LFB Semifinals 1/2009 - Perfumerias 65, Rivas Ecopolis 59

In the opening game of the Spanish League semifinals - Ros Casares will have its hands full on Sunday playing Spartak Moscow in the Euroleague finals - Perfumieras gets the first win at home in Salamanca in a close 65-59 battle. The semifinals is a best-of-three series and if lucky, Perfumerias can close the series with the second game on April 14th.

The box score is here.

Crystal Langhorne came out strong for Rivas Ecopolis in the first quarter, scoring 12 points in just under seven minutes. Sancho Lyttle picked up two quick first quarter finals and found herself on the bench. Down 21-17, Perfumerias managed to close within one point, 23-22 at the end of the first quarter.

Lyttle picked up her third foul in the middle of the second - an important distinction, as in Euroball players only get five fouls. Le'coe Willingham and Olga Podkovalnikova (playing hurt) had to carry the load for Perfumerias. By halftime, Perfumieras was only up 36-34 and both teams would get a rest for the second half.

In the third quarter, the game became a defensive struggle. Perfumerias scored six points, and Rivas Ecopolis scored five in the first five minutes of the third quarter. Perfumerias got a boost and held off Langhorne to end the quarter 46-42 in favor of Perfumerias, giving Lyttle a chance to come back into the game with four fouls. Lyttle was out of kilter but Perfumerias managed to hang on and take a 56-49 lead, a lead which they would keep throughout.

Crystal Langhorne led Rivas Ecopolis with 16 points and eight rebounds. Catherine Joens scored 12 points and Petra Ujhelyi scored seven points and four rebounds.

For Perfumerias, Le'coe Willingham scored 14 points and eight rebounds. Alba Torrens scoed 12 points and four rebounds and Olga Podkovalnikova scored four points and four rebounds.

Sancho Lyttle managed to get 22 minutes in despite four personal fouls:

6 points
5 rebounds
2 assists
22 minutes

LFB 26/2009 - Perfumerias 85, Mariana 61

In their final regular season game of the year, Perfumerias had no trouble with visiting Joventut Mariana. Perfumerias advanced to 23-3 to finish the season, but were stuck in second place behind top finisher Ros Casares (25-1). As for Mariana, the loss keeps them out of finishing at .500 for the year.

Only the top four teams in the Liga Femenina will make it to the posteason. Ros Casares plays Zaragoza and Perfumerias will move forward to play third-place Rivas Ecopolis on April 10th. The second game will be played on April 14th, and if necessary Game 3 will be played on April 17th.

The finals will be a three-game series. The games will take place on April 24th, April 28th and May 1st (if necessary).

The box score is here.

It doesn't seem like much of a game - a game in which Perfumerias extended its lead quarter by quarter. Perfumerias won each of the first three quarters and tied the fourth quarter. Perfumerias led by 15 points at halftime and by 24 at the end of thirty minutes.

Shay Murphy led Mariana with 20 points and 10 rebounds - the only double-double in the game. Murphy is a five year veteran who played with the Indiana Fever last year. Gisela Vega scored 14 points for Mariana and Murriel Page scored 11 points in the loss. Page formerly played for the Mystics and the Sparks.

Five players scored in double figures for Perfumerias. Anke de Mondt scored 17 points and six rebounds, Marta Xargay added 16 points and seven rebounds, Silvia Domingues scored 10 points with five assists and Le'coe Willingham scored 15 points for Perfumerias.

Sancho Lyttle played less than a half of basketball, but still had a great game.

17 points
7-for-8 shooting
7 rebounds
2 steals
19 minutes played

LFB 25/2009 - Perfumerias 64, Hondarribia 59

There's not much for Perfumerias to fight about. With a 22-3 record after their road win against Hondarribia, they've clinched second place in the Liga Feminina. The 64-59 win is closer than expected against a 7-18 team, but a win is a win is a win.

The box score is here.

Perfumerias was fairly confident of winning, according to the FEB website. Both teams found it hard to score in the first quarter, and Perfumerias barely led 12-11 after the first ten minutes. Sancho Lyttle kept Perfumerias ahead on the scoreboard and only a last-second shot by Anna Deforge of Hondarribia kept Perfumerias's lead within a couple of baskets, 32-27 at halftime.

Perfumerias kept the lead until Hondarribia made a 10-0 third quarter run, leading 55-49 at one time. This forced Perfumerias to clamp down on defense, and Perfumerias fought their way back to a 57-57 tie with 4:40 left. Le'Coe Willingham stepped up for Perfumerias in the last few minutes and helped the visiting team get the victory.

