Iziane in Brazil and Her Words About Extrugasa

An article in UOL Esporte in Brazil reports about Iziane Castro Marques and her final days with Extrugasa.

If you don't remember the story, here it is: Extrugasa, a Spanish league club that got rid of several players, including Tamera Young, went into a tailspin and ended up firing their coach. Sinking to the bottom of the Liga Femenina, there was danger that Extrugasa would be "relegated" to a lower division the following year if their record was sufficiently awful.

In a last ditch effort to stop this from happening, Extrugasa signed Izi out of Villeneuve d'Ascq in France to come over and "put out the fire". Not even Iziane could save Extrugasa - they finished last in the league.

During the last game, members of the Extrugasa Board of Directors came into the locker room. The club still owed some of its players money that was due in September. However, the Board stated that since the club's performance was so poor, the club wanted some of that salary back.

Iziane's quote? "I have not been fined. I did nothing wrong and ran to my work within the set." Iziane further states that clauses like that have existed in club contracts for overseas leagues...but this was the first time that she had ever heard of someone trying to actually activate the clause.

"They were looking for alternatives to get the payments," said Castro Marques. "I think it was a way to intimidate the players and have a financial arrangement with them." My guess is that Extrugasa was only threatening to use the clause in hopes of intimidating the players to part with some of their deserved money. I'm further guessing that Iziane didn't part with as much as a Real.

My impression is that Iziane is somewhere in Brazil, far from the media, resting quietly until training camp starts. I guess she won't be seen at any of Chamique Holdsclaw's pick-up games in Atlanta.

(Thanks to Bert from the Painel do Basquete Feminino for first reporting on this news.)

Talk About Performance-Based Contracts

It appears that Extrugasa, before their final loss of the season to Ros Casares, were given a letter last Wednesday. My understanding is that since Extrugasa had fallen to the bottom of the Liga Feminina (the Spanish Women's Basketball League) and were destined to be sent to Liga Feminina 2 the Extrugasa Board of Directors felt they should be compensated. They were asked to sign a letter turning over part of their salary back to Extrugasa, which would be taken out of their paychecks in September. (Apparently, the team promised them some back salary which was due in September.)

No one on the team signed that letter. The players informed the club that they didn't want to be involved in any contentious disputes right there and then. If the club had any issues with player salaries, Extrugasa could speak with their agents.

Sara Gomez, Extrugasa's team captain, said "It is normal to be disappointed, like all other players in the staff refused to sign the document, as well as punish them for the reason explained above, they were promised payment of salaries owed to them in next September." Basically, she meant that she understood that Extrugasa was unhappy with the results, but the payment was promised to the players and they deserved it.

The story above illustrates the difference between Europe and the United States. European players, like American players, are concerned about the financial survival of their league. The WNBA's union has pretty much given in to management demands - they'll take lower salaries to ensure they have a place to play. European players want to work with management as much as they can, like the Americans.

I expect, however, that the Americans would have been far less polite about it. Suppose that Ron Terwillinger walked into the dressing room of the Atlanta Dream and said, "I'd like for you to return, oh, 25 percent of your salaries back to us after that horrible season. After all, you didn't perform to expectations." It would have taken a crowbar to peel Betty Lennox's claws from his face.

(Heads up to Bert at the Painel do Basquete Feminino blog for pointing out the story.)

LFB 26/2008 - Ros Casares 84, Extrugasa 82

A reunion for Iziane Castro Marques (pictured) and Erika de Souza.

Extrugasa (5-21) might not have been fighting for survival - perhaps their designation to the Liga Feminina 2 was ordained as they finished with the worst record in the Liga Feminina (the bottom two teams go to the lower league). Perhaps they were playing for pride. Perhaps Ros Casares (25-1), which clinched the best record in the Liga Feminina weeks ago just didn't care. Whatever happened, Ros Casares came close to being beaten at home during the last game of the season with an 84-82 loss.

The box score is here. The win closes Ros Casares's best regular season in their history. A gallery of the game is here.

