LFB (Spain) 5-8 Series 2/2008 - Ibiza 96, Joventut 79 - "Super Sancho"!

Alicia Lopez Verdu gets a picture, but she only shot 33 percent for Ibiza. Go figure.

For Ibiza, it was a decisive win at home that knocked off Joventut 96-79 as Ibiza wins the second game out of the best-of-three series. Not only is Ibiza assured of playing in Eurocup next year, but they move on to play Olesa in the finals.

The game also showcased one of the most incredible performances in Spanish basketball I've read about. Sancho Lyttle didn't just open a simple eight-ounce can of whoop-ass on Joventut - she brought it in by the case.

40 points on 17-for-20 shooting.
11 rebounds.
4 steals.
An "efficiency value" of 50 points, the largest I've ever seen in a box score, which can be seen here.

The game was very much like that last one played between these two teams, which shows that Joventut can play thirty good minutes of basketball. Joventut actually led 25-23 at the first quarter, and took a 49-48 lead into halftime while playing on the road. But, as in the earlier game, they collapsed in the second half, falling behind by two points 69-67 after the third quarter....

...and scoring 12 points in the final ten minutes. Meanwhile, Ibiza scored 27.

There wasn't much defense in this game: Ibiza hit 56 percent of their attempted field goals (with help from Sancho) and Joventut hit 53 percent of their attempts. There wasn't even much rebounding on either side - no need to clean the glass when you're hitting everything you shoot. Part of the problem was that Joventut turned the ball over 19 times.

Ibiza

Sancho Lyttle: 40 points. 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 turnovers. 85 percent shooting.
Silvia Morales Martin: 18 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists.
Shannon Johnson: 16 points, 5 assists. 50 percent shooting.

Joventut

Armintie Price: 22 points, 6 rebounds.
Murriel Page: 18 points, 5 rebounds.
Gisela Vega Rebora: 16 points, 8 rebounds, 4 turnovers.

I'm beginning to suspect that Sancho Lyttle is going to be nothing short of spectacular this year.

LFB (Spain) 5-8 Series 1/2008 - Ibiza 89, Joventut 71

Okay, I think we've finally figured out what Ibiza and Sancho Lyttle are up to. They are participating in the "5-8 Series", a four-team tournament that apparently determines who finishes 5th through 8th in the Liga Femenina.

Who cares? Good question. It appears that the two finalists will get automatic spots in the 2009-10 Eurocup competition. This gives the mid-level teams something to play for.

For Ibiza, the game meant traveling to Joventut on April 19th, where they beat Joventut 89-71 in the first game of a best of three series. They can clinch the series today with a win at home.

The box score is here.

The game was tighter than you'd think. By halftime the score was only 44-43 in favor of Ibiza. In the third quarter, Ibiza could only extend their lead to four points, taking a 65-61 lead into the fourth quarter. Joventut only scored 10 points in the final 10 minutes, compared to 24 points from Ibiza.

Both teams shot equally well. Joventut made 47 percent of its attempted field goals; Ibiza made 46 percent. However, on the rebounding side Ibiza was dominant, outrebounding Joventut 43-26. Sancho Lyttle made 21 rebounds all by herself, meaning that she came close to singlehandedly outrebounding the entire Joventut team. Ibiza was also sent to the free throw line 21 times, where they made 81 percent of their attempts.

Joventut

Armintie Price: 18 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists for the Chicago Sky player.
Murriel Page: 19 points and 13 rebounds for a double-double.
Gisela Vega Rebora: 15 points, four fouls.

Ibiza

Sancho Lyttle: 29 points, 21 rebounds, and 4 assists. A super effort from Sancho. She should have been wearing a cape.
Shannon Johnson: 27 points, 4 rebounds. Maybe she is the "Robin" to Sancho's "Batman".
Silvia Morales Martin: 17 points, 5 assists, 5 turnovers.

