Erika on Univision

A picture of Erika de Souza visiting Spanish-language Univision for an interview. Both Erika and Iziane Castro Marques were interviewed. The picture is from the Atlanta Dream Facebook Page.

Good that they showed up on Univision, but I hope Univision didn't think that they spoke Spanish. Erika and Iziane speak Portugese as native Brazilians.

Ó Pátria amada!

Q: Who are the only two Brazilians playing in the WNBA?

Just a wonderful picture posted by the Atlanta Dream Facebook Page. So if you're into social media, give it a visit. You'll find that it's chock-full of goodness like the picture above.

De Souza Also Ready for Opener

Pierce W. Huff of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports on Erika de Souza's arrival in training camp. She literally arrived in camp on Media Day:

Meadors said the only change she will make to help de Souza early in the season is to limit her practice time instead of her game time. Her goal is to conserve the wear and tear on de Souza's legs.

De Souza talked about Brazil a little bit....

“Rio is like having a country inside a city,” she said. “You can find everything there, nice people, wonderful nature, beach, friends, and this is my eternal home. People in Brazil poke fun on cariocas [citizens of Rio], telling them that we are ‘players,’ and this happens because in Sao Paulo and south Brazil, as it is colder, they have a different way of having fun, to see life.”

But to me, this was the most important part of the article. De Souza plays basketball for something beyond the love of the game - there are a lot of people depending on her....

De Souza uses some of the money earned from playing in the Euroleague and the WNBA to provide for her younger brothers, grandmother and father back in Rio.

“It is important that they have the opportunity to have a better chance in life,” she said. “In Brazil, the private schools are expensive, and it is important to invest in it in order to have the best scholarship as possible. Talking about my grandmother, I must confess I spoil her, everything she wants and I need I buy for her. She is my mom right now.”

What's the rule? IF YOU DON'T CLICK ON THE ARTICLE, THEY DON'T THINK YOU'RE INTERESTED. So show the lugnuts at the AJC something and click like a mad person. (End of rant.)

Digest 04-2010

* Mean Brigitte
* Erika de Souza (and others) Not Returning to Ros Casares
* Joe Maloof's Bizarre Plea
* The Future of NCAA Women's Basketball: Austin Murphy and Conference Realignment
* This Week's Games (That Weren't in the USA)






One of the arrivals in Atlanta training camp for 2010 is Georgia Tech graduate Brigitte Ardossi. Ardossi was the second round draft pick for the Atlanta Dream this year out of Georgia Tech university. For those who have never heard of Ardossi, Ardossi is a power forward who was forced to step up in a big way for Georgia Tech basketball this year when scorer Alex Montgomery - a junior in 2009-10 - was sidelined for much of the season recovering from an ACL injury. There were many games for the Yellow Jackets where Ardossi more or less carried the team on her back, scoring many of her points off of her own offensive rebounds.

Ardossi is a native Australian as well. She was written up in the Australian newspaper The Age.

From the link above:

''Six-foot-one, probably the quickest player out on the court and had a mean, very competitive streak in her,'' [Coach Adrian Giblin] said. ''It made her a bit of a handful to coach, but also made her a delight to coach because you knew she wanted the ball and wanted to win. That's a head start from anyone.''

Another interesting kernel of information was her background in netball:

Ardossi, at that stage, was also committed to netball. Although she eventually opted to give up on pursuing the sport in favour of basketball, Giblin said the skills she learnt from that code made her a much more damaging player.

'Her netball background gave her a bit of a leg-up because she was so agile and she moved brilliantly laterally, so she could go side-to-side as well as going forwards and backwards,'' [Giblin] said.

Interestingly enough, Ardossi is not the only potential Dreamer with a netball background. According to Mechelle Voepel, Sancho Lyttle also had a netball background and was on a national netball team with Sophia Young at one time.

The article implied that Australian basketball is keeping its eye on Ardossi. It's hard to say if Ardossi can make the dream, but the WNBL - the Women's National Basketball League, the premiere league in Australia - might be interested in having Ardossi on a team. There's also an outside chance that Ardossi could make the "Opals" - the Australian women's national basketball team.

Followers of women's basketball might be seeing Brigitte Ardossi for a long time...if not in the WNBA, then elsewhere.