Extrugasa came out strong at the beginning of the first quarter. They led 14-7 before Amaya Valdemoro warmed up with a couple of 3-pointers and El Ros closed the gap to 19-14 at the end of the first quarter. Ros Casares, however, has too many weapons and Candice Wiggins gave Ros Casares some fresh blood, with Ros Casares only down by two, 40-38 going into halftime. Ros Casares finally took the lead in the third quarter and led 66-60 with ten minutes to go.
Extrugasa managed to get close - a 3-pointer by Iziane Castro Marques closed the gap to 82-80 - but there wasn't enough time to finish off Ros Casares.

Ros Casares hit 52 percent of their field goal attempts compared to 46 percent for Extrugasa - but Extrugasa went 10-for-21 in 3-pointers. Furthermore, they managed to out-rebound Ros Casares 36 to 32. However, Extrugasa turned the ball over 16 times and only hit six free throws - free throw shooting has been a problem for Extrugasa all year. Maybe Extrugasa will do better next year in LFB 2.

Ros Casares

Erika de Souza: 19 points, 7 rebounds. 7-for-11 shooting.
Delisha Milton-Jones: 20 points, 7 rebounds, 4 turnovers.
Amaya Valdemoro: 3 points, 4 steals, 4 turnovers.
Candace Wiggins: 5 points.

Extrugasa

Iziane Castro Marques: 28 points on 10-for-19 shooting. Iziane made a valiant effort, but she can't be a one-woman team for Extrugasa.
Elisha Turek: 10 points, 11 rebounds, 3 steals.
Maria Gomez Novo: 16 points, 6 rebounds, 5 turnovers.

LFB (Spain) 24/2008 - San José 90, Extrugasa 59

Going into the day's game, there were four teams at the bottom of the league fighting to avoid relegation: Gran Canaria, Extrugasa, Estudiantes and Zaragoza. At least one of those teams would be guaranteed a win - Gran Canaria beat Zaragoza 69-44. Estudiantes will play tomorrow. This left Extrugasa (5-19) on its own to try to defeat one of the better teams in the Liga Feminina, 15-9 San José. The 90-59 result was undoubtedly not what they expected.

The box score is here.

This game might have spelled DOOOOOOOM (to quote Rebecca) for Extrugasa. Extrugasa's final two games are against Perfumerias...and Ros Casares. There's still hope that Extrugasa might surprise, but it's highly unlikely.

What happened? Clearly, Extrugasa started cold and stayed cold. They lost every quarter of the game. San José led 28-12 after the first quarter and led by twenty points at halftime, 44-23. San José was able to hold off any Extrugasa run and extended their lead to 31 points by the end of the game.

San José hit 48 percent of their attempted field goals, including an 11-for-26 shooting day from behind the 3-point line. Extrugasa only hit 37 percent of their field goal attempts. Both teams put up almost the same rebounding numbers. San José would only turn the ball over 10 times in the game.

San José

Shay Murphy: 23 points, 6 rebounds for the Washington Mystics player.
Kimberly Butler: 13 points, 6 rebounds. Butler graduated from Oregon State.
Shona Thorburn: 10 points for the ex-Seattle Storm Player.

Extrugasa

Taru Tuukkanen: 8 points, 8 rebounds.
Iziane Castro Marques: 23 points on 10-for-24 shooting.

LFB (Spain) 23/2008 - Cadi la Seu 57, Extrugasa 50

With the prospect of four teams being tied for last place with three games to go, and with relegation in effect in the Liga Feminina, it can be just as exciting for the teams at the bottom of the league as at the top of the league. For Extrugasa (5-18), their hope that they could move away from the bottom of the league was dashed in front of 400 home spectators at visiting Cadi la Seu (8-15) got the road win, 57-50.

The box score is here.

Extrugasa managed to hold Cadi la Seu to 12 points in the first quarter, but Cadi la Seu returned the favor in the second. They held Extrugasa to 12 second quarter points to take a 30-28 lead. Cadi la Seu managed to finish the third quarter with a 43-40 lead and further extended their lead by four points at the end of the game. It is unknown if Extrugasa was ever able to catch up.