Anna Deforge scored 23 points and four rebounds for Hondarribia. Deforge played seven games for the Detroit Shock last season in the WNBA. The only other player scoring in double-figures for the home team was Maria Sanchez-Aguilera was 11 points. Neither team was effective on the boards, but Perfumerias won that battle 33-23.

Le'Coe Willingham scored 14 points and five rebounds for Perfumerias, and Anke de Mondt also scored 10 points for Perfumeria, but the player of the game - and possibly the player of Spain - is Sancho Lyttle, with another amazing game. Lyttle is averaging over 10 rebounds a game in Spain.

18 points
8-for-13 shooting
14 rebounds
3 assists
5 steals
36 minutes played

Lyttle and De Souza: Teammates in 2010-11 in Spain?

A very interesting article from Tribuna.net in Spain.

Right now, Atlanta's posts - Erika de Souza and Sancho Lyttle - play for two different teams in Spain, Ros Casares and Perfumerias respectively.

It appears that both de Souza and Lyttle are thinking about contract negotiations for next season. Furthermore, this year is the final year of Erika de Souza's contract with Ros Casares. And now the surprise - Ros Casares would like Sancho Lyttle to play for them...and Perfumerias wants Erika de Souza.

If those two players end up on the same team in the 2010-11 season, look out Liga Femenina!

LFB 24/2009 - Ros Casares 72, Perfumerias 68

Ros Casares went on the road to Salamanca, and for Perfumerias it was the same old story: a defeat at the hands of one of the best teams in Europe, this time losing 72-68 at home. El Ros advances to 23-1 and with two games left in the regular season secures first place for the rest of the season. Ros Casares secures home team advantage throughout the post-season.

The box score is here.

Ros Casares led 17-13 at the end of the first quarter, but Perfumerias came on strong in the second quarter. Perfumerias went on a 12-2 run and another 7-0 run that gave Perfumerias a halftime lead of 46-32, Perfumerias's highest lead in the game. But Delisha Milton-Jones and Belinda Snell led a comeback that rapidly dwindled Perfumerias's 14-point lead.

Erika de Souza earned her fourth foul two minutes into the third quarter and was mostly consigned to the bench. El Ros clamped down the defense, and with Snell and Jana Vesela working the perimeter, Perfumerias only led 56-53 at the end of three quarters. With five minutes to go in the fourth quarter, Ros Casares took a 63-62 lead and was in control for the remainder of the game.

Le'Coe Willingham had 14 points and five rebounds for Perfumerias, and Alba Torrens added 13 points and three rebounds. Leading Perfumerias was Sancho Lyttle:

10 points
3-for-6 shooting
9 rebounds
32 minutes played

For Ros Casares, Delisha Milton-Jones scored 22 points to lead the winners. Belinda Snell had 14 points and six rebounds, and Laia Palau had four points and nine rebounds.

Erika de Souza didn't have much of a game, playing only for 16 minutes.

6 points
3-for-5 shooting
5 rebounds
4 fouls
16 minutes played

LFB 23/2009 - Perfumerias 94, Real Canoe 46

First place and second place look secure in the Liga Femenina as second-place Perfumerias comes to Madrid and rolls over home team Real Canoe 94-46. Perfumerias advances to 21-2 with Real Canoe falling to 7-16.

The box score is here.

The game was a disaster for Real Canoe. Perfumerias stated out 8-0 and scored 20 points in five minutes against Real Canoe's 2-3 zone. Up 59-25 at halftime, Perfumieras buried Real Canoe in the third quarter, holding Real Canoe to just six points. The score was 80-31 after thirty minutes.

Real Canoe only played seven players, with four of those players scoring three points or less. Marta Blanes and Evelina Guneva were the only players to break double-digits for Real Cano with 11 and 13 points respectively.

Five players scored in double figures for Perfumerias. Alba Torrens scored 17 points and Anke de Mondt and Marta Xargay each had 11 points. The player of the day for Perfumerias, however, was Sancho Lyttle who turned in another amazing performance:

22 points
7-for-11 shooting
8-for-9 free throw shooting
11 rebounds
5 offensive rebounds
4 assists
29 minutes of play

LFB 22/2009 - Perfumerias 83, Estudiantes 60

There's only one more month of regular season basketball left in the Liga Femenina. Perfumerias will retain its lock on second place with an 83-60 win over visiting Estudiantes. The win moves Perfumerias to 20-2 on the year and one game behind Ros Casares, which will make the Ros Casares-Perfumerias rematch on March 20th very interesting - Perfumieras won 79-78 on the road in the first of the two scheduled matches.