LFB 26/2008 - Olesa 69, Ibiza 63

Like the Ros Casares-Extrugasa, one team had more to play for than the other. Olesa (17-9) had an outside chance of moving to fourth place if San Jose lost. For Ibiza (14-12), they could have possibly moved up if Joventut lost but the difference between fourth and fifth is bigger than the difference between sixth and seventh when eight teams go to the playoffs. Olesa secured the 69-63 win and home field advantage in the first round.

I keep reading that there will be only four teams going to the playoffs in the Liga Feminina instead of eight teams; I don't know what to believe. If there were only four places, Olesa had to fight all the much harder.

The box score is here.

Ibiza got off to a slow start, scoring only 10 points in the first ten minutes. Olesa was up 21-10 at the end of the first quarter, and by halftime, the lead was 39-27. Ibiza won each of the remaining quarters, but it wasn't enough to come back and win the game.

Both teams shot evenly well - Olesa hit 41 percent of their field goal attempts and Ibiza hit 40 percent. Ibiza had the edge in rebounding - that's invariably the case when Sancho Lyttle is on your team. Ibiza, however, would turn the ball over 19 times and they sent Olesa to the free throw line 19 times - where Olesa hit 16 of those 19 shots.

Olesa

Cristal Kelly: 14 points and 8 rebounds for the Sacramento Monarchs forward.
Olga Podkovalnikova: 9 points, 9 rebounds.
Anna Cruz Lebrato: 18 points, 7 rebounds, 6 turnovers.

Ibiza

Sancho Lyttle: 17 points, 14 rebounds. Are we really surprised by Sancho's double-doubles anymore?
Silvia Morales: 16 points, 9 rebounds. However, 33 percent shooting.
Shannon Johnson: 4 points on 2-for-10 shooting. Shannon's shooting might be why Ibiza lost the game.

LFB (Spain) 25/2008 - Ibiza 81, Estudiantes 58

Ibiza (14-11) has the hope of finishing sixth in the Liga Feminina after today's game. They can get there if they win next week against Gran Canaria and if Joventut loses against Perfumerias. For Estudiantes (5-20), the only goal for the season is not finishing last and being "relegated" to a lower division. With today's 81-58 loss in Ibiza, if Extrugasa wins tonight's game against Perfumerias Estudiantes would be stuck at the very bottom of the standings with one game to go.

The box score is here.

It was another awful game for Estudiantes, with Estudiantes not winning a single quarter. Down 40-24 at halftime, the gap just got worse - but in the fourth quarter Estudiantes played some decent ball. Either that, or Ibiza stopped caring.

Both teams actually shot evenly well - Ibiza hit 47 percent of its field goal attempts and Estudiantes hit 46 percent of theirs. However, Ibiza would win all of the other battles. Ibiza out-rebounded Estudiantes 35-27, and Estudiantes turned the ball over an astonishing 26 times. When you have 26 turnovers in a game, it's very hard to win.

Ibiza

Sancho Lyttle: 22 points and 13 rebounds. The future Dream player had the only double-double in the game.
Shannon Johnson: 10 points and 6 assists.
Chandi Jones: The former University of Houston player who played five minutes for the Shock in 2004 played 2 1/2 minutes for Ibiza.

Estudiantes

Elin Eldebrink: 17 points, 5 steals.
Laura Herrera Boxo: 12 points, 4 rebounds.
Nikki Teasley: 3 points and 3 rebounds in 14 minutes. Teasley is having a rough go of it in Spain, hitting 39 percent of her field goals and with six turnovers compared to four assists this year.

LFB (Spain) 24/2008 - Ibiza 67, Celta 45

Maja Miljkovic of Celta tries to evade Ibiza.

For Ibiza (13-11) and Celta (11-13), this game had critical importance. If Ibiza won, this would clinch a spot in the post-season, with Ibiza guaranteed to finish at least eighth even if they lost their last two games. For Celta, it would give them a chance to move into seventh place. It would be Ibiza that had more to play for, and they clinched their post-season spot on the road by a score of 67-45.

The box score is here.

Celta took an 18-14 point in the first quarter, but it would be the last quarter that ended with a Celta lead. Celta would not score any more than 10 points in any of the three remaining quarters. Ibiza had edged into a two-point lead at halftime, 30-28. At the end of the third quarter, Ibiza led by 13 points and would hold Celta to just seven points over the last 10 minutes.

