LFB (France) 8/2008 - Calais 83, Villeneuve d'Ascq 76

Villeneuve d'Ascq (4-4) was in a bad spot. They had just lost Fatimatou Sacko with an ankle injury. Needing a player that could hopefully replace her 14.8 points and 6.8 rebounds a game, Villeneuve d'Ascq offered Iziane Castro Marques a seven-week contract. Izi hopped on a plane to France on Saturday, and was thrown into the rotation. Down 18 points going into the fourth quarter against Calais (4-4), Villeneuve d'Ascq staged a mini-comeback but fell short, 83-76 to the visitors.

Calais led 43-30 at the half and extended the lead even further in the third quarter to a 68-50 lead. Perhaps 18 points was just too much to overcome with a new player worked into the rotation and with Villeneuve d'Ascq only able to put eight players on the floor.

The boxscore for the game is here.

Calais certainly took advantage, shooting 54 percent against Villeneuve d'Ascq's 44 percent. Villeneuve d'Ascq, however, was able to outrebound the visitors 37-30 despite Izi's contribution of a single rebound to the Villeneuve d'Ascq cause.

Free throw shooting - why does it seem such a common theme in European games. Calais sent Villeneuve d'Ascq to the free throw line 25 times - but Villeneuve d'Ascq couldn't hit anything. They shot 48 percent from the line, and it would have been 38 percent without Izi's 5 for 7 performance. As for Calais, they hit 83 percent from the line.

How did Iziane Castro Marques do on her first day? She got 10 points on 13 shots - not great but not bad either considering the jet lag. Furthermore, she was only one of three players from Villeneuve d'Ascq that scored in double figures. Jolene Anderson, a rookie this year with the Connecticut Sun, scored 25 points and five rebounds for Villeneuve d'Ascq. Ljubica Drljaca added 19 points and five rebound. Géraldine Robert almost had a double double with nine points and 14 total rebounds.

Calais's Lauren Neaves would lead all players with a double double of 24 points and 14 rebounds. Aurélie Cibert would contribute 16 points and 7 rebounds. Olayinka Sanni, a rookie for the Detroit Shock this year, would add nine points and four rebounds.

Pictures will come when I can find them, of course.