The Israeli D-I finals start today, with Maccabi Ashdod hosting Tanisha Wright and Elizur Ramla. Ramla advanced by knocking out Alysha Clark and Ramat Hasharon in four games last week, winning the finale 60-59 on Tanisha Wright’s game-winning layup with 1.5 seconds remaining. Wright made a huge defensive play to put her team in position to win, stealing Clark’s inbound pass intended for Jia Perkins at the six-second mark. Perkins blocked Wright’s first shot attempt, but she scored after the ball went to Ramla out of bounds. Wright had 21 points and four steals. Clark contributed nine points and four steals for Hasharon.

Ros Casares Valencia swept its way into the Liga Femenina finals with a 57-47 win at Rivas Ecopolis last week, getting 23 points from Ann Wauters, 10 points, seven boards and three assists from Lauren Jackson and six assists from Silvia Dominguez. The three Storm players and their teammates had the week off to prepare for a best-of-three series with rival Perfumerias Avenida that begins Saturday in Valencia. This is the sixth consecutive year the two teams have met in the Spanish finals, and Avenida’s win last season snapped a streak of four consecutive Valencia championships.

The Russian SuperLeague Finals don’t begin until Monday, after UMMC Ekaterinburg wrapped up its sweep of Nadezhda in the semifinals on Monday. Ekaterinburg dominated Game 1 96-73 at home, dominating the paint with a combined 51 points from Candace Parker and Sandrine Gruda plus 11 points and seven boards off the bench from Yelena Levchenko. Sue Bird had eight points and four assists. Game 2 in Orenburg was more competitive, but Gruda and Parker combined for 36 points and 20 rebounds as UMMC held on for the 73-67 win. Bird had 10 points and four assists.

Sparta&K Moscow Region swept Dynamo Kursk in the other semifinal, setting up a finals matchup that starts Monday. The teams will play back-to-back games home and away, with the deciding Game 5 set for May 1 in Ekaterinburg if necessary.

The Polish PLKK Finals, a marathon best-of-seven series, tip off Saturday. Ewelina Kobryn and Wisla Can-Pack Krakow got some extra rest by sweeping their semifinal matchup with Energa Torun 3-0 while CCC Polkowice needed the full five games to oust Lotos Gdynia. Ewelina Kobryn averaged 14.7 points and 7.3 rebounds in the semifinals despite being limited to 32 minutes in the last two games by foul trouble and lopsided scores. She had 23 points and 12 boards in Game 1.

Most international leagues have now arrived in the semifinal round as we get close to winding down the European season and players returning to the U.S.

The Liga Feminina semifinals are already under way, and Ros Casares Valencia took a 1-0 lead in its best-of-three series against EuroLeague title game opponent Rivas Ecopolis with a 70-61 home win on Saturday. Ann Wauters had 15 points and 11 boards in the victory. Lauren Jackson added eight points and four boards, Storm newcomer Silvia Dominguez had five and Maya Moore led Ros Casares by scoring 17. Game 2 is tomorrow with Game 3, if necessary, on Saturday.

Alysha Clark and Tanisha Wright are squaring off in Israel, where Wright and Elizur Ramla lead Clark and Ramat Hasharon 2-1 in a series where the home team has failed to hold serve yet. That trend will have to continue tomorrow in Ramla if Ramat Hasharon is to extend the series after a huge Game 3 effort by Wright led her team to victory. Wright scored 17 of her game-high 33 points in the fourth quarter and finished the night 5-of-7 from beyond the arc. Clark had 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting and six rebounds in the losing effort.

In Russia, UMMC Ekaterinburg cruised to a quarterfinal sweep of Spartak St. Petersburg, winning 72-50 at home and 91-67 Sunday on the road. Ekaterinburg did not need Storm guard Sue Bird, who missed the series after breaking her nose during the EuroLeague Final Eight. Ekaterinburg tips off the semifinals Friday against Nadezhda.

Wisla Can-Pack Krakow, which has been off since the Final Eight, opens the semifinals tomorrow against Energa Torun. The PLKK best-of-five schedule moves much more quickly, with Game 2 scheduled for Thursday and Game 3 on the road Saturday.

The most significant of Friday’s games in the EuroLeague Final Eight pitted Rivas Ecopolis against Fenerbahce for the top spot in Gropu A and a place in Sunday’s EuroLeague championship game. Playing without star forward Penny Taylor, who suffered a possible MCL injury the day before, Fenerbahce fell behind by as many as 14 points early in the fourth quarter but rallied to make things interesting. A Birsel Vardarli triple cut the deficit to just one at 71-70 with 46 seconds to play, but Vardarli turned the ball with a chance to tie inside the final 15 seconds. Asjha Jones came up with the steal and assisted an Anna Cruz layup, producing the final 74-70 margin and sending upstart Rivas to  play Ros Casares Valencia for the championship.