(* * *)

For at least the last couple of years, Dream player Erika de Souza has been playing with the Ros Casares club in Spain. No longer. Erika de Souza will not be appearing in blue-and-orange next season. Neither will Amaya Valdemoro, Elisa Aguliar, Anna Montañana or Delisha Milton-Jones. After a Liga Femenina championshp and after making it to the finals of Euroleague, it looks like Ros Casares will be virtually disbanded. In addition, coach Isma Canto will be departing.

Currently, no definite information as to where de Souza will end up next year. The most likely destination is that of Perfumerias, the second-place finisher in the Liga Femenina and Ros Casares's opponent in the Liga Femenina Finals. This would put Erika de Souza on the same team with her Atlanta Dream teammate Sancho Lyttle.

(* * *)

An article by Ailene Voisin for the Sacramento Bee reports that Joe Maloof, the owner of the former Sacramento Monarchs, would like to bring the Monarchs back to Sacramento.

Maloof plans to beg WNBA President Donna Orender and plead with NBA Commissioner David Stern to reinstate the original WNBA franchise that captured the 2005 championship and routinely ranked near the middle in attendance.

"Just give us a few years," the Kings co-owner insisted. "Timing is everything."

For those of you new to women's basketball fandom, the Monarchs were one of the eight original WNBA franchises. On November 20, 2009, the Maloof brothers - owners of the Monarchs - folded the team. According to Mechelle Voepel at ESPN, even the employees of the team weren't informed - employees, season-ticket holders and the press all found out the same way, by press release. The idea was that with the Monarchs folded, the Maloofs would devote all of their energy to the Sacramento Kings - the NBA franchise in Sacramento.

How much advance notice the WNBA was given is still a state secret. In practical terms, it left the WNBA to scramble to find new ownership mere weeks before teams needed to know the upcoming season schedule and before the positions for the 2010 WNBA Draft were determined. Add the facts that the American economy was in recession and that it's very hard to wheel and deal during Thanksgiving and prospects for the Monarchs relocation or resale looked bleak. On December 8, 2009, the WNBA gave up the effort and on December 14, 2009 the former Monarchs were dispersed across the league.

Some WNBA writers, like Mike DiMauro, were glad that the Maloofs were gone:

It's great news, just not for the people of Sacramento, who will miss their team.

But for the future of the league? This is beautiful. Because the WNBA just rid itself of a fraudulent ownership group.

The WNBA did not - and does not - need owners who feign interest in their franchises. It's still a problem. Some owners supported shrinking roster sizes from 13 to 11 last season, a move that crippled teams beset with injuries.

...

Let's be clear on this: Owners who spend more time cutting jobs than finding new and creative revenue streams (as some franchises did last summer) should get rid of their franchises forthwith. No, really. Get out. It's OK. Clearly, you tolerate your teams at best. So dump them. And then don't let the doorknob leave a lasting impression.

So given the difficulties that the Maloofs caused the league, why would this ever come up as an issue again. As the song says, "How can we miss you if you won't go away?"

My first question is: was this an unprompted comment? Was Voisin's discussion with Maloof specifically about the Monarchs? Or was it about several topics, with the Monarchs being one topic of many? The article failed to make that clear, and context would help us a lot. Furthermore, did Joe Maloof contact Voisin or vice-versa? All of the context for this conversation...is missing.

Context is important. If the conversation was about the Monarchs specifically, or if Joe Maloof initiated the conversation, it might indicate that Maloof really is interested in bringing the Monarchs back. But if Voisin posed the question, it could be that Maloof - to put it nicely - is feeding Voisin a massive line of horsepuckey. Maloof's thoughts might have been, "Hey, if I say something nice about the Monarchs I might be able to get a couple of ex-Monarchs fans to see Kings games."

The latter will probably never happen. WNBA fans and NBA fans tend not to overlap. The old Monarchs season-ticket holders would not want to be offered the Kings as a consolation prize, particularly if the unspoken message is "Ex-Monarchs fans, come and see the important Sacramento basketball team!" The impression left by the Maloofs when the Monarchs were dumped was that Monarchs fans were an afterthought to the Maloofs; it would take great effort by the Maloofs or Kings management to turn back the memories of that snub.