Interesting fact: each team only played eight players for the entire game.

Extrugasa only took 48 field goal attempts and hit only 18 for a 38 percent field goal percentage. Cadi la Seu took one fewer shot but hit 43 percent of their shouts. Both teams rebounded evenly, and both turned the ball over a lot, each team registering 21 turnovers. Extrugasa's free throw shooting got marginally better - they were 11-for-14 with 73 percent free throw shooting - but despite shooting only 67 percent Cadi la Seu hit 16 free throws.

Extrugasa

Taru Tuukkanan: 9 points, 5 rebounds, 4 turnovers.
Elisha Turek: 6 points, 7 rebounds.
Iziane Castro Marques: 12 points, 3 rebounds, 4 turnovers. 4-for-12 shooting.

Cadi la Seu

Soeli Garvao Zakrzeski: 14 poitnts, 4 rebounds, 4 steals, 4 turnovers.
Sonia Borges de Reis: 13 points, 7 rebounds.

LFB (Spain) 22/2008 - Joventut 79, Extrugasa 77

After a brief burst of energy to sprint away from the bottom of the Liga Feminina it seems that Extrugasa (5-17) has returned to its losing ways. Extrugasa managed to keep up with Joventut (14-8) for a long time but would end up losing the game 79-77.

The box score is here.

There was a question if Iziane Castro Marques would even play. Despite suffering "un pinchazo muscular" (Google Translate just shakes its head) Iziane took the floor along with Sara Gomez who suffered a sprained ankle. It's a testimony to the fact that Extrugasa was fighting for its life that they managed to keep it so close.

Unfortunately, the only details we have of play-by-play come from the quarter-by-quarter score. Joventu led 25-22 at home after the first quarter but Ibiza closed to within two points at halftime, 39-37. After three quarters, Jovenut led by three points, 53-50, and Extrugasa was able to score 27 fourth quarter points - but Joventut was able to score 26.

Both teams hit approximately 45 percent of their field goal attempts. Both teams were relatively identical in rebounding, with Joventut having a 35-31 edge with 10 offensive rebounds compared to Extrugasa's six. What killed Extrugasa was their tendency to send Joventut to the free throw line, where the home team went 18-for-27, compared to just 13 visits to the free throw line for Extrugasa.

Joventut

Murriel Page: 23 poitns and 7 rebounds for the North Carolina State graduate.
Gisela Vega Rebora: 20 points and 3 rebounds.
Armintie Price: 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Chicago Sky player, and the only double-double in the game.

Extrugasa

Iziane Castro Marques: 19 points on 6-for-13 shooting. Izi went 6-for-7 at the free throw line and was clearly a target of Joventut.
Mara Gomez Novo: 10 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.
Elisha Turek: 14 points and 6 rebounds.

LFB (Spain) 21/2008 - Olesa 79, Extrugasa 61

The hope of crawling away from those final two spots in the Liga Feminina just got that much tougher. Extrugasa (5-16) was forced to go on the road against tough Olesa (12-9), and as expected they fell 79-61. With five games left in the season, the #11, #12 and #13 teams are tied at 5-16. There are 14 teams, and if I'm right, the last two get relegated.

The box score is here.

Olesa had this game well in hand, beating Extrugasa in every quarter played. Olesa led 40-34 at halftime and held Extrugasa to just 11 third quarter points.

Olesa was simply the better shooting team, hitting 46 percent of their field goal attempts compared to 36 percent from Extrugasa. Olesa had the advantage in overall rebounds and picked up 12 rebounds to Extrugasa's eight. Extrugasa had its typical 65 percent free throw shooting game, whereas Olesa hit 83 percent of their free throws.

Olesa

Thyra Liljestrand: 19 points, 2 rebounds.
Tracy Reid: 13 points, 7 rebounds for the ex-WNBA Rookie of the Year. Kelly is a forward for the Sacramento Monarchs.
Cristal Kelly: 6 points, 7 rebounds.