Ibiza hit 42 percent of their attempted field goals. Celta would only hit 35 percent, and only go 2-for-12 from beyond 3-point range. Ibiza would outrebound Celta 35-24 and Celta would turn the ball over 21 times.

Celta

Laura Nicholls Gonzalez: 5 points, 3 rebounds.
Agne Cuidariene: 14 points, 3 rebounds.

Ibiza

Sancho Lyttle: 22 points, 15 rebounds for the only double-double.
Shannon Johnson: 14 points.
Elsa Donaire: 7 points, 8 rebounds.

LFB (Spain) 23/2008 - Ibiza 76, Gran Canaria 64

With four games left in the regular season going into this game, this is the right time for Ibiza (12-11) to get hot. It's beginning to look like the rule in the Liga Feminina is ".500 and you're in the playoffs". Against Gran Canaria (5-18), Ibiza took one more step toward clinching a playoff spot with a 76-64 win against the visitors.

The box score is here.

The win could have been a lot worse: Ibiza led 43-30 at halftime and added six more points to their lead to make the score 63-44 after three quarters. Gran Canaria was able to hold Ibiza to 13 points in the fourth quarter, but they couldn't overcome a 19 point deficit with just ten minutes remaining.

Ibiza made 54 of its field goal attempts, but if you don't count 3-point attempts, they were 22-for-32 - a 69 percent success rate. Gran Canaria, a team struggling at the bottom of the lead, made only 41 percent of its field goal attempts. Ibiza would have 16 turnovers in the game but Gran Canaria would exceed that with 18 turnovers. Gran Canaria hit 9 of 12 of its free throw attempts, but even though Ibiza only made 53 percent of its free throws, their 8-for-15 scoring virtually matched Gran Canaria's.

Ibiza

Silva Morales Martin: 20 points, 4 assists, 4 turnovers.
Sancho Lyttle: 10 points and 10 rebounds - the game's only double-double.
Shannon Johnson: 10 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists.
Jessica Kellogg: No points, and only 3 minutes played. This might be the Jessica Kellogg who graduated from San Jose State in 2005.

Gran Canaria

Iva Perovanovic: 12 points, 6 rebounds, 4 turnovers.
Doukole Ble: 5 points, 9 rebounds.
Tiina Sten: No points, no rebounds in 6 minutes of play for the St. John's graduate.

LFB (Spain) 22/2008 - Ros Casares 68, Ibiza 60

Silva Morales tries to get the ball past Amaya Valdemoro

Generally, Ros Casares (21-1) doesn't just beat its opponents, it annihilates them. Against Ibiza (11-11), you'd think El Ros would roll up another 20 to 30 point win. Ibiza, however, must have been still smarting from their Copa de la Reina finals loss to Ros Casares last week. Sufficiently motivated, Ibiza was actually able to beat Ros Casares for one quarter...but Ros Casares would win 68-60.

The box score is here. The win by Ros Casares clinches at least a tie for the first seed in the playoffs, and they can secure the first seed with a win next week against Zaragoza.

The first quarter was surprising, not just to someone reading the box score but undoubtedly to the players of Ros Casares - Ibiza was ahead 17-12. (It just goes to show you what Sancho Lyttle can do for a team.) At halftime, Ibiza was actually able to keep a 35-34 lead. However, Ibiza was held to 13 points in the third quarter and 12 in the fourth as Ros Casares fought its way back to another win.

Ros Casares was held to 40 percent free throw shooting, whereas Ibiza hit 37 percent of its attempted free throws. Ros Casares, however, was difficult to beat on the boards as they took a 41-29 advantage with 17 offensive rebounds. Ibiza was able to force Ros Casares into an inexplicable 22 turnovers, but somehow Ros Casares managed to hang on for the win.