Let's assume that we're taking Joe Maloof's comments at face value - a dangerous proposition. Does the WNBA really want Joe Maloof back? It's not about the Monarchs being back; the W would be just as happy with some other owner with big pockets putting a team in Sacramento. Rather, it's about the Monarchs being back with Joe Maloof as the head.

Rick Horrow wrote in 2005 for CBS about the difficulties in starting a league. (Oddly enough, the Monarchs won their WNBA championship in 2005). One of the four factors that Horrow listed for a successful league was "The start-up league must attract a stable of emotionally and economically secure owners and investors committed for the long term."

Note the emphasis on emotional maturity. The WNBA doesn't need owners that will bail out at the first sign of trouble. No league does. At Pleasant Dreams I wrote the following in 2009:

For the WNBA, I think the more important question is that of the "emotionally secure" investors. How long have the owners of WNBA teams had their fortunes? How experienced are they as business managers? How likely are they to bail out at the first sign of trouble? I have my doubts about some of the WNBA owners - without naming names, I wonder if some of them really have the nerve - there's no nicer way to say it - to navigate the rough patches.

I wrote this in September 2009. Two months later, the Maloofs blinked in the face of the recession and the troubles with the Kings. They bailed. They didn't show emotional maturity, at least not on the WNBA side of the ledger. If Joe Maloof is being serious, the proper answer to the Maloofs by the WNBA , by the NBA and by Donna Orender or David Stern should be a collective "Joe...you can't be serious."


(* * *)

The May 3rd edition of Sports Illustrated had an interesting article from Austin Murphy regarding the realignment of the major conferences. The article focused on the changes in the college football landscape, as the money making (*) sport in college sports is college football and it is the sport that gets the most attention.

Over the past twenty years, conferences changing their membership lists should be no surprise. Penn State joined the Big Ten in 1990, expanding the conference to 11 teams (and giving the conference a rather inaccurate name). In 1991, Arkansas and South Carolina joined the Southeastern Conference. Two years later, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Baylor abandoned the Southwest conference to join the (former) Big Eight, spelling the beginning of the end of the Southwest Conference. The Atlantic Coast Conference picked up Florida State in 1991 and then raided the Big East in 1994, spiriting away Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College out of the Big East.

Currently, college sports is ruled by the six BCS (Bowl Championship Series) conferences: the ACC, the Big East, the Big Ten, the Big Twelve, the Southeastern Conference and the Pacific (Pac 10). However, if one read the above paragraph, you'd recognize that conference alignments are never fixed. The SI article gets underway with a mention of Jim Delany, the Big Ten commissioner, who mentioned that the "timing is right" for an expansion in twelve to eighteen months.

One rule in collegiate sports is that if football drives conference realignment, the other sports will have to follow. This includes our favorite sport, women's basketball. The article mentions three possible expansion scenarios, each with increasing impact on the sport scene.

Big Ten Plus One: The first scenario has Missouri becoming the twelfth team of the Big Ten. Sensing weakness in the Big Twelve - and wanting to increase the allure of their own national sports network - the Pacific Ten grabs Colorado from the Big Twelve and Utah from the Mountain West conference. The Big Twelve replenishes itself with the addition of Brigham Young and Texas Christian from the Mountain West. (This leaves the Mountain West as a six-team conference.)

Using the ratings from RealTimeRPI.com, how does each conference change in strength?

The addition of Missori to Big Ten women's basketball won't have Ohio State or Michigan State trembling in terror. Missouri would come into the Big Ten as the weakest team, probably replacing Northwestern (at least for a little while). The addition of Colorado and Utah will not affect the balance of power in the (hypothetical) Pac-12.

The teams added don't significantly affect this new version of the Big 12. Furthermore, the Big 12 actually gets stronger by swapping out some of its weaker members. The relative strength of each conference to each other doesn't change. But who is the real loser in this rearrangement of colleges? Texas Christian. The Horned Frogs women's basketball team finished as the Mountain West's regular season champion - they were eliminated in the quarter finals of the Mountain West tournament but went on to the NCAA Tournament where they were eliminated by Dayton.

But in a reconstituted Big 12, TCU wouldn't even be in the top half of participating teams. TCU would probably be buried under a mountain of Texas A&Ms and Oklahomas and Baylors and Texases and Iowa States. They'd have to play an extra game in the Big 12 tournament and would probably slip out of national notice - the NCAA would have to send seven or eight teams to the tournament from the Big East to get TCU in with the way things stand now. TCU might love the football money they get, but women's basketball would be a tradeoff - it might be easier for TCU to recruit but performance might suffer.