Extrugasa

Iziane Castro Marques: 26 points, 9 rebounds. A good day for Izi.
Katia da Silva: 9 points, 9 rebounds.

LFB (Spain) 20/2008 - Hondarribia 78, Extrugasa 75

The winning streak couldn't last forever - Extrugasa (5-15) is still a very weak team. Faced with a challenge from visiting Hondarribia (10-10), Extrugasa was leading after the third quarter but let the game get away from them as Hondarribia came back in the fourth to lose by three points, 78-75.

Whatever the result of the Perfumerias-Estudiantes game, Extrugasa still remains one game out of last place. The goal for Extrugasa is to not end up in last place and be relegated to a lower division.

The box score is here.

Extrugasa led 25-20 after the first quarter, but Hondarribia fought back and tied it up 37-37 going into halftime. In the third quarter, Extrugasa pulled back ahead 56-52, but playing well for three quarters doesn't guarantee a win.

Did Hondarribia win at the buzzer? I don't know. I can't find a good writeup of the game, and I can't find any pictures yet.

Extrugasa hit 51 percent of its field goal attempts...but Hondarribia hit 57 percent of theirs. Hondarribia was outrebounded 32-21, but Extruga

Extrugasa

Katia Da Silva: 17 points, 6 rebounds. She would draw six fouls from Hondarribia.
Elisha Turek: 12 points, 9 rebounds.
Iziane Castro Marques: 23 points, 3 rebounds. She had five turnovers, but she drew five fouls.
Taru Tuukkanen: The veteran of Extrugasa had 12 points and 7 rebounds.

Hondarribia

Henen Santos Luz: 13 points, 2 rebounds. Turned the ball over four times.
Stacey Lovelace-Tolbert: 18 points, 3 rebounds. Lovelace-Tolbert played for both the Atlanta Dream and the Detroit Shock last year.
Katja Bavendam: 10 points, 7 rebounds.

Gran Canaria: "Extrugasa are cheaters!" - Extrugasa: "Gran Canaria are LIARS!"

I found out from Bert at the Painel do Basquete Feminino that there has been some dispute in the Spanish League over Extrugasa's win over Gran Canaria. At the Gran Canaria website, Gran Canaria have made many accusations against Extrugasa - that Extrugasa played dirty, that Extrugasa's fans were allowed to sit behind Gran Canaria's bench and be disruptive with noisemakers and insults, and that Extrugasa was getting the benefit of biased refereeing.

Some named "Jlsaav" posted a video at YouTube as a response. (I keep getting a message that the video is no longer available - you might have better luck watching it at the PBF website link, above.) It's a very creative response that appears to combine a children's song about liars and video clips from the Extrugasa-Gran Canaria game. If you can get the video to load, look at #11 in the white jersey: that's Iziane Castro Marques, and she's putting on quite a show.

(I now have a headache from that children's song....)

LFB (Spain) 19/2008 - Extrugasa 65, Rivas Ecópolis 55

Perhaps, winning is just a matter of habit. It seems that way for Extrugasa (5-14). Extrugasa hadn't won a Liga Feminina game in almost four months. Taking a two-game winning streak on the road, Extrugasa traveled to third place Rivas Ecópolis (14-5) and with neither team playing ten players, Extrugasa scores a surprising 65-55 road win for its third in a row.

The box score is here.

Extrugasa would end the first quarter with a 20-15 lead, but the hard part would be keeping the lead against a tough team. With a halftime lead of 38-33, Extrugasa managed to hang on to their lead and held Rivas Ecópolis to just 22 points over the second half.

Extrugasa had a great shooting day - they shot 54 percent from the field compared to 38 percent from Rivas Ecópolis. The visitors even out rebounded Rivas Ecópolis 36-24. Despite Extrugasa's 17 turnovers, Rivas Ecópolis would only visit the free throw line eight times and hit six shots.

