PLKK 15/2009 - Krakow 71, Artego 56

Krakow boosts its record to 10-5 on the year with a road win against 3-12 Artego. I don't have much information on this game.

Iziane Castro Marques's line:

16 points
6-for-12 shooting, 3 three-pointers
1-for-3 free throw shooting
2 rebounds
2 assists

TBBL 10/2009 - Mersin 82, Ceyhan 67

Mersin increases its record to 9-1 on the year with a home victory against Ceyhan, 82-67. Ceyhan falls to 5-5 on the year.

It appears that both teams played evenly in the first quarter, and then Mersin won the remaining three quarters.

http://www.tbl.org.tr/tbbl/mac.asp?mac=20059

Ivory Latta's line:

16 points
5-for-10 shooting (4-for-4 from the free throw line)
2 assists
4 turnovers

Russia Superleague A 9/2009 - Spartak Moscow 101, Dynamo Kursk 79

In most national leagues, there is a huge gap between the best teams and the worst teams. The Russia Superleague A has more parity, but it doesn't matter if you have big stars on your team - other teams have big stars as well. Algirdas Paulauskas's Dynamo Kursk team lost to Pokey Chatman's Spartak Moscow team 101-79, despite a home crowd of 1200. Even though Kursk has Michelle Snow, Spartak Moscow has Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird and Janel McCarville.

Dynamo Moscow falls to 5-4 on the year; Spartak Moscow is 8-1 and is in second place behind undefeated Ekaterinburg.

The Eurobasket box score is here. The raw translated box score is here.

Jillian Robbins led Kursk in scoring with 19 points. Sylvia Fowles had 18 points for Spartak Moscow.

Michelle Snow's line:

9 points (2-for-3 shooting, 4-for-4 at the free throw line)
8 rebounds
4 assists

Next up for Dynamo Kursk: undefeated Ekaterinburg, on the road.

This Week's Games

More on last week's games coming up soon.

Wednesday

Euroleague: Ros Casares (6-2) vs. Taranto (5-3)
Euroleague: Villeneuve d'Ascq (1-7) vs. Perfumerias (6-2)
Euroleague: Prague (4-4) vs. Good Angels Kosice (4-4)

Thursday

Euroleague: Schio (6-2) vs. Krakow (8-0)
Eurocup 16th Finals (Game 2): Dynamo Kursk vs. Besitkas (Besitkas must win by 27 points or Dynamo Kursk advances.)

Saturday

LFB: Ros Casares (13-1) vs. Mariana (7-7)
LFB: Perfumerias (13-1) vs. Rivas Ecopolis (13-1)
PLKK: Krakow (10-5) vs. Rybnik (6-7)
TBBL: Istanbul (5-5) vs. Mersin (9-1)

Sunday

Russia Superleague A: Ekaterinburg (10-0) vs. Dynamo Kursk (5-4) (*)
Cypriot Women A1: K. V. Imperial (6-0) vs. Anagennises (0-6) (*)

(*) - Record as of January 9, 2010

Slovakia Extraliga 17/2009 - Good Angels 83, Presov 49

Ba-DUNK-a-dunk!

I don't have a final box score yet, but the Good Angels moved to 17-0 in Slovak league play by beating Presov by a score of 83-49. The first quarter ended 8-7, giving a new meaning to "defensive struggle". Presov falls to 11-6.

The photo gallery of images is here. Particularly note the pick above. You can call it Air Angel.

When deltabasket.sk posts the box score, I'll post it.

UPDATE: Posted. The box score is here.

Angel McCoughtry: 13 points (5-for-12 shooting, 2-for-5 free throw shooting), 5 rebounds

The Queen's Cup in Spain

Lyttle versus de Souza.

The Queen's Cup was played over the weekend in Spain, and four teams were involved: Rivas Ecopolis, Perfumerias, Ros Casares and Zaragoza. Perfumerias and Ros Casares are the teams of Sancho Lyttle and Erika de Souza respectively; it was going to be a long weekend for those two players.

The photos from the Championship Game are here. The photos from the celebration are here.

The first game put Ros Casares against Zaragoza, where Ros Casares won with a 75-52 victory. It was a virtual All-Star game of WNBA and Spanish league stars, and the player who distinguished herself the most was Amaya Valdemoro with 19 points in just 18 minutes of play. She shot 5-for-6 from the field and 8-for-9 from the line.

