Lynx Offseason Update Vol. 16: McBride and Carleton Return to Action, Shepard Awaits Start of Playoffs

March Madness is officially over, with LSU beating Iowa to claim the crown in women’s college basketball. That means the WNBA is now on deck in women’s basketball, with WNBA Draft occurring April 10 and training camps commencing at the end of the month before the season-opener in May.

Before that begins, a few Minnesota Lynx players have spent their WNBA offseasons overseas, with the quartet of Kayla McBride, Jessica Shepard, Bridget Carleton and Tiffany Mitchell taking the court in Turkey, Italy, Spain and Australia.

Last week in the 15th edition of our Lynx Offseason Update, McBride, Shepard and Carleton had their seasons and postseason runs continue while Mitchell was about a week removed from her season concluding. This week, McBride and Carleton returned to the court to resume play for their respective teams while Shepard was inactive during the week while awaiting the start of the playoffs.

Let’s take a look at how the Lynx have performed overseas in the 16th edition of our Offseason Update.

Photo by Seskim Photo/MB Media/Getty Images

Kayla McBride

Fenerbahçe — EuroLeague — Istanbul, Turkey

Over the last week, McBride hit the court in three Turkey-KBSL games, concluding the regular season while beginning the quarterfinal round of the playoffs.

On March 28 against Rize, McBride didn’t take the court during a 110-54 victory. She returned to the floor on March 30 against Ormanspor, dropping 20 points, four steals, three assists and one rebound over 29 minutes in a 106-66 win. In the opening game of the quarterfinal series against Besiktas, McBride posted 25 points, six assists, six rebounds and two steals in a 90-70 victory.

This offseason, McBride is averaging 19.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.2 steals over 29.2 minutes in 19 Turkey-KBSL appearances. She has also averaged 15 points, 3.3 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.8 steals in 33.6 minutes during 16 EuroLeague games this offseason.

Up next for Fenerbahçe is another matchup against Besiktas in the Turkey-KBSL quarterfinals on April 3 and the start of the EuroLeague semifinals against Schio on April 14.

Photo by Jordan Johnson/NBAE via Getty Images

Jessica Shepard

Umana Reyer Venezia — Italy Serie A1/EuroCup — Venice, Italy

Shepard and Umana Reyer Venzia didn’t take part in either EuroCup or Italy Serie A1 action over the last week, awaiting the start of the Italy Serie A1 quarterfinals on April 7.

This offseason, Shepard has averaged 16.9 points, 9.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 29.8 minutes in 12 EuroCup games. She has averaged 20.5 points, 10 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 28.3 minutes over 22 Italy-Serie A1 games.

Up next for Umana Reyer Venezia and Shepard is the quarterfinal round of Italy Serie A1 action against Ragusa on April 7 and April 11.

Photo by David Berding/Getty Images

Bridget Carleton

Perfumerías Avenida — EuroLeague — Salamanca, Spain

Carleton appeared in one game with Perfumerías Avenida this week, taking the floor in a Spain-LF Endesa battle against Barcelona CBS on March 31.

In that game, Carlton posted just six points, four rebounds and three assists in a season-low 19 minutes during a 67-55 victory for Perfumerías Avenida.

So far this offseason, Carleton has averaged 10.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.6 steals in 30.8 minutes during 12 EuroLeague contests, while averaging 10.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.4 steals in 25.6 minutes in 16 Spain-LF Endesa games.

Up next for Carleton is a trio of Spain-LF Endesa games against Ensino on April 5, Valencia on April 8 and Jairis on April 15.

Thanks for reading another edition of our Lynx Offseason Update. See you back here next week for another update on the Lynx players.