Petra Ujhelyi scored 18 points and seven rebounds for home team Rivas Ecopolis. It almost seems like a different team from the one that played Extrugasa in November. Roneeka Hodges - recently added to the Minnesota Lynx after being "dispersed" from Houston - scored 12 points and five assists. Ruth Riley of the Silver Stars would play nine minutes, go 0-for-4 and commit four fouls. Laura Camps Collell, a Spanish native that once played for Florida International, scored only two points in 22 minutes of play.

Iziane Castro Marques had another great game, shooting 6-for-9 from the field and scoring 19 points and 8 rebounds. Elisha Turek scored 16 points and nine rebounds for Extrugasa. Veteran Taru Tuukkanen added 14 points to the winning team's total, and scored six rebounds.

LFB 18/2008 - Extrugasa 64, Gran Canaria 55

The only pic I could find. The person shooting is Izi. Or maybe not.

Extrugasa (4-14) has had a great last four days or so. Not only have their won their second game in a row - this time against fellow cellar-dweller Gran Canaria (4-14) at home by a score of 64-55 - but they are no longer alone in last place in the Liga Feminina and if they can keep their level of play up, they might avoid relegation at the end of the year.

I almost overlooked this game. There certainly wasn't any notice on the FEB website. This game was a make-up game that had been postponed due to bad weather that kept Gran Canaria's team from leaving their island paradise.

The box score is here.

For a few moments, Extrugasa fans wondered if their team was going to be on the ropes again. Gran Canaria took an 18-13 lead to start the game in the first 10 minutes and Extrugasa was looking at a six-point halftime deficit, 34-28. However, in the third quarter Grand Canaria was held to just seven points and after three quarters Extrugasa led 47-41, a lead they were able to extend by three points before the final buzzer.

Neither team exactly shot the lights out. Extrugasa's field goal percentage rested at 40 percent, but Gran Canaria only shot 33 percent from the floor. Gran Canaria turned the ball over 18 times to Extrugasa's ten. However, Gran Canaria hit 18 of 22 free throws compared to the 11 of 13 free throws from Extrugasa - for Extrugasa, it was definitely an atypical day at the free throw line.

The MVP of the game was undoubtedly Atlanta's own Iziane Castro Marques, who scored 24 points with 9-for-16 shooting and hit five of six of her free throws. Extrugasa veteran Taru Tuukkanen scored 15 poitns and six rebounds for the home team, and Elisha Turek scored six points and five rebounds for Extrugasa.

Left to carry the burden for Gran Canaria were Doukole Ble with 14 points and 10 rebounds and Iva Perovanovic with 12 points and 10 rebounds - it's very odd that the only double-doubles of the game were scored by the losing team. Tiina Sten, a graduate of St. Johns, only scored two points in just three minutes of play.

LFB (Spain) 17/2008 - Extrugasa 70, Zaragoza 56

It would be difficult to find two teams going in more dramatically different directions than Ros Casares and Extrugasa (3-14).

The last time Extrugasa won a Spanish League game was on October 11, 2008, when Extrugasa beat Estudiantes 76-70. It would also be the last time when Extrugasa would have a winning record in the Spanish league, at 2-1. They proceeded to lose their next thirteen Spanish League games. Figures such as Victoria Sholokhova, Meredith Alexis, Tamera Young, and Mandisa Stevenson went in and out the revolving door at Extrugasa.

Coach Isaac Fernandez lost his job after eight years. Tito Diaz took over, and after his first loss last week, he has finally broken the losing streak, as Extrugasa won 70-56 over visiting Zarazoga (5-13).

The box score is here.

The fact that Extrugasa was only down by four points after the first quarter - 21 to 17 - must have given Extrugasa some hope. They would hold Zaragoza to 10 points in the second quarter (35-31 Extrugasa at halftime) and hold Zaragosa to eight points in the third quarter. By that point, Extrugasa led by 14 points and after the next ten minutes, Extrugasa had won its first Liga Feminina game in four months.