As for Erika de Souza, the line was:

13 points
5-for-11 from the field
3-for-6 from the free throw line
7 rebounds, but only one offensive rebound
One blocked shot

In the other semifinal game, Rivas Ecopolis and Perfumerias faced each other. Both teams have a standing of 13-1 in the regular season, but it looks like Rivas Ecopolis bowed out of a meaningless game and took a 90-53 dive.

Sancho Lyttle was the star of the game. Her line:

16 points
6-for-10 from the field
4-for-4 from the line
11 rebounds (Le'Coe Willingham had 12)
3 assists

This set up Ros Casares-Perfumerias in the finals, which could be a preview of the Liga Feminina finals. Ros Casares would take the victory 64-62 for their fourth consecutive Queen's Cup Championship.

It was a very close game throughout. With El Ros ahead 56-50 in the fourth quarter, Sancho Lyttle followed up with a pair of baskets and managed to close it to a 61-60 game with three minutes left. Perfumerias has the last possession of the game with six seconds left and could have tied it, but Sancho Lyttle's went in just beyond time expiring.

Belinda Snell led Ros Casares with 12 points. Laia Palau was the MVP and I understand that Erika de Souza had nine points. As soon as I find out more, I'll let you know.

UPDATE: Now you know.

The box score final game Queen's Cup is here.

Delisha Milton-Jones: 24 points, 6 rebounds
Erika de Souza: 9 points (4-for-6 shooting, 1-for-2 at the free throw line), 2 rebounds, one steal, four blocked shots, 35 minutes of play

Le'Coe Willingham: 18 points, 6 rebounds
Sancho Lyttle: 6 points (3-for-7 shooting, 0-for-1 at the free throw line), 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals, 6 turnovers, four personal fouls

Chamique Holdsclaw Signed by K. V. Imperial of Cyprus

No pictures of Holdsclaw, so we'll have to settle for Sherill Baker.

It looks like Chamique Holdsclaw will be returning back to international basketball. She played for the Good Angels of Slovakia before being unexpectedly cut, undoubtedly because the Good Angels wanted Holdsclaw to shoulder the blame for their poor start.

Holdsclaw will be playing for K. V. Imperial of Cyprus. K. V. Imperial, also known as AEL, now stands at 6-0 in the six-team Women's Cypriot A1 League.

Holdsclaw played yesterday in the 16th finals of Eurocup. Her AEL team won 93-65 against Dunav Econt Ruse in the city of Limassol in Cyprus.

Holdsclaw's Line:

17 points on 8-for-11 shooting
9 rebounds
4 assists

A box score, play-by-play score and a photo gallery can all be found right here.

Also signed by AEL was Sherill Baker. Baker has played four years in the WNBA, but only played one game in 2009, with Detroit. Cyprus League ball picks up again on Saturday with a game against AEK Larnaca.

Ten Best Dream Games from Individual Players in 2009

The Angel or the Beast?

10. Michelle Snow: In Game 18 of the regular season - a 98-95 overtime victory in Detroit - Angel McCoughtry and Ivory Latta combined to score 42 points. However, the only player with an honest-to-goodness double double was Michelle Snow, who scored 16 points and 12 rebounds. She shot 5-for-9 from the field, and with the game tied 87-87, a hook shot from Snow at the buzzer appeared to win the game. However, the video showed that the shot came just after time expired. Snow would pick up 1 point and 2 rebounds in the overtime period. Detroit almost sent the game into a second overtime, but Katie Smith's 3-pointer missed at the buzzer in overtime.

9. Erika de Souza: The Beast from Brazil would have two games in 2009 where she had 17 rebounds. Game 13 against Connecticut at home was one of them, a 72-67 win at Philips where she scored 12 points and 17 rebounds. De Souza also added four steals. Despite a 19 point halftime lead, Connecticut almost crawled back into the game, when Tan White closed the game to two points with 9 seconds left, 69-67. However, the next four scoring opportunities - all free throws - belonged to the Dream, where they hit three of four.

8. Sancho Lyttle: Lyttle was another explosive force, and she scored 20 points and eight rebounds in an 88-79 win over Seattle in Game 24 during a Philips Arena homestand. In the last minute of the game, Seattle's Sue Bird found Swin Cash to close the gap to 83-79, but Lyttle hit one of two following free throws, and with McCoughtry missing a pair of free throws after a loose ball foul, there was a scramble under the boards. Erika de Souza rebounded and missed, but Lyttle got the next rebound for a putback layup and her 20th point of the game, putting the Dream up by 7 points with half-a minute. Sue Bird missed a 3-pointer, and Lyttle got the follow-up rebound again, essentially sealing the game for the Dream.