Big Ten Plus Three: The Big Ten decides to become a fourteen-team conference. The three teams that get added...Missouri...and Rutgers and Nebraska. Mama, hold the phone! The Big 14 want Rutgers for the New York connection, and New York has always been a hotbed of women's basketball talent. The Pac-10 add Colorado and Utah as indicated above. The Big Twelve drops to the Big Nine. The Big Nine could pick up TCU and Brigham Young as in the other scenario, but that would leave the last team to be either San Diego State, New Mexico, Wyoming, UNLV, Colorado State or Air Force - which would probably kill the Mountain West conference dead and leave the Colonial Athletic as the most powerful of the mid-majors.

So how does the Big 14 shape up? Rutgers gets itself out of the tough Big East conference and if Nebraska's amazing 2009-10 is The Shape of Things to Come, then the Big Ten's landscape is changed and Jim Foster and Suzy Merchant have some competition. (And C. Vivian Stringer might get Iowa as a regular conference opponent.) The Big East loses a tiny bit of its luster, but could probably find a replacement somewhere for Rutgers. The Big Nine would be a very strong basketball conference - the Big Twelve Minus Nebraska, Colorado and Missouri would still be very, very strong. There's no real loser here, except for maybe San Diego State, a strong Mountain West team now playing in a weaker conference.

Big Ten Plus Five: According to Murphy's hypothesis, in order for the Big Ten to pick up Notre Dame as a football member, they have to wreck the Fighting Irish's Big East membership. So they do. Missouri, Nebraska, and Rutgers all come to the future Big Sixteen. The Big Sixteen grabs Pittsburgh, and Notre Dame, sensing the momentum shift, leaves the Big East to join the Big Sixteen.

The Atlantic Coast Conference, having a history of successful Big East raiding, senses blood in the water. They extend the Atlantic Coast to the Mideast by picking up Cincinnati, Louisville, Syracuse and West Virginia out of the Big East - and the ACC becomes the next sixteen team conference. The Big East is reduced to a nine-team conference of schools from the Northeast...and South Florida.

The Southeastern Conference wakes up and determines not to be left out of the land-grab. The Pac-10 probably still takes Colorado and Utah, although it isn't mentioned in the article. The Pacific Ten wants Texas, but the Southeastern Conference wins the bidding war. Since Texas is technically southern, the SEC picks up Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State. The Big Twelve is reduced to the Big Six and has to pick up spare parts from the Mountain West and the WAC.

This leaves five "superconferences" - The "Big Ten", the Pac-Twelve, the SEC, the ACC and the still-big-but-not-as-big Big East. (What becomes of the former Big Twelve no one knows.) These five superconferences then abandon the NCAA and form their own intercollegiate sports organization.

The Big Sixteen becomes more interesting. Notre Dame is more than a match for the Ohio States and Michigan States, and Notre Dame will be playing Michigan, Purdue and Indiana on a regular basis. As for the ACC, the addition of its four former Big East clubs don't really change the balance of power in the ACC, which will leave Duke and North Carolina breathing a sigh of relief. The Big East teams give the ACC the best of both worlds - they bolster the level of competition but aren't powerful enough on their own to change the ACC landscape.

The biggest winner is the Southeastern Conference. It could be a beast of a conference, with seven or eight of its 16-prospective teams regularly ranked in the Top 25. (Tennessee vs. Oklahoma! Texas vs. Vanderbilt!) The Big East takes a major hit, but in terms of women's basketball remains relatively strong.

The loser in this scenario? Baylor. Baylor would be one of the left-over teams in the (former) Big Twelve and would be left scrambling. Even though Baylor has a strong women's basketball team, they don't have a strong football history and football drives each of these realignments. So who would Baylor be playing? Iowa State and Kansas State? Or do they become the bigwig in some mid-major conference? And would Britney Griner transfer if Baylor stops becoming a "big-time" school?

