With the bye weeks in an 11-team league, not every team in the Turkish league has played the same number of games. Ceyhan, Ivory Latta's team, takes the week off and Latta gets to rest her ankle. Samsun (3-1) has already had its bye week and gets to play Tarsus (2-3), which had not. Tarsus was formerly #2 in the standings but they now fall to below .500 with a 62-51 loss to Samsun.
With the cheap online Turkish-English translation tools breaking down - Google translates multiple languages, but not Turkish - I'm left to glean any meaning from the boxscore.
The first quarter was definitely either an defensive struggle or an offensive trainwreck. At the end of 10 minutes, Samsun only had 10 points. Tarsus only had five points. The second quarter wasn't much better and Samsun took a 28-17 lead into halftime. Both teams played even basketball in the second half, and even though Tarsus scored more points in each successive quarter, Samsun simply kept up the pace.
Samsun clearly had the shooting touch. They didn't make as many shots as Tarsus (was Tarsus desperately trying a comeback) and Samsun shot 42 percent compared to Tarsus's 32. Samsun won the battle of rebounds, with Erlana Larkins and Alison Bales rebounding as well as the entire Tarsus team. Tarsus sent Samsun to the free throw line 15 times...compared to the four visits given to Tarsus by Samsun. Samsun was clearly in control of this game.
For Samsun, Julie McBride led all scorers with 19 points. Alison Bales was probably the premiere performer with 13 points and eight rebounds. Erlana Larkins only had five points, but scored 12 rebounds to lead both teams. Nihan Anaz also scored 11 points for Samsun.
Tarsus had four players in double figures, three of American ancestry. Tatum Brown, a forward from Arizona who graduated in 2000, led with 12 points and eight rebounds. Ayse Unuvar also scored 12 points for Tarsus. Barbara Turner, a forward for the Sun and former player for perennial contender Fenerbahçe in the Turkish League, scored 11 points. Nina Norman, who graduated from Texas in 2006, scored 10 points.
Pictures will probably be up soon. Today Fenerbahçe played Galatsaray, and those two teams usually end up 1-2 in the Turkish League. So right now, that's where most of the pictures are coming from.
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