Last night's game: Los Angeles @ Washington

I watched last night's Los Angeles / Washington matchup on ESPN. I was hoping for a Los Angeles win simply to keep Washington from picking up any speed in the Eastern Conference.

I don't have any deep analysis to give you.  I still can't identify the pick and roll when it happens.  I can tell you that:

* Nneka Ogwumike, still recovering from a high ankle strain, can single-handedly bring an abysmal Sparks team up to the level of the San Antonio Stars.  Who can figure what she can do when she's fully healthy?

* Emma Meesseman is the real deal.

* It is funny when a player whose hair is dyed purple puts on the "what, lil' ol innocent me?" look when called for a foul.  That's the same player that made a stupid foul on a buzzer-beating shot in the first quarter that sent the player to the line.

* Yes, Ivory Latta can come up big in games, but there are nights when she won't hit anything.  She a "high variance" player in statistical lingo.  Generally, it is better to have a player who will either score 5 points or 25 poitns on a night than a player who will score 15 every night - those 25-point games will bring you closer to a championship if you have a good bench.

* Big game for Tierra Ruffin-Pratt.

* Everyone really hates Carolyn Peck/Pam Ward.  I can see why they do, sometimes they get caught up in their own little universe and completely ignore the play-by-play aspect of the game.  But they also tell you things that you might not have known - that Meesseman is as quiet and unassuming as Latta is talkative (and Latta is very talkative), that Thibault looks for high IQ basketball players and that he doesn't buy into the "Power 5 Conferences Only" theory of drafting.  Useful information to know.

Ivory Latta Released by Dream

The Ivory Latta era is over...again. Today, Ivory Latta was released by the Atlanta Dream for the second time in her career.

The news release is here.

Quoteth the coach:

"On behalf of our entire organization, I would like to thank Ivory for her contributions on and off the court," said Dream General Manager & Head Coach Marynell Meadors. "Ivory has been an important part of this franchise since our inaugural season and we wish her the best in the future."

My immediate thoughts:

1. With the Ivory Latta Depature v. 2, this leaves only three players who have played for the Dream the entirety of its existence: Erika de Souza, Jennifer Lacy, and Iziane Castro Marques.

2. It doesn't guarantee that this is Latta's last departure. Last year, Latta was the final cut of the Dream training camp...but when Nikki Teasley bailed out the Dream needed someone who could throw the three...so Latta came back.

3. If Demetress Adams makes the team this frees her up to wear #12. However, she wore #24 at South Carolina, she's wearing #12 in international ball.

4. It is my hope that this finally ends the battle over Latta vs. Lehning.

This battle has consumed the psychic energy of Atlanta Dream fandom. All of last year this battle was fought in comment threads and message boards. It got very ugly, generating a lot of ill will between fans with charges that Marynell Meadors was racist for letting Latta go in favor of the white point guard. As long as both players (and Meadors) were on the team, the fight was always going to be there.

Hopefully, it's over now. For better or for worst (hopefully for better), it looks like either Shalee Lehning or Kelly Miller will be the Atlanta Dream point guard. A lot of Ivory Latta fans are going to be seriously bummed out. Some will abandon the Dream as Latta goes. The rest of us will just have to carry on.

I was very lucky to talk to Ivory Latta several times, particularly during the 2008-09 season. Nothing personal, just game post-mortem. She was always extremely polite and could always address the losses - she was one of the bright points in a horrible 2008 season. I don't know why she can't stay with a team, but one-on-one she's a charming person. I wish her the very best of luck and I hope that she catches on with someone else. (Preferably in the Western Conference!)

TBBL 17/2009 - Mersin 87, Beşiktaş 80

Mersin improved its record for the year to 16-1 with an 87-80 win on the road against Beşiktaş. Beşiktaş falls to 8-10 on the year.

The box score is here.

It was an evenly matched 24-24 first quarter...and second quarter as well. Beşiktaş led 46-44 at halftime. It looks, however, as if Mersin was able to slowly edge ahead and secure a second half victory. (Really, there wasn't much of a writeup on the Turkish League web site, and the league is generally good at that.)

Shavonte Zellous scored 25 points and had six rebounds for Beşiktaş. Kelly Santos added 15 points and seven rebounds and Nykesha Sales scored 12 points and six rebounds.

Three players broke double-digits for Mersin. Barbara Turner scored 14 points, six rebounds and four assists and Korel Engin added 13 points and seven rebounds.

The high scorer of the game? Ivory Latta.