Trivia: This was the game where Lauren Jackson scored her 5,000th career point.

7. Chamique Holdsclaw: Game 15 was a breakout game for Holdsclaw, and was truly the best of the year for her - a shame it had to happen in Minnesota. Holdsclaw looked like the old Holdsclaw, with 28 points, 7 rebounds and shooting 11-for-16 from the field in a 91-77 win over the Lynx. The Dream started the game with a 13-2 run and never looked back. Minnesota got to within one point in the fourth...and then The Claw scored eight more points. This was the second game where Holdsclaw scored 28 points this year, and it was the best one.

6. Angel McCoughtry: In Game 33, the Dream needed a win against visting Connecticut in the final regular season home game. The Dream got off to a hot start, scoring 30 points in the first quarter, and leading 53-36 at halftime. By the end of the third quarter the lead was 21 points.

Instrumental in the win was McCoughtry, who had 18 poipnts, 6 rebounds...and six steals, a defensive force that stymied the Sun. The win not only put the Dream in the playoffs, but would prove to be enough to secure second place in the Eastern Conference. Unfortunately for the Dream, it would be the very last win of the 2009 season as the Dream lost their final game against Washington and were swept by the Shock.

5. Erika de Souza (and 3. Angel McCoughtry): In Game 31, the Dream had to travel to Sacramento the night before playing Phoenix on the road - a team itching for revenge after losing 106-76 at Philips. If the Dream lost the first game of the back to back against the Monarchs, they likely wouldn't win the following game against the Mercury.

The Monarchs took a 54-51 lead into halftime, but the Dream pulled away with the road win, 98-90. (In Phoenix, the Dream wouldn't be so lucky.) Atlanta finished strong in the end. Angel McCoughtry had 26 points and 10 assists and Erika de Souza had 27 points and 13 rebounds. Combine those two performances and the Monarchs were doomed. Atlanta finished strong in the fourth quarter, and Sacramento faded away.

Let's look at each "line":

McCoughtry: 11-for-15, +12 plus/minus, 5 rebounds, 10 assists. (And only one personal foul!)
de Souza: 13-for-19, +18 plus/minus, 13 rebounds.

Unfortunately for Sacramento, there would be no hope of a 2010 rematch. The win was the final game played between the Dream and the Monarchs, as Sacramento folded during the off-season.

4. Angel McCoughtry: It seems that the Sky had Atlanta's number in 2009, and during Game 7, the Dream would take the Sky to overtime at Philips Arena. Angel McCoughtry was still earning the right to start, and she managed to put on a show for the Dream fans. With 15 seconds left and the Dream down 87-85, McCoughtry hit a pair of free thorws to tie the game at 87-87. Steven Key would put the ball in the hands of Jia Perkins, but her jump shot missed sending the game into overtime.

Unfortunately in the overtime, McCoughtry went 1-for-2 and picked up a personal foul. Down 99-96 in the overtime, McCoughtry's 3-pointer with 6 seconds left missed. Jennifer Lacy tried a three and missed as well, and Sancho Lyttle made a meaningless putback layup as time expired as the Dream lost 99-98.

McCoughty, however, had 26 points coming off the bench. She shot 9-for-16 and she had eight assists for the Dream that night. It was the first time in McCoughtry's career that she scored more than 20 points in a game - a feat she would match six other times in 2009.

3. See #5.

2. Angel McCoughtry: Remember that thing about Angel McCoughtry having several 20 point games this year? Well, we hadn't seen anything yet. As Atlanta was getting ready to finish a six-game homestand, Game 25 against the Silver Stars showed that even off the bench, McCoughtry would be an explosive force that put other teams in danger.

She would score 34 points against San Antonio in a 93-87 victory. She scored 10 points at the free throw line - and if she had hit her other seven free throw attempts, she would have had a 40+ point game. She also had seven rebounds and four assists.

Believe it or not, Marynell Meadors still wasn't quite ready to start her, Meadors saying that she liked the energy McCoughtry brought off the bench. Total time played by McCoughtry? TWenty eight minutes, 51 seconds. If she had started and not had foul trouble - McCoughtry finished with five fouls - who knows what McCoughtry might have accomplished?

1. Erika de Souza: Game 16 against the Indiana Fever in Indiana would end with Dream loss, but the Dream almost pulled off the win. The Dream were down 43-31 at halftime, but closed to 64-55 by the end of the third quarter.

