And then there was one.
Three of LadySwish's own -- Courtney Hurt, Abby Oliver and Tia Lewis -- as we reported earlier were set to play for Elizur Netanya in Israel. Netanya is a bustling resort city, about 18 miles from Tel Aviv -- and 63 miles from Gaza, which has been part of a bombing campaign that has made international headlines.
Richmond's Oliver has left the country, citing on her Twitter, "I came home from Israel due to the situation there," and Old Dominion's Lewis is also no longer on the team.
VCU's Hurt, who scored 20 points in her professional debut this week, opted to stay.
"Netanya is a real safe area in Israel, and today a ceasefire was announced, so hopefully everything will settle down," Hurt says. "My coaches and their families are still in Netanya, and that assured me a little bit about the situation. My coaches have children of their own and would never risk their lives or the lives of their athletes. I am still taking it day by day, as this is a serious situation. I'm just so grateful that I am not near Gaza and haven't had to be directly involved in any of the bombing and missiles."
Elizur Netanya has signed Maurita Reid (Miami), Chastity Reed (Arkansas-Little Rock) and Porsha Phillips (Georgia) to replace the departed players; Notre Dame's Charel Allen also left.
Hurt says she plans to spend Thanksgiving preparing a meal with her new teammates.
"I have three new teammates, so building chemistry is a must," she says. "I am the only rookie now."
We wish Hurt the best and will continue to follow her pro career that is off to a great start. We'll also try to catch up with Tia and Abby to find out what's next for both.
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