23 points
10-for-10 free throw shooting
2 rebounds
3 assists
2 steals
27 minutes played

TBBL 16/2009 - Mersin 89, Samsun 61

Mersin continues to keep a firm lock on second place. Samsun (6-11) came visiting, and provided a first-quarter challenge but Mersin had a big second quarter to secure an 89-61 win.

Mersin advances to 15-1. The box score is here.

A 3-pointer by Mersin's Barbara Turner put Mersin up 10-5, but Samsun came back and actually had an 18-17 lead after ten minutes. Mersin went on the attack in the second quarter, and Samsun's offense could only put together nine second-quarter points. Mersin lead 41-27 at halftime.

In the third quarter, Mersin took a 20-point lead, going up 63-43 by the end of the third. There would be no miracle comeback for Samsun.

Samsun's Gulsah Akkaya led the visitors with 12 points, four rebounds and five assists. Saynur Tozlu had 10 points and six rebounds in 22 minutes of play.

For Mersin, Korel Engin was leading scorer with 15 points and seven rebounds. Barbara Turner scored 12 points and nine rebounds, shooting 2-for-7 from 3-point range.

Ivory Latta didn't have much of a shooting game - but she was terrific at dishing the ball:

5 points
1-for-6 shooting
2 rebounds
9 assists
22 minutes of play

Latta's New Do

This is a picture from last week's Mersin-Tarsus game. There are new pics up on the Turkish League website, but this is the only one of Ivory Latta.

I don't remember Ivory Latta's hair being that long. It's a nice look. But isn't that Chantelle Anderson's hair?

Other Games (Thursday-Saturday)

Good Angels Kosice 92, Ruzomberok 65. How crazy it is to play a possibly meaningless post season "Stage Two" game in Slovakia the day before what could be a decisive Game Two of Euroleague on Friday? However, both Angel McCoughtry and Candice Dupree took part in the Good Angels's ass-whooping of Ruzomberok. McCoughtry had 22 points and eight rebounds; Dupree added 21 points and nine rebounds.

Mersin 79, Botus 71. Mersin remains firmly in second place with a victory on the road against Botas. Ivory Latta lit up shooting with 26 points, hitting 4-for-6 from 3-point range. Erlana Larkins had 25 points and nine rebounds for Mersin. Chasity Melvinled the losers with an 18 point, 12 rebound double-double.

TBBL 14/2009 - Mersin 67, Tarsus 62

I was hoping for a chance to get some more information about yesterday's game between Mersin and Tarsus in the Turkish League, but all I have is the box score. Mersin beat visiting Tarsus 67-62 in a reunion between Ivory Latta (Mersin) and Betty Lennox (Tarsus), the two major players of the 2008 Atlanta Dream.

The win puts Mersin up at 13-1 and in second place. Tarsus falls to 7-8. The box score is here.

It looks like a back and forth game: Tarsus led 16-15 at the first; Mersin led 32-27 at halftime. Tarsus closes the gap to 47-45 at the end of three quarters, but Mersin makes a final push at the end and gets over the top.

Chantel Black scored 17 points and 10 rebounds for Tarsus. Betty Lennox added nine points and 10 rebounds in just 21 minutes of play.

Erlana Larkins and Olympia Scott had double-digit games for Mersin. The leading scorer for Mersin? Ivory Latta:

16 points
3-for-8 shooting
5 points
2 assists

Pics from the Mersin-Kayseri Game

A couple of pictures of Ivory Latta from last week's Mersin-Kayseri Game. These were snagged from the TBBL website; you can find that website right here. The pictures are displayed in the upper left hand corner; these are #9 and #10 in the sequence.




Two impressions:

1) I don't like those Mersin uniforms, and
2) It doesn't look like a well-attended game.

TBBL 13/2009 - Mersin 69, Kayseri 66

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TBBL 12/2009 - Mersin 78, Kocaeli 54

Mersin had two advantages going into the game against Kocaeli. The first was that Mersin was playing at home. The second was that Kocaeli had not won a TBBL game this year. It was enough for Mersin, who advanced to 11-1 in the Turkish league with a 78-54 win over 0-12 Mersin.

The box score is here.

Most of the really good teams in Turkish ball have a lot of WNBA players. Kocaeli had no WNBA players, and Turkish basketball hasn't quite caught up with the United States. Kocaeli barely led 15-14 after the first quarter, but Mersin won the following three quarters.

Ceyda Kozuka led Kocaeli with 16 points and 3 rebounds. Asli Sevinc scored eight points and 14 rebounds for the visitors.