Ros Casares

Amaya Valdemoro: 17 points, 6 steals.
Erika de Souza: 11 points and 16 rebounds for the game's only double-double.
Delisha Milton-Jones: 8 points, 4 rebounds.
Candace Wiggins: 6 points, 3 rebounds in 16 minutes of play.

Ibiza

Sancho Lyttle: 25 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals. 10-for-15 shooting.
Shannon Johnson: 9 points and 5 assists for "Pee Wee".
Elsa Donaire Malagelada: 7 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists.

LFB (Spain) Queen's Cup Finals 2009 - Ros Casares 65, Ibiza 60

The players receive their individual trophies, each one a replica of the giant one.

Even though Ros Casares has a claim to being the best team in Spanish pro basketball, one should not count out Ibiza. Ibiza upset Euroleague semifinalist Perfumerias in the first round and played a close game against Ros Casares before falling 65-60 in the Queen's Cup finals.

Despite the loss, Sancho Lyttle was named the MVP of the Queen's Cup.

The box score is here. A gallery of the game is here and a gallery of championship photos is here.

The first half of the game might be explained away as a case of exhaustion - this was the third game both teams had played in three days and the first half was a low-scoring affair. El Ros only led 12-11 after the first quarter and Ibiza held Ros Casares to just nine second-quarter points to take a 25-21 lead into halftime.

Ibiza managed to hang on to the lead after three quarters, 46-41, but in the fourth quarter it was all Ros Casares - Ros Casares scored 24 fourth-quarter points, holding Ibiza to just 14 points in the final ten minutes. Ros Caseras took the lead with seven minutes left in the fourth quarter, and never let it go.

Both teams were evenly accurate on the court - Ibiza hit 43 percent of its free throw attempts, and Ros Casares hit 42 percent - Ibiza also went 6-for-12 from 3-point distance. Ibiza outrebounded Ros Casares 32-27, but turned the ball over 21 times compared to Ros Casares's 17 turnovers. Both teams would hit 14 free throws - but compare Ros Casares's 14-for-15 shoooting with Ibiza's 14-for-24.

The two teams will next play each other this Saturday in a regular-season game.

Ros Casares

Anna Montañana: 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting.
Erika de Souza: 10 points and 9 rebounds. Only shot 3-for-10 but hit all for of her free throws.
Delisha Milton-Jones: 8 points in 24 minutes of play.
Candace Wiggins: 4 points in 13 minutes of play.

Ibiza

Sancho Lyttle: 13 points and 13 rebounds for the game's only double-double.
Silvia Morales Martin: 17 points and 3 rebounds.
Shannon Johnson: 7 points in 36 minutes of play. Five turnovers.

LFB (Spain) Queen's Cup Semifinals - Ibiza 76, Celta 63

Dig those crazy socks on Sancho Lyttle.

It was Ibiza which shocked Spanish basketball with an upset win over Perfumerias in the first round of the Queen's Cup. Ibiza continues their winning ways with a 76-63 win over Celta, setting up a finals match on Sunday between Ibiza and Ros Casares.

The box score of the game is here. An album of photos for the game can be found here.

Ibiza would get off to a good first half start. Leading 23-18 after the first quarter, Ibiza would hold Celta to eight second quarter points while scoring 21 of their own for a 44-26 halftime lead. All Ibiza would have to do is hold the lead. Celta won the third quarter and closed the gap to 62-49 in favor of Ibiza, but Ibiza and Celta tied the fourth quarter for Ibiza to hold on to the win.

Ibiza hit 51 percent of its field goal attempts compared to only 41 percent for Celta. Celta, however, won the battle of rebounding - in overall rebounding both teams were tied but Celta had 10 offensive rebounds compared to just four from Ibiza. Both teams did an excellent job of holding on to the ball - Ibiza only turned the ball over nine times and Celta only had seven turnovers. Ibiza would get 19 visits to the free throw line compared to just six for Celta, and Ibiza would go 16-for-19 at the free throw line.

Ibiza

Shannon Johnson: 22 points and four assists. 7-for-10 shooting for the future member of the Seattle Storm.
Sancho Lyttle: 11 points, 11 rebounds. The only double-double in the game.
Sandra Pirsic: 13 points, 5 rebounds.