The box score is here.

Perfumieras marched out to a 28-17 lead in the first quarter, won the second quarter by four and the third quarter by nine. Estudiantes was never in the game, falling to 5-17 on the year. Reading one of the write-ups, it says that Ashley Battle "angrily left the bench" of Perfumerias. It had something to do with a foul called against Estudiantes, or possibly due to one not called on Perfumerias.

Marta Zurro Alfonso lead Estudiantes with 16 points and seven rebounds. Laura Herrera added 13 points. Battle had six points and five rebounds in 32 minutes of play.

However, Perfumerias shot 52 percent for the game and 60 percent from 2-point range. Le'coe Willingham had 18 points and four rebounds and Anke de Mondt and Alba Torrens had 10 points each, but the clear MVP was an astonishing performance by Sancho Lyttle, scoring a double-double in slightly more than 20 minutes of play:

22 points
8-for-9 shooting
11 rebounds
5 offensive rebounds
3 assists
2 steals
20 minutes of play.

LFB 21/2009 - Perfumerias 78, Gran Canaria 67

Licking their wounds after being swept by Ros Casares in the Euroleague quarterfinals, Perfumerias made themselves feel better by beating Gran Canaria 78-67 in a Liga Femenina game in Salamanca.

Perfumerias advances to 19-2 and remains in second place. Gran Canaria falls to 9-12. The box score is here.

No pictures, and no write ups just yet. It looked like a close game initally, with the first quarter ending 21-20 and the first half ending 35-34 in favor of Perfumerias. It seems like Perfumerias established a good third quarter lead, holding Gran Canaria to just 10 points. The pendulum swung back in favor of Gran Canaria in the fourth quarter, but not by enough.

Rosuara Sanchez Lujan had 15 points and two rebounds for Gran Canaria, which was led by Morgan Warburton with 21 points, six rebounds and five assists. Warburton graduated from Utah and was drafted by the Sacramento Monarchs but didn't make the team.

Anke de Mondt and Emilija Podrug had 15 points each for Perfumerias. Sancho Lyttle had a good game, but only played 22 minutes:

14 points
6-for-11 shooting
2 rebounds
2 assists
4 turnovers
22 minutes played

Friday's Euroleague Games

Ekaterinburg 65, Good Angels Kosice 60. Ekaterinburg wins the second game of the best-of-three series, knocking out Angel McCoughtry's Good Angels Kosice team.

According to Angel McCoughtry, ""It was a very good match. It was difficult, but I'm very proud of my teammates. We played well against a very tough opponent." The Good Angels were down by only one point after three quarters (42-41) and led 43-42 after a layup by McCoughtry, but after that the closest the Good Angels could get was two points. McCoughtry scored 16 points and had six rebounds in the loss.

Brno 87, Krakow 72. Brno's 87-72 win over Krakow in the Czech Republic forces a game three of the best-of three seres. Brno won every quarter and led by as many as 24 in the final ten minutes. Iziane Castro Marques led KRakwo with 19 points. Taj McWilliams had 20 points and nine rebounds for Brno.

Ros Casares 63, Perfumerias 57. Ros Casares sweeps the series 2-0, defeating Perfumerias on their home court. Tied at 57-57 with three minutes left, Perfumerias didn't score for the rest of the game.

Erika de Souza led Ros Casares with 21 points and eight rebounds. Her Atlanta Dream teammate, Sancho Lyttle had 17 points and 10 minutes.

Euroleague Quarterfinals 1/2009 - Ros Casares 74, Perfumerias 50

Welcome to Valencia!

With the two best teams in Spain playing against each other, everyone expected a fantastic game between Ros Casares and Perfumerias. Instead, the crowd of 4,820 spectators in Valencia were treated to a happy anti-climax: Ros Casares led in every quarter and won easily, 74-50.

The game report, box score, play-by-play and a photo gallery for this game are right here.

El Ros pulled out to a quick lead, and only Sancho Lyttle's seven points in the first 10 minutes kept Ros Casares from running away from Perfumerias. Perfumerias got to 23-18 in the second, but Ros Casares was off again, and led 39-29 at halftime.

Perfumerias remained at least 10 points behind throughout the third quarter, and Ros Casares expanded the lead to 20 in the fourth. It really wasn't much of a game.