Extrugasa outperformed their opponents in field goal percentage 45 percent to 39 percent and managed to hold off Zarazoga in rebounding by a factor of 36 to 25. Extrugasa would only hit 60 percent at the free throw line - a typical poor-shooting day at the free throw line for Extrugasa - but Zaragoza only went to the line 12 times and only hit five of its shots.

Extrugasa's best player was once again Elisha Turek, who scored 17 points and 11 rebounds for wining team. It would be the only double-double in the game. Taru Tuukkanen scored 12 points and had seven rebounds for Extrugasa. Iziane Castro Marques would score 16 points with 14 field goal attempts, and had six rebounds - it was probably one of her better games.

Hopefully, Extrugasa has finally turned things around. If I can find pictures, I will.

LFB (Spain) 16/2008 - Ibiza 72, Extrugasa 60 - Extrugasa's Coach Booted

Isaac Fernandez in better days.

It's beginning to look like a long year for Extrugasa (2-14). There are only ten games left in the season and Extrugasa is desperately trying to avoid relegation to the 2A league of the Liga Feminina. Unfortunately, today's 72-60 loss to Ibiza (8-9) means that Extrugasa would have to win at least two games to get out of the Spanish cellar.

The box score is here.

Part of the problem was that Extrugasa started out flat, held to 13 points in the first quarter. Extrugasa managed to close to within seven points of Ibiza, down only 37-30 at halftime. Ibiza played Extrugasa evenly for for the rest of the game, and Extrugasa left Ibiza with their 14th loss in 16 games.

Ibiza hit 52 percent of their shots, and from inside the 3-point line, they hit 60 percent of their shots. Extrugasa, by contrast, only shot 44 percent. Both teams rebounded equally well, with Ibiza doing slightly better. Ibiza turned the ball over 20 times, but Extrugasa was so luckless that they couldn't capitalize - Extrugasa had 21 turnovers.

Extrugasa was sent to the line 14 times - but only hit eight shots. Compare this with Ibiza, which was sent to the line 12 times but hit 10 of them.

Leading Ibiza was (hopefully) future Atlanta Dream star Sancho Lyttle. Lyttle had a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds, with five steals. With just eight players scoring, five scored in double figures, including Shannon Johnson with 11 points and five rebounds. Sandra Pirsic scored 10 points and eight rebounds.

As for Extrugasa, Iziane Castro Marquez scored 12 points to lead Extrugasa. She was 5-for-7 inside the 3-point line, but outside it, she was a dismal 0-for-5. She had three rebounds but turned the ball over five times. Elisha Turek was probably Extrugasa's MVP, with 10 points and four rebounds. Sara Gomez also scored 11 points.

(* * *)

I just found out that three days ago, coach Isaac Fernandez of Extrugasa resigned. He had coach Extrugasa for eight years, but this season was the end. Most likely, he resigned before he was fired.

Tito Díaz takes over the helm at Extrugasa. Díaz is an experienced coach of men's basketball. However, looking at the score above, Tito Diaz has a ways to go before he can turn Extrugasa around.

LFB (Spain) 15/2008 - Estudiantes 64, Extrugasa 48

At times, I'm sure it must have seemed a race to the bottom. Estudiantes (4-12) was in 11th place, and Extrugasa (2-13) was in dead last. It seems that Extrugasa is winning the battle of the worsts, as they lose 64-48 at home to one of the worst teams in the Liga Feminina.

The box score is here.

Extrugasa failed to get off the blocks and only scored nine points in the first quarter - but Estudiantes didn't do much better, only scoring 12 points. Estudiantes would score 24 points in the second quarter to help take a 36-28 lead into halftime.

However, Estudiantes was held to nine points in the third quarter. Killer defensive effort from Extrugasa, right? No. Extrugasa only scored five points in the third quarter, and managed to fall behind further - Estudiantes would win every quarter of the game.

So where do we find the greatest fault in what must have been a bevy of them? Estudiantes scored 44 percent from the field with Extrugasa only hitting 35 percent of its free throws. Both teams had the exact same number of rebounds, so intensity under the glass wasn't a factor. Estudiantes did a great job of protecting the ball, turning the ball over only 11 times, and at the free throw line they were golden, hitting 13 of 15.