Celta

Iva Sliskovic: 16 points, 6 rebounds.
Agne Ciudarene: 11 points, 7 rebounds.

LFB (Spain) Queen's Cup Quarterfinals 2008 - Ibiza 80, Perfumerias 65

Perfumerias, meet Sancho Lyttle.

Perfumerias has won all sorts of honors this year. They're in the quarter-finals of Euroleague. They're second in the Liga Feminina. With that in mind, you could forgive Perfumerias for slacking a little bit, as Perfumerias falls to Ibiza by the score of 80-65 on Friday.

Yesterday was the very first time that Perfumerias lost on its home court this season. Coach Jose Ignacio Hernandez admitted that it "hurts a lot".

The box score is here. An album of photos can be found here.

Ibiza won every quarter...but for the first three quarters, not by much. Ibiza led 36-32 at halftime and at the end of the third quarter, Ibiza only led by seven, 59-52. However, in the fourth quarter Ibiza held Perfumerias to only thirteen points.

Perfumerias hit 40 percent of their attempted field goals compared to Ibiza's 51 percent accuracy. Furthermore, Ibiza went 7-for-16 from 3-point range. Both teams rebounded well. As for holding on to the ball, Perfumerias turned the ball over 22 times but Ibiza returned the favor by sending Perfumerias to the line 22 times, where they hit 15 shots.

Perfumerias

Michelle Snow: the future Atlanta Dream player led Perfumerias with 19 points and 7 rebounds.
Silvia Dominguez Fernandez: 9 points and 5 rebounds.
Le'coe Willingham: 15 points and 7 rebounds from the Phoenix Mercury player.

Ibiza

Sancho Lyttle: Another standout game, with 26 points and 11 rebounds. She was clearly the player of the game.
Silvia Morales Martin: 16 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, and 5 steals.
Shannon Johnson: The future Seattle Storm player and longtime WNBA veteran had 10 points and 5 rebounds.

LFB (Spain) 21/2008 - Ibiza 88, Perfumerias 87 (OT)

Anke de Mondt has the ball for Perfumerias.

The bizarre part of being a professional player is that one season someone who is your most trusted teammate might be your most dangerous opponent in the following season. WNBA pro ball players have this happen at least once a year - rosters and relationships are shuffled every off-season in Europe.

In 2008, Sancho Lyttle and Michelle Snow were teammates on the Houston Comets. Next year, they'll be teammates on the Atlanta Dream. However, in the off-season, Sancho Lyttle represents Ibiza (11-10) and Michelle Snow represents Perfumerias (17-4). Perfumerias might have made it to the quarterfinals of Euroleague, but at home Ibiza treated Perfumerias to an 88-87 overtime loss in Liga Feminina play.

The box score is here.

Iziba took a 22-17 lead after the first quarter, and expanded their lead to 42-35 at halftime. But Perfumerias is one of the best teams in the Spanish League, and they scored 25 points in the third quarter to take a 70-68 lead. Down 73-66, Ibiza scored six points with slightly more than a minute remaining, and a shot by Shannon Johnson with 0.6 seconds left sent the game into overtime., and managed to score one more point than the visitors in the five minutes of overtime.

Ibiza hit 47 percent of its field goal attempts, and hit 56 percent from inside the 3-point line. Perfumerias took 73 shots and only hit 44 percent. Perfumerias had the edge in rebounding, holding Ibiza to just five offensive rebounds. Both teams did a great job in maintaining possession of the ball, each side only having 11 turnovers.

Perfumerias would only hit 54 percent of its free throws. They only scored two free throws less than Ibiza, but that turned out to be the difference.

Ibiza

Sancho Lyttle: 28 points, 14 rebounds. She was clearly the player of the game.
Silvia Morales Martin: 25 points, 7 rebounds, 4 turnovers.
Shannon Johnson: 21 points, 5 assists, fouled out.