LeCoe Willingham had 17 points and eight rebounds to lead Perfumerias in the defeat. Belinda Snell scored 21 points for Ros Casares with 3-for-6 shooting from 3-point range, and Delisha Milton-Jones contributed 14 points to the victory.

Erika de Souza got on the boards, but she didn't score a lot for Ros Casares:

4 points
2-for-7 shooting
10 rebounds
3 steals
33 minutes played

Sancho Lyttle didn't have a standout game, but she had nothing to be ashamed of - she was the second leading scorer on Perfumerias.

13 points
6-for-14 shooting
6 rebounds
30 minutes played

LFB 20/2009 - Perfumerias 69, Ibiza 55

Last year, Ibiza surprised everyone - or rather, the play of Sancho Lyttle on Ibiza surprised everyone. What a difference a year makes. Perfumerias picked up Sancho Lyttle's contract and they now stand in second play in the Liga Femenina. As for Ibiza, they've fallen to the bottom of the league. They've fired their coach in mid-season, and now relegation is a danger. Nothing changed during Sancho Lyttle's Ibiza homecoming, as Perfumerias won 69-55.

Perfumieras advances to 18-2 on the year and is by itself in second place. Ibiza falls to 3-17 and remains in the bottom of the league. The box score is here.

Ibiza stared with a 6-2 run that was answered with a 10-0 run by Perfumerias. Ibiza closed to 16-13, but Perfumerias answered with two 3-pointers that put the score up 22-13 after the first quarter. In the second quarter, Perfumieras went up to a double-digit lead early on and stayed there for the rest of the game. As the Tribuna de Salamanca wrote:

"...the game was thick and lacking in quality. Until Lyttle went to the track, which reminded local fans why he was MVP last season and why is poised to be in it." Lyttle would only play 17 minutes of the game.

Shannon Johnson led all scorers for Ibiza with 13 points and four steals. Lorena Nunez scored 11 points, Nakia Sanford added 10 points and five rebounds, and Vanessa Blue had seven points, nine rebounds and three assists for Ibiza.

Le'coe Willingham and Alba Torrens each added 12 points for Perfumerias. The player of the game for the visitors was Sancho Lyttle - and that always seems to be the case....

19 points
7 rebounds
8-for-15 shooting
17 minutes played

LFB 19/2009 - Perfumerias 77, Olesa 53

Perfumerias returned to play in the Liga Femenina after playing the concluding game of a best-of-three against Bourges on Wednesday. In Europe, three days between games is considered tough. Perfumerias must have certainly cought their second wind as they won easily at home 77-53.

The box score is here. Perfumerias advances to 17-2, one game behind 18-1 Ros Casares. Olesa falls to 10-9 in the tough Spanish League.

Perfumerias either won or tied every quarter. All Perfumerias needed was two good quarters, where Perfumerias won the second and fourth quarters by eleven and ten points.

The only player to score in double figures for Olesa was Shona Thorburn. Thorburn scored 11 points, five rebounds and three assists. Silvia Morales had nine points and three rebounds for Olesa.

Four players scored in double figures for Perfumerias. Anke de Mondt and Alba Torrens each had 15 points. Le'coe Willingham had 10 points and six rebounds. But, as usual, the best game belonged to Sancho Lyttle:

16 points
6-for-10 shooting
10 rebounds
3 steals

No pics. If there are pics to find, they haven't been posted yet.

Quarterfinals Set for the Euroleague - Four Dream Players Ready to Take Part

Erika de Souza, Sancho Lyttle, Iziane Castro Marques, and Angel McCoughtry are all playing on teams in Europe this year. They're playing on very good teams, since the teams that they play for are taking part in the Euroleague quarterfinals.

Here are the matchups for the quarterfinals. The quarterfinals are a best-of-three series. The team listed first in each matchup has home field advantage.

Spartak Moscow vs. Fenerbahce.
Ekaterinburg vs. Good Angels Kosice - Angel McCoughtry is going to face a top-league team in Ekaterinburg
Krakow vs. Brno - Iziane Castro Marques's team has home field advantage
Ros Casares vs. Perfumerias - Erika de Souza plays against Sancho Lyttle in a battle of Dream posts.

The quarterfinals take place over February 23rd-February 26th-March 3rd.

Euroleague 8th Finals 3/2009 - Perfumerias 64, Bourges 55

Sancho Lyttle is looking ahead to the quarterfinals, obviously.

If you think it's cold in the United States, Europe has had some cold weather as well - it snowed on Wednesday night in Salamanca in Spain. No pics. Perfumerias didn't mind the cold weather - they managed to win the deciding game of the best-of-three series, knocking Bourges out of the Euroleague post-season with a 64-55 win.

