and Allie Quigley, took Game 4, and the series, 80-74.

But more importantly, Lynx players have been in action overseas, led by Jessica Shepard, who is continuing her international dominance in Italy for Dinamo Sassari.

(Note: For a look at each player’s individual game log and per game averages, click here.)

Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images

Jess Shepard

Dinamo Sassari — Italy Serie A1/EuroCup — Sassari, Italy (Sardinia)

Nebraska had a tough weekend in Minnesota, but Minnesota’s adopted native Cornhusker had quite the different experience this past week.

Game 1 - 100-81 loss vs BCF Elfic Fribourg (EuroCup)

Full Box | Full Game

Shepard, coming off a 34-point, 22-rebound performance last week, followed that up another masterpiece in EuroCup play. She netted 28 points on 11/20 FG (6/7 FT) to go with 14 rebounds, four assists, two steals, six turnovers and a block, and was -19 in 40:00 of play.

Game 2 - 84-61 win vs USE Rosa Empoli (Serie A1)

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In case her 28 and 14 game on Thursday wasn’t good enough for you, Shepard made sure you remembered what she’s on a mission to do overseas on Sunday. In a blowout league win over Rosa Empoli, Jess added to her case to change the Italian word for buckets from “secchi” to “Shepard” with another 34-point explosion on 12/21 FG (1/1 3PT, 9/12 FT), and 23 rebounds, three assists, one steal and six turnovers to match, and was a team-high +27 in just 35:33 of play.

Perhaps what is most encouraging about Shepard’s play is that she is averaging just over one foul per game on defense, while getting to the line 11 times per game on the other end. If she can get to the stripe as byproduct of battling on the glass and taking bigger defenders off the dribble while defending without fouling next season, she will push for more minutes.

Her role has grown so the increase in turnovers is understandable, but look for Shepard to turn it over less in the coming weeks as she gets acclimated to a new offense.

Season Per Game Stats

• 28.7 points on 50.7/75.8/20.0 shooting percentages and 23.0/11.0/1.7 attempts
• 19.7 rebounds
• 3.0 assists, 4.7 turnovers
• 1.7 steals, 0.3 blocks
• 1.3 fouls
• -5.7 in 38.3 minutes

Next Up

• Thursday, 10/21 - vs Tenerife at 1:30 PM CT (EuroCup)
• Sunday, 10/24 - at La Molisana Campobasso at 11:00 AM CT (Serie A1)

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Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images

Kalya McBride

Fenerbahçe — EuroLeague/Turkish League — Istanbul, Turkey

McBride was as rock solid as ever for Fenerbahçe across the pond this past week, continuing her consistent two-way play that featured six made triples, taking excellent care of the ball, and her evident value on the defensive end.

Game 1 - 70-65 loss vs Landes (EuroLeague)

Full Box | Full Game

Despite shooting 33.3% from the floor on 18 shots, McBuckets still led the team in scoring with 17 behind three triples. In addition to her scoring, her defensive impact was felt during the 4:51 in which she did not play. Landes was +10 during those minutes, compared to -5 during McBride’s 35 minutes on the floor. She also dished out three assists and turned it over just one time.

Game 2 - 89-57 win vs Çankaya Üni (Turkish League)

Full Box | Full Game

In the second Fener game of the week, we got a classic K-Mac game. Efficiency, disruptive defensive play, and a carrying a significant bulk of the scoring and assisting load en route to a team win. McBride poured in 15 points on 6/11 shooting (3/7 3PT) to go along with seven rebounds, four assists, a steal and a turnover in 28 minutes.

Season Per Game Stats

• 17.7 points on 47.4/100.0/40.9 shooting percentages and 12.7/2.7/7.3 attempts
• 4.3 rebounds
• 3.3 assists, 1.7 turnovers
• 1.0 steals, 0.0 blocks
• 2.3 fouls
• +13.0 (missing +/- from Game 2 this week) in 32.0 minutes

Next Up

• Wednesday, 10/20 - at Uni Girona at 1:00 PM CT (EuroCup)
• Saturday, 10/23 - at Ormanspor at 5:00 AM CT (Turkish League)

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Photo by Stephen Gosling/NBAE via Getty Images

Bridget Carleton

A.S. Ramat HaSharon — Israeli D1/EuroBasket — Ramat HaSharon, Israel

We didn’t get another hummus tweet from Bridget Carleton this week, but we did get a terrific performance in her season debut for A.S. Ramat HaSharon.

Game 1 - 84-78 win vs Hapoel Petah Tikva (Israeli D1)

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Carleton did exactly what she showed for the Lynx this season: battle on the glass and coming up with tough rebounds, provide ancillary scoring from all over the floor, get to the free throw line, move the ball, and provide positive play. The Canadian provided 13 points on 4/7 shooting (1/1 3PT, 2/3 FT), 12 rebounds, and three assists, and was a +10 in 37:59 of play today.

Season Per Game Stats

Note: box scores are in Hebrew and I can’t translate every stat cleanly, so we’ll roll with points, shooting, rebounds, and assists for BC this offseason.

• 13 points on 57.1/66.7/100.0 shooting percentages and 7.0/3.0/1.0 attempts
• 12.0 rebounds
• 3.0 assists
• +10 in 38 minutes

Next Up

• Friday, 10/22 - vs Hapoel Rishon Lezion at 7:30 AM CT (Israeli D1)

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That’s a wrap for week two! I’ll see you back here next Monday for our third installment and hopefully more good news about how Shepard, McBride and Carleton are performing overseas.