Unforunately, the Dream could never get closer than five points in the fourth, and the Fever won 84-79. It was the Fever's 11th straight win after two opening losses. However, Erika de Souza did all she could do to break the Fever's winning streak, scoring 23 points and 14 rebounds - five of those rebounds taking place in the final quarter. Out of her 14 rebounds, seven were off the offensive glass. She shot 10-for-15 for the game.

If the Dream had beaten the Fever, two of Indiana's hypothetical three losses would have come aginst Atlanta. The Beast From Brazil's 23 points were a career high. One week later, de Souza played in her very first WNBA All-Star Game.

De Souza, Lacy Free Agents?

The esteemed SportsGuru over at RebKell suggests that Erika de Souza and Jennifer Lacy of the Atlanta Dream might be free agents of one kind or another - restricted or unrestricted.

Of course, the WNBA hasn't provided a list of free agents, unlike every other sports league in the country. What do they think they gain from keeping that information secret? Most likely, they've assumed that their fans don't care.

With a decreased salary cap for 2010, this leads to questions about whether or not de Souza can be re-signed. Would de Souza ask for more? Would this put Atlanta over the salary camp?

There is also the hypothesis from the Atlanta Dream Message Board that GM Marynell Meadors could decide not to sign Lacy - if a) she wanted to get rid of Chamique Holdsclaw because b) she concluded that Angel McCoughtry was the wave of the future.

Once again, the fans of other leagues have meat to chew on during the off-season. We get table scraps.

Shalee Lehning Interviewed by K-Stated Blog

The K-Stated Blog asks Shalee Lehning a few questions:

Do you ever see yourself going into broadcasting now that you’re a coach?

Coaching was first and foremost, that has always been a dream of mine to get into coaching. I didn’t realize it would happen this early into my career, but broadcasting would probably be my second choice. At some time down the road, if I get out of coaching, broadcasting will definitely be an option.

Will you do any recruiting while you’re out [in Atlanta]?

Yeah, as much as I can. I’ll probably be out making a lot of phone calls and writing a lot of e-mails. For that stuff it doesn’t matter where I’m at. As far as going out and watching, I won’t be able to do that. They’ll just send somebody out in place of me. But at the same time I can do a lot of my work without being in Manhattan.

MaChelle Joseph of Georgia Tech better watch out. There's a new recruiter in town.

Eurocup 16th Finals Game 1: Dynamo Kursk 95, Besitkas 69

Dynamo Kursk, which is where Michelle Snow is playing, won big in Game 1 of their "Best of Two" series. All of the info you need is here.

Note that this is a "best of two" series. Since Dynamo Kursk won by 26 points, Besitkas needs to win by 27 points or more next week to move to the next round. And with Game 2 in Kursk, I don't think that's going to happen.

Interesting note #1: only 200 spectators in Istanbul. Turkish basketball usually draws good crowd. I wonder why the attendance to this game was so low?
Interesting note #2: Nykesha Sales's name translated in one article into "Nike Salesman".

Michelle Snow's stats:

20 minutes played
16 points, 7-fo-14 shooting, 0-for-1 from 3-point range
2-for-5 at the free throw line
4 rebounds
2 assists

Nykesha Sales scored 28 points for Besitkas, and Jillian Robbins had a 20 point, 12 rebound game. Snowtyme's game, however, was not that bad. There will be pics, if I can find them.

Lehning Adds Coach to Her Accomplishments

Shalee Lehning has just been named an assistant coach at Kansas State. From the linked article:

"Shalee Lehning is a tremendous addition to our staff," said Patterson about her new assistant. "Like Andria Jones, before her, she is a KSU women's basketball program alum who epitomizes the excellence of character and achievement, the passion, intensity and loyalty that the Kansas State women's basketball program is known for. Shalee brings a great work ethic and tremendous people and leadership skills to our staff and program. Her passion for and thorough knowledge of our program philosophies and system, her teaching skills and her love of Kansas State University are all attributes that will make her an excellent recruiter and coach."

Lehning becomes the second part-time coach on the Dream staff. Armintie Price is a coach for Mississippi. I use the phrase "part time" because her work as a coach will not interfere with playing on the Dream. Congratulations, Shalee!

New Post at Swish Appeal

I have a new post up at Swish Appeal, called "Which Atlanta Dream Players are Most Instrumental to Team Wins"? You might want to give Swish Appeal a visit to read it.

Iziane Gets Some Help from the Senate

The Painel do Basquete Feminino reports on a blog entry at the Blog Laguna, that Iziane Castro Marques might be returning to the Brazilian women's basketball team - because she has the support of Brazilian senator José Sarney.