And who was the best player for Mersin? Erlana Larkins had nine points and 12 rebounds, and Korel Engin had 12 points and 12 rebounds. Mersin had some great shooting for this game. Ivory Latta, however, was Mersin's leading scorer:

16 points
3 rebounds
4 assists
3-for-6 from 2-point range
3-for-6 from 3-point range
23 minutes of play

Hopefully, the TBBL will put up some pics of this game.

TBBL All Star Game 2010 - World 108, Turkey 78

The Turkish Women's Basketball League held their All-Star Game this Sunday, and their version was "Turkey vs. The World". However, "the World" was stuffed with current and former WNBA stars and the results were what you would expect: a 108-78 victory in favor of the non-Turks.

The box score is here.

The Turks actually started the game 6-0 and managed to only be down by one point, 25-24, at the end of the first quarter. By halftime, the Turks were still within striking distance, 50-42. Unfortunately in the second half the Turks were outgunned by a factor of 58-36 and the WNBA showed why it's the best women's basketball league in the world.

I suspect that not much defense was played. The Turks took 91 shots; the World took 107 shots. The World shot 46-107 with a clear advantage over the Turks and outrebounded them 72 to 39.

Nykesha Sales was named the Most Valuable Player, scoring 21 points and eight rebounds. Tuba Palazolu led the Turkish team with 15 points. Nevriye Ylmaz had 4 points and 11 rebounds.

Ivory Latta did not start, but she had a good game:

12 points on 5-for-10 shooting
2-for-5 from three point range
5 rebounds
3 assists
19 minutes played

Ivory Latta Makes All-Star Game in Turkey

Reception time!

On Sunday, the All-Star Game will take place in Turkey. It seems to be a "Turkey vs. the World" format, and Ivory Latta has earned a spot on the World All-Stars for Turkey. Latta is averaging 13.5 points per game and 3.7 assists per game.

The complete rosters:

Turkey vs. The World!!

Turkey

04. Tuğba Palazoğlu Galatasaray
06. Birsel Vardarlı Fenerbahçe
07. Nilay Yiğit Galatasaray
09. Gergena Branzova Erdenay Beşiktaş Cola Turka
10. Sariye Gökçe Mersin Büyükşehir Belediyesi
11. Nevriye Yılmaz Fenerbahçe
13. Yasemin Horasan Galatasaray
14. Gülşah Gümüşay Botaş
24. Kübra Siyahdemir Tarsus Belediye
32. Naile İvegin Beşiktaş Cola Turka
33. Esra Ural Panküp Kayseri Şeker
55. Gülşah Akkaya Samsun Basketbol

Coach: Ayhan Avcı, Panküp

The World

04. Doneeka Donyell Hodges İstanbul Üniversitesi
10. Chasity Monique Melvin Botaş (replaces Yelena Leuchanka, out due to injury)
12. Matee Ajavon Fenerbahçe
13. Julie Mc Bride Panküp Kayseri Şeker
14. Panny Taylor Fenerbahçe
15. Tamara Sutton Brown Fenerbahçe
20. Nykesha Sales Beşiktaş Cola Turka
21. Sharnee Zoll Botaş
22. Barbara Turner Mersin Büyükşehir Belediyesi
33. Ivory Rochelle Latta Mersin Büyükşehir Belediyesi
34. Michelle Marie Campbell Ceyhan Belediyesi
40. Megan Frazeee Çankaya Üniversitesi

Coach: Haydar Kemal Ateş, Fenerbahçe

Congratulations to Ivory Latta!

TBBL Mersin 85, Istanbul 53

Mersin picks up its 10th win in 11 games in Turkish league play with a 85-53 win over Istanbul University. Mersin still remains 1/2 game behind 10-0 Fenerbahce.

The box score (in Turkish) is here. There's no write-up of the game as of yet.

Jocelyn Penn was the top player for Istanbul with 11 points and eight rebounds. Penn last played for the WNBA in 2004.

For Mersin, the top player was Erlana Larkins with 17 points and 12 rebounds, with 7-for-7 shooting.

Ivory Latta's line:

11 points in 24 minutes of play:
2-for-9 shooting (with one 3-pointer) but 6-for-6 at the free throw line.
2 rebounds
4 assists
4 steals

A Picture of Ivory Latta

This picture is from last week's win by Mersin against Ceyhan. Unfortunately, it was the only picture of Ivory Latta on the TBBL website, so I thought I should catch it before it disappears.

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

TBBL 3/2009 - Mersin 84, Kayseri 82

For the first time in a long time, Ivory Latta got to say hello to her old Atlanta Dream teammate Tamera Young. (As well as 2008 teammate Kasha Terry.) This time, they would be on the opposite sides of the battle, with each team hoping to get over .500. Latta was the number one scorer for Mersin (2-1) and Young tied for the top scorer for Kayseri (1-2), but it looks like Mersin squeaked by with the win at home, 84-82.