On paper, the final matchup is no contest. While Valencia’s lineup is studded with stars, Ecopolis counters with just two active WNBA players (Jones and Essence Carson) plus international vet Elisa Aguilar. Ros Casares swept two regular-season Liga Feminina matchups against its Spanish rival by a combined 38 points, and while Valencia went undefeated (26-0) in league play, Rivas finished fourth on the table at 17-9. Yet Ecopolis has already pulled off three upsets in the Final Eight, riding 22.3 points and 12.0 rebounds per game from Jones to an improbable opportunity.

Sunday’s game will be played at 11:45 a.m. PST and can be seen on FIBAEurope.com TV.

Having already locked in a spot in the final, Ros Casares was able to prepare on Friday by dominating Wisla Can-Pack Krakow, 90-61. Valencia led by 13 after one quarter and 27 at the break in the mismatch. Lauren Jackson played just nine minutes, scoring five points, while Ann Wauters had 10 points in 17 minutes. Isabelle Yacoubou led Ros Casares with 20 points off the bench, while Shay Murphy scored 19 and Maya Moore contributed 12 points and 12 boards. The powerful Valencia front line was able to focus its attention on Ewelina Kobryn, who was able to attempt just three shots, finishing with three points and six rebounds.

The meaningful Group B game pitted Russian rivals UMMC Ekaterinburg and Sparta&K Moscow Region for second place. Sue Bird made the difference in an 86-80 Ekaterinburg triumph, scoring 13 of her 18 points in the final quarter, including a trio of three-pointers that helped hold Sparta&K at bay down the stretch. Sandrine Gruda had 21 points and nine boards for Ekaterinburg, while Candace Parker scored 14. On the other side, Seimone Augustus scored 19 points and Becky Hammon 18 for Sparta&K.

While UMMC will now play Fenerbahce for third place on Sunday, the team will be without star center Maria Stepanova. Stepanova tore her ACL early in the game, a crushing blow that will rule her out for Russia in this summer’s Olympics.

The champion of the continent will be crowned this week. The EuroLeague Final Eight, a new format beginning this season after years of the more familiar Final Four, tips off Wednesday in Istanbul. The last eight teams standing have been divided into two groups and will play round-robin games Wednesday through Friday to determine placement. After a day off, the top teams in each group meet Sunday for the EuroLeague title and so on and so forth.

The Storm’s ties to the EuroLeague have all been concentrated in Group B, where UMMC Ekaterinburg (Sue Bird and Svetlana Abrosimova), Ros Casares Valencia (Lauren Jackson, Ann Wauters and Jana Vesela) and Wisla Can-Pack Krakow (Ewelina Kobryn) will all match up this week. In fact, UMMC Ekaterinburg and Ros Casares Valencia will play on Wednesday.

Ekaterinburg was able to take the week off to prepare for the Final Eight with a mini-camp. Abrosimova offers fans a take on her teammates on FIBAEurope.com, including the observation that Bird “always keeps us updated on the coolest apps and teaches us how to use them!”

Ros Casares was in action Friday to wrap up an undefeated Liga Feminina regular season with a win over Soller Bon Dia, 96-61. Isabelle Yacoubou led the team with 20 points off the bench. Wauters had 10 points and five boards, Jackson had eight points and four steals and Vesela added two points.

In Poland, Wisla swept LKS Lodz Siemens 2-0 in the opening round of the PLKK Playoffs. Kobryn had 12 points on perfect 6-for-6 shooting in the opener as Wisla romped, 109-44. Magdalena Leciejewska put up 21 points and 18 rebounds. For reasons that I can’t entirely determine, LKS Lodz did not show up for Game 2, which was awarded to Krakow by forfeit.

Last Thursday in Israel was the finals of the Israeli Cup. Storm newcomer Alysha Clark helped lead Ramat Hasharon to the title game, but Hasharon fell there to Maccabi Ashdod, 63-50. Tamera Young had 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead Ashdod to victory. Clark scored eight points and teammate Jia Perkins had 21.

This weekend marked the conclusion of the Russian SuperLeague regular season, and the matchup between UMMC Ekaterinburg and Sparta&K Moscow Region Sunday in Ekaterinburg decided first place. Down four at halftime, UMMC controlled the second half to win, 75-68. Sue Bird had 10 points and eight assists as Ekaterinburg outscored her former team, Sparta&K, by 20 points with her on the floor. UMMC was also +12 in Svetlana Abrosimova’s eight minutes of action. Sandrine Gruda scored 23 points and Candace Parker (11) and Deanna Nolan (10) also reached double figures. Candice Dupree led Sparta&K with 13 points.

