The quest by Elizur Ramla and Tanisha Wright for a second consecutive Israeli D-I championship came up short Thursday, when Ramla was defeated 70-66 in overtime by Maccabi Ashdod in the decisive Game 5 of the league finals. After Wright scored the go-ahead bucket late in regulation, Tamera Young forced OT by splitting two free throws with 15 seconds remaining. Wright scored six of Ramla’s eight points in the extra sessions, but Ashdod proved too much.

Wright led her team in defeat, scoring 22 points on 9-of-17 shooting and grabbing eight rebounds. Amber Harris (16 points, 10 boards) had a double-double. Four Ashdod players scored double-figures, including Ashley Shields with 16 points and nine rebounds.

Wright was the last Storm player in action overseas, and they should begin trickling back into training camp starting next weekend.

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.”

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.

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.