Perfumerias

Michelle Snow: 20 points, 13 rebounds. She was 9-for-17. Fouled out.
Gunta Basko: 15 points, 6 rebounds.
Petra Stampalija: 17 points, 12 rebounds. The third of three double-doubles in the game.

Next week, these teams will meet again during the Copa de la Reina - the "Queen's Cup" - in a quarterfinals game. Ros Casares will also be playing in the Copa.

LFB (Spain) 20/2008 - San José 86, Ibiza 74

Ibiza's (10-10) quest to climb out of the middle of the pack in the Liga Feminina and finish fourth or better - a fourth place finish guarantees the home field advantage in the first round - was set back today with an 86-74 road loss against San José (11-9) despite a great game by future Atlanta Dream player Sancho Lyttle.

The box score is here.

Ibiza took the lead in the first half of the game. Ibiza led after the first quarter 27-21 but by halftime San José had closed the gap to three points, 41-38. San José continued to surge forward, and by the end of the third quarter led 61-60. In the fourth quarter, San José held Ibiza to just 11 points to finish off the visitors.

San José had a slighty better shooting percentage than the visitors, at 50 percent to 47 percent. San José scored 34 rebounds, including 14 offensive rebounds.

San José

Kimberly Butler: 27 points, 4 rebounds. Butler, an Oregon State graduate, shot 12-for-20 during the game.
Eshaya Murphy: 29 points, 7 rebounds. Murphy, a member of the Washington Mystics, would have been the best player of the game if not for five turnovers.
Maria Sanchez-Aguilera: 14 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals.

Ibiza

Sancho Lyttle: 20 points, 11 rebounds for the only double-double of the game. The future member of the Atlanta Dream shot 9-for-13.
Shannon Johnson: 19 points, 3 assists, 3 steals...and 6 turnovers.
Sandra Pirsic: 14 points, 7 rebounds.

LFB (Spain) 19/2008 - Ibiza 69, Cadi la Seu 54

For Atlanta Dream players in Spain it has been a good week. Ros Casares won. Extrugasa won not once, but twice. It was up to Ibiza (10-9) to complete the trifecta, and at home Ibiza sent Cadi la Seu (6-13) to another loss with a 69-54 home victory.

It is Ibiza's seventh win in the last eight games. The arrival of Sancho Lyttle and Shannon "Pee Wee" Johnson was the key to turning Ibiza's season around.

The box score is here.

The first quarter was an even one, but it was the second quarter that secured the game for Ibiza - Ibiza scored 23 points in the second quarter and held Cadi la Seu to just six points. Leading 39-20 at the half and 58-35 after three quarters, Ibiza allowed Cadi la Seu a little mini-run in the fourth quarter -- but 23 points is just usually too much to overcome in ten minutes.

Despite only hitting 2 of 17 3-point attempts, Ibiza still had a 42 percent field goal percentaes. Cadi la Seu only hit 2-for-10 from three-point land and shot just 40 percent overall. Ibiza had 44 rebounds - with Sancho Lyttle doing most of the work. Ibiza's greatest weakness was in hanging on to the ball, turning the ball over 22 times in the game - but Cadi la Seu was even worse, turning the ball over 23 times.

Four players on the Ibiza squad scored in double figures, but the Queen of the Game was future Atlanta play Sancho Lyttle, who dominated the game. She scored 20 points and 21 rebounds for a 20-point double-double. Silvia Morales scored 12 points and six rebounds, and had eight assists for Ibiza (but she also had eight of Ibiza's 22 turnovers). Shannon Johnsonscored 10 points in 24 minutes of play. Johnson was Lyttle's teammate last year in Houston, but was not chosen in the dispersal draft.

Marta Zurro lead all Cadi la Seu players with 13 points. Sonia Borges dos Reis scored 12 points and four rebounds for the visitors.

LFB (Spain) 18/2008 - Ibiza 85, Joventut 78

There are only eight more games left for Ibiza (9-9), and with Ibiza hanging around the eighth and final playoff spot, this is the best time for a push. Taking on fourth-place Joventut (11-7) at home, Ibiza overcame a slow start to win on the road by seven points, 85-78.

The box score is here.