For Extrugasa, the best effort was probably from Taru Tuukkanen, an Extrugasa veteran who scored nine points and seven rebounds. Elisha Turek, a graduate of Oral Roberts University in 2007, scored seven points and five rebounds. Fellow Brasilian Katia Da Silva scored four points.

The only player to score in double digits was Iziane Castro Marques, with 10 points. But she had five turnovers and only shot 31 percent from the field, shooting 4-for-13 (the most shots taken by any player on Extrugasa). She also had four fouls and probably hurt Extrugasa more than helping it.

The visitors were led by Elin Eldebrink of Sweden, who scored 15 points. Laura Herrera would add 14 points and Sandra Ygueravide scored 13 points. Brooke Wykcoff of the Chicago Sky and Leah Rush of Oklahoma University and (briefly) the Chicago Sky, added seven and four points respectively.

Extrugasa is willing to spend the money, it seems, to avoid relegation. But can they save the morale of the team and their fans?

LFB 14/2008 - Celta 61, Extrugasa 60

Extrugasa (2-12) had to wait a week before the debut of Iziane Castro Marques. You would think that that the Spanish media would be all over their match with Celta (8-7), but despite a week of rest, Extrugasa fell short in a 61-60 loss on the road.

The boxscore is here.

I can't find any information about this very close game. The quarter-by-quarter boxscore is very interesting, to say the least. Celta took an 18-13 lead after the first quarter, but the second quarter was a time warp for both teams. Celta was held to six points in the second quarter, and halftime ended with a 25-24 Extrugasa lead. In the third quarter, Extrugasa scored 20 points, the most points that had been scored by either team in a quarter, and Extrugas took a 45-37 lead into the final quarter.

Doesn't this sound like an Extrugasa win? No? Well, you must have figured out that Celta came back to beat Extrugasa by one point. I'm sure there's a spectacular story about Extrugasa's last-second comeback, but you won't even find it on the feb.es website.

Guess we have to go to the box score. Celta put nine players on the floor. Eight scored. Extrugasa put eight players on the floor. Seven scored.

What happened to Mandisa Stevenson? Extrugasa is already planning on throwing her through the club's revolving door. What happened to Tara Tuukkanen? She's "with her selection", whatever that means.

This left fifteen players, more or less, for both teams. Celta shot 41 percent from the field to Extrugasa's 37 percent. Both teams were almost equal in offensive rebounding. Extrugasa had only 11 turnovers for the game, which helped them keep up with Celta.

Extrugasa would be sent to the free throw line by Celta 22 times - and only hit 11 of them. If Extrugasa were an American college team, they'd be washing their own practice gear. Celta has no reason to laugh - they were 6-of-18 from the free thow line, the worst free throw shooting I've ever seen, only 33 percent. And despite shooting 33 percent from the line, Celta still won.

Leading for Celta were Agne Ciudariene with 17 points and eight rebounds, and Maja Miljovic with 12 points. For Extrugasa, four players scored in double figures, led by Iziane Castro Marques with 16 points and four steals. Unfortunately, this was gained by 6-for-17 shooting, a horrible performance where she hit 1 of 5 free thows. Elisha Turek would make her debut with 11 points and 15 rebounds - maybe Turek will hang around and Jlakin Zlatanova would score 13 points.

There probably won't be any pictures. I expect the FEB wants Extrugasa to play under an assumed name.

P. S.: Finally! Some information from p_d_swanson from RebKell about the finish: "Maja Miljovic's free throw with four seconds left capped an 11-2 finish as Celta edged Extrugasa." Well, then.

LFB (Spain) 14/2008 - Extrugasa/Gran Canaria (suspended)

My understanding is that there's a storm on the Spanish coast that is keeping the island team of Gran Canaria from reaching the mainland. This has resulted in the Extrugasa vs. Gran Canaria match to be suspended.

