Liberty Hoopla: Greetings from France
I traveled to France to check up on Leilani Mitchell and Essence Carson
by: Nick DiPillo
Hello Liberty fans! I hope the holiday season finds you all doing well. Right about now things are starting to heat up on our end with the college season getting into full gear and free agency starting up.
Recently, I traveled to France to check up on two of our rookies, Leilani Mitchell and Essence Carson. After arriving in Paris and taking a train to Lei's city (Arras), we went to a local restaurant and caught up over some crepes. As with most European teams, they practice two times a day, so I was able to get to the gym and see their second session.
The next night, Arras played Union Hainaut, which featured Tiffany Stansbury, Choima Nnamaka and Bernadette Ngoyisa. The game was surprisingly competitive and close throughout. Lei fouled out on a terrible call with about four minutes left, but they found a way to win behind Mia Fisher's 15 points and Bernice Mosby's 11. Lei finished the game with eight points, five rebounds and four assists. Over the next couple days, I spent a lot of time in the gym with Lei and her team, putting them through different drills and things of that nature.
I also got a chance to spend some time with Essence, who was in the area for a Euroleague game against Lille Metropole. Lille Metropole was led by Iziane Castro-Marques and Jolene Anderson. The game started out close, with Essence's TTT Riga squad only down six after the first quarter. Essence came out very strong, making the first three baskets of the game. But as the game continued, the Lille defense really focused on taking Essence out of the game and her team struggled from there on out. TTT Riga ended up dropping the game 71-53 and Essence had 14 points and four assists.
After the game, Lei, Essence and I went out to dinner and spent a lot of time catching up and talking about team and individual goals for our upcoming WNBA season. As we get ready to begin our 13th season, we're really excited about where this young team is going. So if you haven't reserved your tickets for the 2009 season, be sure to do so soon by calling 212-465-6073.
See you in the summer,
Nick
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