TBBL 13/2009 - Mersin 69, Kayseri 66

Mersin got a tough road win against Kayseri on Valentine's Day, winning 69-66 The win gives Mersin its 12th game in 13 tries (they're still looking for a chance for a make-up game against Fenerbahce). Kayseri falls to 7-7.

Interestingly, Ivory Latta at Mersin got to say hello to Tamera Young over at Kayseri. Both of those players were on the 2008 and 2009 Atlanta Dream. The box score is here.

Mersin must have been surprised as Kayseri got off to an 8-4 start and led 19-10 in the first quarter. However, Mersin exploded in the second quarter - they held Kayseri to just seven points and turned a nine-point lead into a seven-point defiicit, with Mersin leading 33-26 at halftime. The third quarter was an even quarter, with Kayseri closing the gap to five points, 54-49 at the end of thirty minutes of play.

Kayseri closed the gap to three points, 56-53 with eight minutes left to go. Kayseri kept fighting hard, and the last minute was nerve racking for Mersin. Vickie Johnson scored with four seconds left to close the game to 67-66, with Mersin getting the ball. The ball ended up in Ivory Latta's hands, Kayseri was forced to foul, and Latta sank the remaining free throws to get the win. Latta had this to say on Twitter:

@IvoryLatta12 Tough Road win tonight but we got it done. Love and Basketball on V-Day a st8 classic :). I hope yall have a good nite and be safe

Latoya Pringle and Vickie Johnson were scoring machines for Kayseri. Pringle had 25 points and 12 rebounds; Johnson scored 20 points and had five rebounds. Tamera Young had zero points in 13 minutes of play; shooting 0-for-6. However, she had five rebounds.

Three players had big games for Mersin. Barbara Turner had 11 points and five rebounds. Erlana Larkins had a ludicrous box score line: 16 points, 18 rebounds, and eight turnovers. The leading scorer, however, was Ivory Latta:

24 points
7-for-17 shooting
7-for-7 at the free throw line, including the final two free throws
2 rebounds
3 assists