We present you with the Sports Rabbi\u2019s update from the Holy Land\u2019s persons of interest currently playing in the WNBA \u2013 whether they\u2019re signed on to play in the Israeli Women\u2019s Premier Basketball League (the Athena Winner League) this upcoming season or whether they\u2019re otherwise intrinsically connected to the Holy Land, we are here to let you know how they have gone in the W during the playoffs to date and what’s ahead for the finals!<\/p>\n
Semi-Final Playoff Series Results<\/strong> Finals Series: Las Vegas Aces (1) v New York Liberty (2) (best of 5 games)<\/strong> Holy Land’s WNBA Persons of Interest in the Playoffs: Alysha Clark (Las Vegas Aces), Kalani Brown (Dallas Wings), Veronica Burton (Dallas Wings) and Leigha Brown (Connecticut Sun<\/strong>)<\/p>\n Player: Alysha Clark<\/strong> The Aces now face the New York Liberty, led by 2023 MVP Brianna Stewart and sharp-shooter Sabrina Ionescu. The teams are evenly matched, going 2-2 in the regular season with each team undefeated at home, however the Liberty have the upper hand overall from 2023 after defeating the Aces in Vegas to win the midseason Commissioner’s Cup Final in August. Over the course of the five contests, Clark averaged 5.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.0 assist, 1.2 steals and 0.2 blocks in 23.5 minutes. Player: Kalani Brown<\/strong> In the series against the Dream, Brown played less of a role, recording 2 rebounds in 3:44 in game one, followed by 12 points and 2 rebounds in 7:47 in the game two victory. Against the Aces, Brown scored higher than her season average in games one and two, with 10 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist and 3 steals in 14:17 in game 1, followed by 8 points, 5 rebounds and 1 block in game 2. However, in game three she had 1 rebound and 1 assist in 5:24, as she now heads to Israel to focus on the season ahead with the reigning State Cup Champions. Player: Veronica Burton<\/strong> Player: Leigha Brown<\/strong> Other Persons of Interest:<\/strong> Maya Caldwell, Jennie Simms, Amanda Zahui and Abby Meyers. <\/p>\n Player: Maya Caldwell<\/strong> Player: Amanda Zahui<\/strong> Player: Jennie Simms<\/strong> Player: Abby Meyers<\/strong> First Round Playoff Series Results<\/strong> End of Regular Season Standings<\/strong> We present you with the Sports Rabbi\u2019s update from the Holy Land\u2019s persons of interest currently playing in the WNBA \u2013 whether they\u2019re signed on to play in the Israeli Women\u2019s Premier Basketball League (the Athena Winner League) this upcoming season or whether they\u2019re otherwise intrinsically connected to the Holy Land, we are here to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":95304,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[29,1808],"class_list":["post-96187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-holy-land-hoops","tag-israel","tag-wnba","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nLas Vegas Aces (1) defeated Dallas Wings (4) 3-0 (97-83 in NV, 91-84 in NV, 64-61 in TX)
\nNew York Liberty (2) defeated Connecticut Sun (3) 3-1 (63-78 in NY, 84-77 in NY, 92-81 in CT, 87-84 in CT)<\/p>\n
\nGame 1: Sunday October 8 in NV
\nGame 2: Wednesday October 11 in NV
\nGame 3: Sunday October 15 in NY
\nGame 4 (if necessary): Wednesday October 18 in NY
\nGame 5 (if necessary): Saturday October 21 in NV<\/p>\n
\nCollege:<\/strong> Middle Tennessee State University
\nDraft:<\/strong> 2010, Round 2, Pick 17
\n2023-24 Israeli Team:<\/strong> — (2022-23 with Elitzur Ramla)
\nSummary:<\/strong> Earlier in the playoffs, Clark was named as the 2023 WNBA Sixth Player of the Year \u2013 another award on the mantle for the dual American-Israeli who signed with the Aces over the summer. Clark played a key role off the bench against in the sweeps over the Chicago Sky in the first round of the playoffs and against the Dallas Wings in the semifinals. Clark had a big showing against the Sky, with 13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal in 23:40 in game one, followed by 14 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal in 23:09 in game two. She was quieter against the Wings, with 4 points and 1 rebound in 19:59 in a quiet game one, 3 points, 6 rebounds and 1 assist in 17:46 in game two, then 6 points, 3 rebounds and a block in 20:02 in game three.<\/p>\n
\n2023 WNBA Regular Season Averages:<\/strong> 6.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.6 steals and 0.2 blocks in 22.5 minutes across 39 games.<\/p>\n
\nCollege:<\/strong> Baylor University
\nDraft:<\/strong> 2019, Round 1, Pick 7
\n2023-24 Israeli Team:<\/strong> Maccabi Bnot Ashdod
\nSummary:<\/strong> After signing a training camp contract with Dallas earlier this year, in May Brown was waived by the Wings and then signed again less than two weeks later. Similarly, in June she was released by the Wings only to be signed again to a rest-of-season hardship contract the next day. After her strong defensive performances this year, this week Brown was rewarded by polling one vote in the 2023 WNBA Sixth Player of the Year award, tied in fourth place.<\/p>\n
\n2023 WNBA Regular Season Averages:<\/strong> 7.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1 assist, 0.2 steals and 0.7 blocks in 16.4 minutes across 32 games.<\/p>\n
\nCollege:<\/strong> Northwestern University
\nDraft:<\/strong> 2022, Round 1, Pick 7
\nSummary:<\/strong> A Wings first round draft pick, in the series against the Dream, Burton had 2 points, 1 assist and 1 steal in 6:15 in game one, followed by 1 assist and 1 steal in 8:36 in game 2. Burton played a small role in games one and two against the Aces, with 1 steal in 5:50 in game one and 2 rebounds and 3 assists in 8:01 in game two. In game three, Burton played a much larger role, with 7 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals, showing the Holon fans what they have to look forward to this coming season.