The box score is here. Usually, the Turkey Women's Basketball League will at least have a write-up, and some pictures. I think this is the very first time I've seen a box score without a write-up. And of course, no pictures, as those usually come a day later.

So all we have is the box score. Seems like it was a close game. It was Kayseri that came up on top in the first quarter, leading 22-15 over Mersin, one of the heavyweights of the TBBL. Mersin would have to scrap their way back, and were only down by three points at halftime, 42-39.

Coming out of the first half, Mersin outscored visiting Kayseri 25-19 to take a 64-61 lead into what must have been a hard-fought fourth quarter, but Mersin came out on top.

Let's look at the Four Factors of the game:

Field goal percentage: Kayseri 49 percent, Mersin 46 percent. However, Mersin took 71 shots compared to Kayseri's 51. Mersin was 12-for-22 from the 3-point range.
Turnovers: Kayseri 17, Mersin 19. Almost even.
Offensive rebound percentage: Mersin 31 percent, Kayseri 11 percent. Another big edge for Mersin, as Kayseri only had three offensive rebounds.
Free throws: Kayseri 23-for-29, Mersin 6-for-8. This is where Mersin almost lost the game - on the free throw line. Mersin committed 22 fouls in the game (and Sariye Gokce fouled out); Kaseri only committed 13.

And now, the game performances:

Mersin

Ivory Latta: 24 points, 6 assists. She was only 3-for-11 from 2-point range, but a deadly 5-for-6 from behind the 3-point arc.
Erlana Larkins: 10 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists. Larkins's double-double was not the only one of the game.
Barbara Turner: 10 points, 4 rebounds.
Olympia Scott: 8 points, 6 rebounds. 4 turnovers.

Kayseri

Latoya Pringle: 18 points, 13 rebounds, for the other double-double. 6-for-13 overall shooting, and five turnovers.
Tamera Young: 18 points, 4 steals. 7-for-10 overall shooting. A very pleasant performance.
Julie McBride: 16 points, but 6 turnovers. The Syracuse grad briefly played for the Chicago Sky in their inaugural year.
Kasha Terry: 6 points and 3 rebounds in 14 minutes of play.

TBBL 2/2009 - Fenerbahce 71, Mersin 61

Olympia Scott tries to stop the Yellow Navy.

It just seems to go back and forth between Fenerbahce (2-0), the winner of last year's TBBL championship, and Mersin (1-1), the runner up last year and winner of the President's Cup game against Fenerbahce this year. This time, the defending champions managed to hold off Mersin, winning 71-61 at home.

The box score is here. A write-up of the game is here.

Fenerbahce scored the first few points, but Mersin came back to close to within 11-9. However, the "Yellow Navy" of Fenerbahce started to pull away, leading 18-11 after ten minutes and 27-17 in the second quarter. I believe at one point Fenerbahce led by 15 at one point in the second but they took a 38-28 halftime lead.

Barbara Turner played well, but Ivory Latta did not. Both could only watch as Fenerbahce extended the lead to 15 again and with five minutes to go, the lead was still at 15 for Fenerbahce.

A look at the Four Factors of the game:

Field goal percentage: Fenerbahce 46 percent, Mersin 38 percent. Fenerbahce was 5-for-11 from 3-point range, Mersin was 2-fo-10.
Turnovers: Fenerbahce 13, Mersin 16 - advantage to Fenerbahce again.
Offensive rebound percentage: Mersin 28 percent, Fenerbahce 25 percent. About even. Tammy Sutton-Brown led both teams in offensive rebounds with three.
Free throws: Mersin 19-for-23, Fenerbahce 10-for-14. It could have been a lot worse for Mersin.

The individual performances:

Fenerbahce

Tammy Sutton-Brown: 20 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists. 9-for-15 shooting for the Indiana Fever player.
Nicole Powell: 17 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists for the Sacramento Monarchs player.
Nevriye Yilmaz: 12 points, 6 rebounds.
Kristen Nevlin: 12 points and 6 rebounds for the Stanford graduate. (Known as "Newlin" when playing for Stanford.)
Penny Taylor: 2 points on 0-for-5 shooting. Played 16 minutes.
Matee Ajavon: One point in eight minutes of play.

Mersin

Olympia Scott: 17 points, 5 rebounds.
Barbara Turner: 16 points, 4 rebounds, 4 turnovers.
Erlana Larkins: 11 points, 7 rebounds.
Ivory Latta: 10 points on 1-for-8 shooting. (Latta was 8-for-8 at the free throw line.) She had six of Mersin's 16 turnovers.