"I met with the Sarney here in St. Louis at the end of the year, and he wants me to go back to shine in the national team. I told the senator that if Bassul out, I'll come back.Nevertheless, I do not know how much support it can influence on my return, "said the player DAILY yesterday.

José Sarney is not just any other Brazilian politician - he is the current President of the Senate in Brazil and he was the former President of Brazil. Influential? Definitely.

My prediction is that Bassul is toast. Iziane will be playing for Brazil. The fix is in.

Old School Video

Sue Bird finds Swin Cash for an easy two in a UConn game against Penn State in 2000.

This Week's Schedule

Spanish basketball doesn't pick up until the 16th, but the Copa de la Reina takes place.

Thursday

Eurocup 16th Finals (Game 1 of 2): Besitkas (Turkey) vs. Dynamo Kursk

Saturday

Queen's Cup (Spain): Rivas Ecopolis vs. Perfumerias
Queen's Cup (Spain): Ros Casares vs. Zaragoza

Sunday

Queen's Cup (Spain): Finals match, if applicable
Slovakia Extraliga: Presov (11-5) vs. Good Angels (16-0)
Russian Superleague A: Dynamo Kursk (5-3) vs. Spartak Moscow (7-1)
TBBL: Mersin (8-1) vs. Ceyhan (5-4)
PLKK: Artego (3-11) vs. Krakow (9-5)

Baylor 99, Texas State 18

No, this score isn't incorrect. Baylor defeated Texas State by 81 points last night. Britney Griner became the second woman in women's college basketball history to dunk twice in a game. The first woman to do it was Candace Parker.

From the Los Angeles Times:

Even when the coach has the best intentions to try and keep the game respectful it can get out of hand. Auriemma played his reserves most of the second half and the lead still increased.

"You got guys off the bench who want to play well," Auriemma said. "The other team is struggling to put points on the board and if you're not careful it becomes kind of ragged."

Auriemma was commenting after his #1 Connecticut Huskies beat Seton Hall 91-24. That's not a typo. That's a 67-point win.

Back to Baylor. Texas State was held to 9.2 percent shooting. Baylor led 24-0 before Texas State scored their first basket nine minutes into the game.

I'm frankly disgusted. Baylor still had Griner there in the second half. If she's there because she "needs experience" as one commenter from the Waco Tribune wrote, my question is "experience for what?" Experience in game situations against teams that clearly can't compete with you and probably just want to go home? This "experience" isn't going to prepare you against Texas or Kansas State.

If I were Kim Mulkey, I would have put down some hard and fast rules. Three passes before taking a shot. Then four. Then five. Then freakin' six if necessary. Nothing good comes out of humiliating an opponent by 81 points. You take all your starters out, put in your weakest players, and refuse to substitute for them. Anything you can think of to handicap yourself.

When a superior player in chess faces an inferior, they'll play at "knight odds" - the superior player will remove one of his knights before play. Or perhaps both knights, or even a rook or a queen. That's to make it a contest. The fault lies with Kim Mulkey if she's not creative enough to figure out a way to do that. As for Griner's dunks, let her dunk against a Power Conference team - then I'll be impressed, even if it's just against Seton Hall.

Another Chapter in the Boring Iziane Novel

...as Bert calls it at the Painel do Basquete Feminino. One again, Iziane Castro Marques makes it as plain as she's made it over the last few months that if Paulo Bassul remains coach of the Brazil Women's Basketball Team, then Iziane will not play. However, Iziane says something to the effect that "the door is open" now that Bassul has not yet signed a new contract.

As one commenter on the Painel do Basquete Feminino blog stated, the problem is that Iziane refuses to give even a few apologetic words. Unfortunately for the Brazilians, she's also one of their best players.

At 2:21 in the video linked at this website, Iziane talks to the television show "Good Morning Mirante". Unfortunately, I can't speak Portugese.

My bet? Iziane is talking about the whole Paulo Bassul thing. (The actual incident where Iziane refused to return to the floor happens at 4:07.) Oh yes, and the future of Brazilian basketball.

A YouTube Top Ten for 2009

WNBA Guy gives us his Top Ten Moments of the WNBA season.

Happy New Year from Armintie Price!

In addition to the Pleasant Dreams blog, there is also the Dream Diary, the official Atlanta Dream blog. Arminite Price helps us ring in the New Year:

I met with the Shot Doctor the week before Christmas and it went great. I am supposed to meet with him again before the season.

Until next time Fans…

Love ya and Go Dream!

I hope that the Shot Doctor is the cure for all ills, real or perceived.