\n2023 WNBA Regular Season Averages:<\/strong> 2.4 points, 1.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.3 blocks in 13.9 minutes across 40 games.<\/p>\n
\nCollege:<\/strong> University of Michigan
\nDraft:<\/strong> 2023, Round 2, Pick 15
\n2023-24 Israeli Team:<\/strong> ASA Jerusalem
\nSummary:<\/strong> After being drafted by the Atlanta Dream in the 2023 WNBA draft, Brown was traded to the Sun on May 16 prior to the start of the regular season. In the first round series against the Minnesota Lynx, Brown featured in the game one victory, recording 1 rebound and 1 assist in a little over three minutes on the court. In the semifinal series against the New York Liberty, Brown was on the court for 3:39 but did not manage to make an impact. She now heads to Jerusalem for the 2023-24 Israeli season.
\n2023 WNBA Regular Season Averages:<\/strong> 0.8 points, 0.8 rebounds, 0.4 assists, 0.2 steals and 0.1 blocks in 5.2 minutes across 25 games.<\/p>\n
\nCollege:<\/strong> University of Georgia
\nDraft:<\/strong> 2021, Round 3, Pick 33
\n2023 WNBA Team:<\/strong> Indiana Fever
\n2023-24 Israeli Team:<\/strong> AS Ramat Hasharon
\nSummary:<\/strong> Caldwell signed with the Fever in February and stayed with the team throughout the season. Indiana struggled throughout the season, finishing in 10th place overall with a 13-27 record. Caldwell now shifts her attention to the regular season with last year’s Athena Winner League semi-finalists.
\n2023 Regular Season Averages:<\/strong> 1.9 points, 0.9 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 0.3 steals and 0.1 blocks in 10.1 minutes across 30 games.<\/p>\n
\nCollege:<\/strong> University of Minnesota
\nDraft:<\/strong> 2015, Round 1, Pick 2
\n2023 WNBA Team:<\/strong> Washington Mystics and Indiana Fever
\n2023-24 Israeli Team:<\/strong> Maccabi Bnot Ashdod
\nSummary:<\/strong> After beginning the season with the Mystics, Zahui was traded to the Fever at the beginning of July. Indiana struggled throughout the season, finishing in 10th place overall with a 13-27 record. Zahui now shifts her attention to the regular season with last year’s State Cup champions and Athena Winner League finalists.
\n2023 Regular Season Averages:<\/strong> 1.7 points, 1.1 rebounds, 0.3 assists, 0.2 steals and 0.5 blocks in 7.4 minutes across 34 games (12 for the Washington Mystics and 22 for the Fever).<\/p>\n
\nCollege:<\/strong> Old Dominion University
\nDraft:<\/strong> 2017, Round 2, Pick 18
\nCurrent WNBA Team:<\/strong> — Phoenix Mercury and Washington Mystics
\n2023-24 Israeli Team:<\/strong> Elitzur Ramla
\nSummary:<\/strong> After missing out on playing Israel\u2019s last game at the 2023 Women\u2019s EuroBasket in Tel Aviv with injury, Simms was signed less than a week later by the Phoenix Mercury, after she was previously released by the team prior to the regular season and the EuroBasket. She signed multiple hardship contracts with the Mercury, as well as a 7-day contract with the Mystics towards the end of the season without making an appearance.
\n2023 Regular Season Averages:<\/strong> 2.2 points, 2.2 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 0.3 steals in 11.7 minutes across 6 games.<\/p>\n
\nCollege:<\/strong> University of Maryland
\nDraft:<\/strong> 2023, Round 1, Pick 11
\n2023 WNBA Teams:<\/strong> — Dallas Wings and Washington Mystics
\n2023-24 Israeli Team:<\/strong> — (contracted to the London Lions for the upcoming season)
\nSummary:<\/strong> After being drafted by the Dallas Wings in the first round of the 2023 draft, Meyers was waived during training camp and did not appear for the Texas outfit. She played on hardship and 7-day contracts during the season for the Mystics, but was unable to keep her spot on the team through the end of the season.
\n2023 Regular Season Averages:<\/strong> 1.4 points, 0.4 rebounds, 0.1 steals and 0.2 blocks in 4.1 minutes across 9 games.<\/p>\n
\nLas Vegas Aces (1) defeated Chicago Sky (8) 2-0 (87-59 in NV, 90-72 in NV)
\nNew York Liberty (2) defeated Washington Mystics (7) 2-0 (90-75 in NY, 90-85 in NY)
\nConnecticut Sun (3) defeated Minnesota Lynx (6) 2-1 (90-60 in CT, 75-82 in CT, 90-75 in MN)
\nDallas Wings (4) defeated Atlanta Dream (5) 2-0 (94-82 in TX, 101-74 in TX)<\/p>\n
\n1. Las Vegas Aces (34-6)
\n2. New York Liberty (32-8)
\n3. Connecticut Sun (27-13)
\n4. Dallas Wings (22-18)
\n5. Atlanta Dream (19-21)
\n6. Minnesota Lynx (19-21)
\n7. Washington Mystics (19-21)
\n8. Chicago Sky (18-22)
\n– – – – – – – – – — – – – – – – – – – – — – – –
\n9. Los Angeles Sparks (17-23)
\n10. Indiana Fever (13-27)
\n11. Seattle Storm (11-29)
\n12. Phoenix Mercury (9-31)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"