LFB 2/2009 - Ros Casares 84, Joventut 70

Ros Casares (2-0) took its act on the road, and the outcome was never truly in doubt. Against Joventut Mariana (0-2), they won the first three quarters and led 69-50 after three quarters on the way to an 84-70 victory, with both Erika de Souza and Delisha Milton-Jones scoring in double figures.

The box score is here. (A key to reading these box scores is here.)

According to the write-ups on the web, de Souza and Milton-Jones dominated the early game so quickly that Shay Murphy, who had only recently arrived from the WNBA, was thrown into the game to prevent it from becoming a massacre. The only bad news was that Amaya Valdemoro left the game in the second quarter with a hurt calf muscle. Joventut went on a 7-0 run in the fourth quarter - but winning the fourth quarter wasn't enough to erase what had happened in the previous three quarters.

A look at the game's Four Factors:

Field goal percentage: Some people like to read effective field goal percentage, which counts 3-point shots as 1 1/2 field goals. I'll stick to the ordinary definition. Ros Casares hit 56 percent of their shots; Joventut managed only 45 percent.
Turnovers: Joventut 20, Ros Casares 24. Both sides had a lot of trouble in holding on to the ball - it would have been an awful game to watch.
Offensive rebound percentage: Ros Casares 34.4 percent, Joventut 20 percent. Erika was dominant in the paint. She had five offensive rebounds by herself; Joventut as a team had seven.
Free throws: Ros Casares 8-for-14, Joventut 6-for-9.

And now, the best performers on both sides:

Joventut

Shay Murphy: 23 points on 7-for-12 shooting. 2-for-4 from 3-point range. The Indiana Fever back up guard had four turnovers, though.
Gisela Vega: 16 points, 6 rebounds, 4 turnovers.
Murriel Page: The 34-year old Page - formerly of the Mystics and Sparks - scored 6 points and 9 rebounds.

Ros Casares

Erika de Souza: 23 points, 16 rebounds. 5 turnovers. A dominant performance from the Beast from Brazil. 10-for-15 shooting.
Delisha Milton-Jones: 22 points - but an astonishing 12 turnovers. Five personal fouls. If Milton-Jones had been able to hang on to the ball...oh well, El Ros had Erika.
Belinda Snell: 9 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists.
Anna Montanana: 4 points in 15 minutes.
Amaya Valdemoro: 3 points in just 5 minutes of play. Left the game with an injury.