Gallery: Mersin/Kokaeli

There are some pictures up of the Mersin-Kokaeli game at the TBBL website, but the only picture with Ivory Latta is the one above. However, if you're a fan of Olympia Taylor, Barbara Turner or Erlana Larkins you might find some pics.

1/2009 TBBL - Mersin 78, Kocaeli 58

Mersin (1-0) - the new team for Ivory Latta - is hoping to return to the TBBL finals this year. Kocaeli (0-1) was promoted from TBBL2 to the big leagues last year and is just hoping to stay alive. (One problem for Kocaeli - no WNBA players on the roster.) Mersin had no problem with getting their first win at home, 78-58.

The box score is here. No pictures just yet.

It looked like this game was going to be decided early. Mersin started out the game 13-4 and led 21-10 after the first quarter. However, Kocaeli surprised the home team by fighting back to within three points, 23-20 in the second quarter. Mersin closed the first half 39-33.

Barbara Turner had a good third quarter to help Mersin take a 54-38 lead at one point in the third quarter. Mersin held their sixteen-point lead at the end of 30 minutes, and led by 23 points - 71-49 - at one point in the fourth quarter.

Let's take a look at the Four Factors of the game:

Field goal percentage: Mersin 37 percent, Kocaeli 36 percent. Neither team shot well, but Mersin went 7-for-28 in 3-point shooting. Yes, that's 28 3-point attempts. All in all, Mersin made 76 field goal attempts and Kocaeli just 58.
Turnovers: Mersin 16, Kocaeli 28. The TK column is the turnover column.
Offensive rebound percentage: Mersin 29 percent, Kocaeli 21 percent. Kocaeli had 42 rebounds altogether; Mersin had 40.
Free throws: Mersin 15-for-21, Kocaeli 13-for-17.

And the performances:

Mersin

Olympia Scott: 12 points, 8 rebounds.
Barbara Turner: 11 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists.
Erlana Larkins: 7 points, 8 rebounds.
Ivory Latta: 9 points, 3 assists. Latta only played for 20 minutes.

Kocaeli

Ceyda Kozluca: 15 points, 4 rebounds.
Meryem Kolayli: 13 points, 9 rebounds. According to Translate Google, she's "Mary Easy".


Seda Bayraktar: 12 points, 5 rebounds.

President's Cup/2009 TBBL - Mersin 86, Fenerbahce 74

Ivory Latta greets her new teammates.

It looks like I'm a little bit late on reporting on the President's Cup in the TBBL - the Turkish Women's Basketball League. It looks like the Turkish season gets started with the President's Cup, and Mersin - which was swept 3-0 in the TBBL championship last year - gained some measure of revenge with an 86-74 win over defending champion Fenerbahce.

Finding a box score is going to be a little difficult, as it seems that the TBBL hasn't stored it anywhere - the game doesn't count as a regular season game. Furthermore, let's just say that Turkish isn't Google Translate's strongest point, particularly when it comes to sports reporting.

So what do we know about the game?

* We know that Ivory Latta played in it.
* We know that Mersin led 22-16 at the end of the first quarter and 48-31 at the half.
* We know that Fenerbahce started the third quarter with an 8-0 run.
* However, Mersin would score the next 13 points to make it a 61-39 game. Fenerbahce closed to withing 69-54 at the end of the third period.
* Mersin would take a 20 point lead at one point in the fourth, 79-59. Clearly, Mersin was in control.

We also have some idea of the game leaders:

Fenerbahce

Penny Taylor: 18 points, 3 rebounds from the Phoenix Mercury forward.
Nevin Nevlin: 17 points, 8 rebounds from the former Kristin Newlin, a graduate from Stanford in 2007. Newlin became a naturalized Turkish citizen and changed her name to Nevlin.
Nicole Powell: 9 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists. Powell is another Stanford graduate who now plays for the Monarchs.
Tammy Sutton-Brown: 6 points, 2 rebounds from the Indiana Fever center.
Matee Ajavon: 5 points, 3 assists from the Rutgers grad who has played for both Houston and Washington.

Mersin

Ivory Latta: 27 points, 4 assists. A big game for Ivory Latta.
Erlana Larkins: 18 points, 8 rebounds. Larkins, a forward for the New York Liberty, played for Turkish team Samsun last year.
Olympia Scott: 14 points, 5 rebounds. Scott played for several teams in the WNBA until 2005.
Barbara Turner: 6 points, 4 rebounds. Turner is currently a guard for the Connecticut Sun.