The game report, box score, play-by-play and photo gallery are all here.

The game report has an amusing paragraph:

"Avenida meanwhile struggled mightily, especially their leader Sancho Lyttle who was frustrated by the physical play of the Bourges defense, and showed it on several occasions looking skyward in disbelief.

(I think I've seen that look before during Dream games.)

Bourges started with a 14-5 lead early on but Perfumerias answered with six straight points to close to 14-11 at the end of the first quarter. However, Bourges was able to build a double-digit lead and took a 32-22 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The second half, however, belonged to Perfumerias. Perfumerias began to whittle away at the lead and took off on a 12-0 run midway through the third quarter, with a Sancho Lyttle jump shot putting Perfumerias up 37-35 for the first time in the game with two minutes left in the third quarter. Ilona Burgrova, however, hit a jumper with five seconds left, letting Bourges regain the lead 41-40 at the end of the third quarter.

From that moment on, it was a fight through most of the fourth quarter. With Perfumerias up 54-43 with three minutee left, the French team ran out of gas. They would only score two more points for the rest of the game - they took all five shots - and Perfumerias secured their visit to the Euroleague quarterfinals.

Endene Miyem scored 15 points and had five rebounds in 27 minutes of play for Bourges. No other player scored in double figures for Bourges.

Le'coe Willingham scored 16 points and seven rebounds for Perfumerias. However, Bourges had the right idea - the way to beat Perfumerias is to stop Sancho Lyttle. And when you look at Lyttle's stats, it's clear that Bourges had failed.

22 points
6-for-17 shooting
10-for-12 free throw shooting
15 rebounds, including five offensive rebounds
37 minutes played

LFB 18/2009 - Perfumerias 60, Zaragoza 55

Even after playing two Euroleague games this week, Perfumerias is showing that they deserve to be ranked as a contender for the Spanish League title with a 60-55 road win against fourth-ranked Zaragoza. Perfumerias advances to 16-2 on the year (there are 26 games in the season) whereas Zaragoza falls to 11-7. Zaragoza remains in fourth; if Vigo manages to beat Ros Casares at home Zaragoza might fall to fifth.

The box score is here.

Perfumerias only gave one player more than 30 minutes: Alba Torrens. Even so, Perfumerias was able to take a 35-27 lead into halftime, leading both quarters. However, Zaragoza held Perfumerias to just nine points in the third quarter and Perfumerias's lead was cut down to 43-41 going into the fourth quarter. I've not been able to find out whether or not Zaragoza had a lead late in the game, but Perfumerias managed to keep the win on the road.

Allison Feaster, a former WNBA player out of Harvard, scored 20 points for Zaragoza. Lucila Suarez had nine points and eight rebounds for the home team.

It was all up to Alba Torrens to carry a tired Perfumerias, and she did, with 23 points, four rebounds, and three steals. However, Sancho Lyttle had another one of her great games:

10 points
4-for-7 shooting
7 rebounds
2 steals
4 turnovers

Photos will come if I can find them.

Euroleague 8th Finals 2/2009 - Bourges 69, Perfumerias 64

Lyttle is second from left, undoubtedly looking for her 17th rebound.

For Bourges, it was a case of "there's no place like home". With 3000 spectators to provide support and a good first half, Bourges won the second game of their three-game series with Perfumerias to tie the series at 1-1. The deciding game will be played in Spain on Wednesday, February 10th.

All of the good stuff - game report, box score, play-by-play and photo gallery - can be found here.

Bourges managed to establish a modest 20-15 lead at the end of the first 10 minutes. Perfumerias briefly closed to 22-21 before Bourges marched out front again, leading 38-29 at halftime. However, in the third quarter Perfumerias began to get uncomfortably close to Bourges, with an Anna de Mondt lay-up closing the score to 43-41 with six minutes left. But Bourges managed to pull out in front again, leading 53-46 with one quarter left.

Perfumerias came charging back, hanging within a couple of baskets of Bourges late in the fourth quarter. With three seconds left in the game, an Anna de Mondt 3-point shot closed the gap to 67-64. However, Bourges had the ball, Perfumerias was forced to foul, and Anael Lardy made the final free throws for Bourges.

Styliani Kaltsidou scored 16 points and six rebounds for Bourges. Anael Lardi had 12 points and three rebounds in just 21 minutes played.

Anna de Mondt scored 14 points, three rebounds and three assists for Perfumerias. But the best player of the game was Sancho Lyttle....