UMMC Ekaterinburg finished the year 17-1, that lone loss coming by two points at Sparta&K and will be the top seed when the SuperLeague playoffs start on April 5. Between now and then, Ekaterinburg and other top teams around the continent will prepare for the EuroLeague Final Eight starting next Wednesday in Istanbul.

Previously, UMMC Ekaterinburg topped Nadezhda 92-72 on March 8 to claim its fourth consecutive Cup of Russia. Sue Bird had nine points and seven assists and Ekaterinburg got more than enough scoring from the group of Gruda (19 points, eight boards), Nolan (18), Parker (17 points, nine boards) and Maria Stepanova (15). According to Abrosimova’s Twitter, Bird was named MVP of the competition.

Still two weeks to play in Spain, but Ros Casares Valencia clinched first place in league play with Saturday’s 81-53 blowout win over Cadi La’Seu. Ann Wauters led the way with 25 points, seven boards and four assists. Lauren Jackson added a double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds), Sancho Lyttle scored 14 points and Maya Moore had seven points, seven boards and five assists. Jana Vesela scored four points off the bench.

Ros Casares was toppled 68-57 last Sunday by rival Perfumerias Avenida in the finals of La Copa de la Reina, the Spanish Cup. Erika De Souza powered the way with 17 points and 13 rebounds for Avenida. Moore carried Valencia with 24 points and Wauters had 14 points and 13 rebounds, but nobody else scored double figures. Jackson played just 11 minutes, finishing with three points and five boards, and Lyttle was held to four points and five rebounds.

The WNBL campaign wrapped up last Sunday with the Dandenong Rangers overpowering the Bulleen Boomers by a 94-70 final to take the title. Kath McLeod was named Grand Final MVP on the strength of her 22 points and nine assists, while Jenna O’Hea had 20 points and seven rebounds. Liz Cambage had 22 points and 14 boards in defeat.

Wisla Can-Pack Krakow finished its regular season by hanging on for a 70-68 win over CCC Polkowice. Ewelina Kobryn had 10 points and five assists and Wisla got 18 points from Nicole Powell and 14 more from Erin Phillips to overcome a 26-point outing for Evanthia Maltsi.  Wisla, which finished 25-1, had already clinched first place ahead of 22-4 Polkowice. In the opening round of the PLKK Playoffs, which start Wednesday, Krakow will host LDS Lodz Siemens.

During today’s Game 2 action in the Euroleague Playoffs, teams that won on Tuesday had a chance to complete two-game sweeps and join host Galatasaray in the Final Eight from March 28-April 1 in Istanbul. All three teams with Storm players managed to finish off their foes and advance.

UMMC Ekaterinburg took care of business with little trouble in a 75-49 win over Good Angels Kosice. Ekaterinburg took a 14-point lead to the break and outscored Kosice 24-10 in the final period to win by 26 points. Sue Bird had another outstanding game for UMMC, scoring 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Bird had two assists, two steals and no turnovers in 28 minutes. Deanna Nolan led Ekaterinburg with 19 points. Erin Lawless and Danielle McCray scored 15 points apiece.

Wisla Can-Pack Krakow took a double-digit lead after one quarter and never looked back in beating ZVVZ USK Praha 74-60. Ewelina Kobryn led the attack, scoring 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting with eight rebounds. Four other players scored double figures, including 15 points and 12 boards for Milka Bjelica. The Wisla defense held DeLisha Milton-Jones to 2-of-10 shooting and Lindsay Whalen without an assist.

The easiest victory of the three actually belonged to Ros Casares Valencia, which extended its lead over CCC Polkowice to 23 before halftime and cruised to a 78-58 victory. Again, Ann Wauters dominated the paint, scoring 17 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Sancho Lyttle also had a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds. Maya Moore led Ros Casares with 20 points, while Lauren Jackson scored nine points. Jana Vesela grabbed five boards.

The Final Eight is a new format this year that will bring the eight quarterfinalists to Istanbul. They’ll be split into two groups of four and play a round robin format. Then, the first-place teams from each group will battle for the Euroleague title, the second-place teams for third place and so on and so forth. There are still two spots to be decided. Sparta&K Moscow Region-Nadezhda and Rivas Ecopolis-Bourges are headed to deciding Game 3s next Wednesday. One team that won’t be there is defending champion Halcon Avenida, which was upset by Beretta-Famila Schio in a sweep.