At the end of the first quarter, Ibiza was down by five points - 24-19 - but Ibiza outscored the home team in the second quarter to take a 42-38 lead into halftime. Ibiza was able to hold off Joventut and even slightly extend their lead over the second half.

With Joventut shooting at a 53 percent rate in field goal percentage and Ibiza shooting 50 percent, Ibiza's win would have to be explained elsewhere in the boxscore. Ibiza rebounded slightly better overall, 32 to 29, and had slightly fewer turnovers, 12 to 15. Mostly likely, the source of Ibiza's victory was in the ability to hit eight out of ten of its free throws (Joventut hit 8 out of 14) and Ibiza hit nine 3-pointers compared to Joventut's four.

For Joventut, Linda Page had the game of day with 22 points and 14 rebounds. The North Carolina State graduate put her shooting skills to work, shooting 10 for 16. Armintie Price of the Chicago Sky would score 16 points for Joventut, and Gisela Vega Remore would score 16 points as well.

Sancho Lyttle, the new acquisition for the Atlanta Dream, scored 20 points and 12 rebounds for the second double-double of the game. Silvia Martin scored 23 points to lead all Ibiza scorers and Elsa Donaire Malagelada scored 12 points and six rebounds. Shannon Johnson added just nine points for Ibiza, shooting 3-for-14 with four assists.

Eurocup 8th Finals 2/2008 - San Jose 72, Ibiza 70

Even at home, Ibiza had a tough hill to climb during the Eurocup's "Sweet Sixteen", or the "8th Finals": they would not only have to beat visiting fellow Liga Feminina team San Jose, but they would have to beat them by at least five points. Ibiza got off to a great start, but fell short in the end 72-70 in front of an announced crowd of 500 spectators.

The 8th finals were "best of two" series, where the team that scores the greatest number of points over the two games wins. Ibiza lost the first game on the road 60-56, so an ordinary win just wouldn't do.

The box score and play-by-play are available here.

In the first quarter, down 5-4, Ibiza went on a 14-0 run to take an 18-5 lead, but San Jose answered with a 9-0 run and Ibiza only led by six, 20-14, after the end of the first 10 minutes. San Jose managed to tie the game in the second quarter, but it looked hopeful for Ibiza as Ibiza led 42-35 at halftime.

Even though Ibiza was up 47-37 with 9:44 to go in the third quarter, Ibiza marched back to tie the game with and Kimberly Butler hit two free throws to put San Jose up 51-49 with 5:56 left. Ibiza wrestled the led back, but only led by two (63-61) at the end of the third quarter.

With the game tied 64-64 with 7:06 left, Ibiza scored the next six points and led 70-64 with 3:21 to go. If they could hold on to their six-point lead, they could advance to the Eurocup quarter-finals. Unfortunately, Iziba would commit four fouls in the last three minutes of the game, two by Sancho Lyttle. San Jose would score the last eight points of the game and Ibiza could only watch as the victory slipped out of their hands.

San Jose was more accurate with the free throw by a factor of 52 percent to 47 percent. Ibiza, however, won the battle of rebounds, 32-33. They hit 10 of 12 of their free throws and turned the ball over 22 times to San Jose's 19. It was a close game all around.

Leading for Ibiza was future Atlanta Dream player Sancho Lyttle, with 16 points and 14 rebounds for the only double-double in the game. Lyttle was 7 for 9 in shooting and hit two of three of her free throws. Alicia Lopez would lead all players with 21 points and Sandra Morales would score 17 points. Shannon Johnson, who was not selected in the Houston Comets dispersal draft this year, would only score eight points and two rebounds for Ibiza.

Maria Revuelto Sanchez Aguilera would lead San Jose with 13 points and six assists. Eshaya Murphy of the Washington Mystics would score 16 points and six rebounds as San Jose's high scorer. Kimberly Butler out of Oregon State would score 13 points for eventual victors San Jose and Shona Thorburn would score 11 points. Thorburn last played for the Seattle Storm in 2007.

I'm sure the FIBA Europe site will post pics soon; we'll just have to wait.