Don't know when it will be rescheduled, but it gives Iziane Castro Marques a little bit more time to rest.

Out With Tamera Young and In With....

...Iziane Castro Marques. Villeneuve d'Ascq decided they can't afford both Izi and Fatua Sacko, so they've cut Izi loose to seek employment elsewhere.

Iziane is heading to Tamera Young's former Spanish League team, Extrugasa. Extrugasa is 2-11 and facing relegation if they can't win some games, and coach Isaac Fernandez must have said, "Hey, Izi really turned Villeneuve d'Ascq around, so why can't she do the same for Extrugasa?"

It's going to be very interesting to see what happens with Extrugasa. Extrugasa, I wish I knew how to quit you!

Tamera Young Injured

Now we know why Tamera Young played only six minutes in her last game with Extrugasa. She got hurt.

No word as to how serious the injury was, or even what the injury was. Since Tamera is no longer playing for Extrugasa, it seems the Spanish media has lost interest.

Tamera, get well soon.

LFB (Spain) 11/2008 - San José 62, Extrugasa 54

Tamera Young's final game with the Spanish league club Extrugasa (2-9) ended like so many of the other games she played with them - it ended in another loss, this time at home. Visiting San José (5-6) handed Extrugasa a 62-54 loss.

If Gran Canaria were to defeat Zaragoza - which is rather unlikely - Extrugasa would sink to the bottom after today, 14th among 14 teams.

The boxscore is here.

San José took the first quarter with an 18-10 lead and their carried their eight point differential into the second half, 33-25. San José added another seven points to their lead to finish the third quarter 50-35. Extrugasa rallied in the fourth quarter, but the difference was just too much to overcome.

Both teams shot evenly - Extrugasa shot 40 percent and San José shot 41 percent. Reboundng, however, was another matter. San José knocked Extrugasa along at will, 39-18, with 13 offensive rebounds compared to the two of Extrugasa. Furthermore, Extrugasa sent San José to the free throw line 25 times - even if San José only hit 68 percent at the free throw line, you're going to lose if you shoot 4 for 8 at the line.

Taru Tuukkanen finally arrived at Extrugasa, and scored 21 points in her debut to lead Extrugasa. She would be the only player for Extrugasa to shoot in double digits. Mandisa Stevenson would score six points and three rebounds.

And what of Tamera Young? Zero points. Oh-for-one. Only six minutes played. A depressing end to Young's first European outing.

Oddly enough, only one player scored in double digits for San José - Eshaya Murphy, a guard for the Washington Mystics, scored 27 points and 11 rebounds. Kim Butler, a graduate from Oregon State in 2006, scored eight points and six rebounds.

I understand from the Atlanta Dream Message Board that Young has signed with another team, and that she'll be with the new team tomorrow. What we don't know is:

a) the name of the team,
b) the country
c) whether or not this rumor is grounded in any fact.

I'll try to keep you posted.

It's Over for Tamera Young and Extrugasa

Tamera Young and her Spanish club Extrugasa have decided to mutually part ways. The news is here, and here, and here.

The understanding is that this was a business decision. There's nothing more to it than that. Young got along well with her teammates and her coaches. However, according to the coaches, Young was performing below expectations.

Like it or not, Extrugasa is 2-8 on the year and they expected better. They barely qualified for the second round of Eurocup and Extrugasa is mired in 12th place in a 14-team league.

Taru Tuukkanen, a 6-3 Finnish center and great Finnish player who graduated from Xavier, expressed interest in returning to Extrugasa. She played for Extrugasa for two seasons. Whether Taru showed interest before or after the decision was made to release Tamera Young isn't clear, but it looks like Taru Tuukkanen will provide the spark for Extrugasa, and Tamera will....

...well, we don't know what Tamera will do. Will she come home and wait till the WNBA season starts? Or will she play for another team this year?

According to the FEB, it's likely that the Saturday game between Extrugasa and San José will be Young's last game of the year. If Tamera has any fans in Extrugasa, I hope they get the chance to say goodbye.