20 points
8-for-15 shooting
16 rebounds with four offensive rebounds
38 minutes played

Euroleague 8th Finals 1/2009: Perfumerias 72, Bourges 53

Stay out of Sancho Lyttle's way!

Sometimes, it only takes one quarter to beat a team. In Perfumerias's case, that quarter was the first quarter as Perfumerias's 19-point first quarter lead gave them the edge in a 72-53 win in Spain over French team Bourges.

A box score, play by play, game report and small gallery have been posted here. A win in France against Bourges on Friday ensures that Perfumerias moves ahead.

There's no game report as yet, probably because the box score tells all. Leading 5-2, Bourges found itself on the short end of a 21-0 run by Perfumerias. A three-pointer by Le'Coe Willingham at the end of the first quarter gave Perfumerias a 28-9 lead at the end of ten minutes. Bourges fought back in the second quarter holding Perfumerias to just nine points and closing the score to 37-25 at halftime. Unfortunately for Bourges, the French team had another sub-par quarter, scoring just 11 points in the third quarter and Perfumerias could coast to a victory.

Paoline Salagnac scored 11 points and eight rebounds for Bourges, but had five turnovers. Perfumerias was 10-for-23 from 3-point range.

The big game for Perfumerias belonged to Dream favorite Sancho Lyttle who had 24 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots. For Lyttle:

24 points
10-for-14 shooting
10 rebounds
2 assists
4 blocked shots
33 minutes played

LFB 17/2009 - Perfumerias 76, Cadi la Seu 55

Where Ros Casares was fighting to be in the top of the league, Perfumerias had it slightly easier against Cadi la Seu in Salamanca, winning 76-55 with little trouble. Perfumieras climbs to 15-2 and is tied for second place with Rivas Ecopolis. Cadi la Seu falls to 6-11.

The box score is here.

Perfumerias only led by 23-20 after the first quarter, but Cadi la Seu faded away at the 15-minutes mark, scoring only seven points and falling behind 40-27. The fourth quarter was another waste for the visitors as Cadi la Seu scored only 10 points in the final ten minutes - by that time, Perfumerias was holding a glorified practice.

Jasmon Covington, a graduate of Louisville, led Cadi la Seu with 16 points, four rebounds, and four steals. The big game, however, belonged to Sancho Lyttle of Perfumerias:

16 points
6-for-7 shooting
9 rebounds
4 steals
22 minutes of play

No pictures yet. If I find them, I'll post them.

LFB 16/2009 - Perfumerias 64, Vigo 62

Now with two losses, Perfumerias has to work a lot harder to stay close to the top of the Liga Femenina now that Ros Casares and Rivas Ecopolis only have one loss each. Perfumerias traveled to Real Celta Indepo, also known as Vigo, and managed to escape with a 64-62 win.

The box score for the game is here. Oddly enough, both teams limited themselves to using just eight players. Sancho Lyttle, however, was not one of the players that saw any time. Jordi Gallano, the coach of Perfumerias, wanted to make sure that Lyttle was fully healthy for the opening Euroleague game against Bourges. Furthermore, next week Perfumerias plays Cadi la Seu and the chances are good that Lyttle might be held out for that game as well. Sayeth the coach:

It is true that muscle fatigue and creep is important and comes up a week of matches on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday is going to be killer.

Euroleague matches begin the first week of February, so Perfumerias isn't taking any chances.

Euroleague 10/2009 - Perfumerias 80, Beretta 62

Perfumerias, like Ros Casares, was hoping that Krakow would lose to Gospic and that they would beat Beretta, giving Perfumerias an outside shot of finishing in first place in Group B. Finishing first in Group B was out of Perfumeria's reach, but they won at home against the Italians by a score of 80-62.

It was actually the final game played on Wednesday night. Perfumerias completes the first round at 8-2 and secures second place in Group B and will play against Bourges in the Eighth Finals, which finished 5-5 in Group C.

All of the information you need: game report, box score, play-by-play, gallery - is here.

Beretta played Perfumerias close and managed to squeeze ahead of Perfumerias 48-47 with 2:20 left in the third quarter. Unfortunately, Beretta was outscored 24-12 over the final ten minutes. Bernadette Ngoyisa scored 12 points and 6 rebounds for Beretta. Nicole Antibe contributed 14 points and 7 rebounds.

However, the player of the game was clearly Sancho Lyttle:

25 points on 10-for-16 shooting
11 rebounds
2 assists
4 steals