Okay. Enough of the wishful thinking game. "Pet," you say, "nice try, but this could never happen." True, maybe it won't happen the way that Austin Murphy proposes it will. But I'll bet that something will happen. Conferences will realign to get bigger pieces of the football money stack, and women's basketball and all of the other sports will be dragged along with wherever football decides to go. So if you're a fan of a Big Six team, enjoy those matchups next year with your hated foes...because in a year or two, it might be an entirely different set of teams you'll have to learn to hate.

____
(*) College football makes a lot of money, but spends it just as quickly - according to many studies, college football does not add to the net profit of a university.

(* * *)

The Turkish League championships are still continuing, and that keeps Yelena Leuchanka off our shores...for now.... This is the section devoted to those Dream players that are still overseas....

Spain

LFB2: in the Liga Femenina 2, Burgos is playing a round robin with three other teams to determine which teams have a shot at being advanced to the upper division. The round-robin took place from May 6th through May 8th.

Burgos 70, Eivissa 48. Eivissa was held to 30 points over the final 30 minutes of the game.

EIV: Beachem 13, Lara Ramirez 10, Lopez Marques 9
BUR: Lozana Adan 20, Nascimento 10 (Jorge Portela 7)
Demetress Adams: 9 points, 3-for-6 shooting, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 33 minutes played

Navarra 69, Burgos 57. Burgos collapsed in the fourth quarter, scoring only nine points. Navarra was sent to the free throw line 21 times where they hit 20 shots.

BUR: Nascimento 12, Ortega Esarte 8
NAV: Cinite 17, C. Smith 16, Plumier 10
Demetress Adams: 11 points, 5-for-7 shooting, 6 rebounds, 20 minutes played

Ensino 79, Burgos 75. It comes down to the fourth quarter, with Ensino knocking regular-season leader Burgos to a 1-2 standing in the round robin and out of the chances for advancing to the Liga Femenino. Burgos coach Guillermo Fernandez blamed the fact that his team "qualified for the final too early."

ENS: Gomez Iglesias 25, Herrera Arevalo 15, Roddy 13
BUR: Nascimento 18, Lozana Adan 12, Pablos Villarroel 9
Demetress Adams: 10 points, 3-for-3 shooting, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 24 minutes played

Turkey

Galatasaray 67, Mersin 62. Galatsaray moves on to the finals with a 3-0 sweep of Mersin - the first win came from the winning the regular season, and this was the second win of the playoffs. Galatasaray came back from a 38-34 halftime deficit. Ivory Latta helped get Mersin to 59-58, but it wasn't enough. Katie Douglas did not play in the game for Mersin due to a sprained foot.

GAL: Catchings 21, Young 17, Yigit 15
MER: Latta 14, Turner 14, Scott 12, Larkins 10
Yelena Leuchanka: 7 points, 3-for-6 shooting, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 24 minutes

Fenerbahce 57, Galatasaray 51. In the best-of-five finals seres, Galatasaray loses the first game on the road to regular season champion Fenerbahce despite being up by 11 early on. Leading 31-25 at halftime, Galatasaray remained ahead until a pair of Nevriye Yilmaz free throws put Fenerbahce up 41-39 at the end of the third quarter.

FEN: Vardarli 13, Hoffman 11, Tuncluer 11 (Taylor 9, Yilmaz 8, Sutton-Brown 5, Powell 0)
GAL: Young 18, Catchings 15, Palazoglu 11 (Douglas 0)
Yelena Leuchanka: 5 points, 2-for-6 shooting, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 15 minutes played

Fenerbahce 61, Galatasaray 56. Fenerbahce wins Game Two of the best-of-five Turkish championship series and could win the Turkish title on Tuesday with another win. Galatasaray was shut out during the overtime period and Penny Taylor scored all five points of the overtime for Fenerbahce.

FEN: Taylor 19, Tuncluer 10, Yilmaz 9 (Hoffman 8, Sutton-Brown 7, Powell 1)
GAL: Catchings 14, Young 12 (Douglas 6)
Yelena Leuchanka: 8 points, 4-for-5 shooting, 9 rebounds, 3 offensive rebounds, 25 minutes played

Euroleague Semifinals 2009 - Ros Casares 86, Krakow 57

Erika de Souza is looking forward.

In front of 6400 spectators, Krakow hoped that they could extend their amazing season a few steps further by making it to the European finals. Unfortunately, the best Krakow can hope for is third place in Euroleague, as they were thumped on Ros Casares's home ground with a 86-57 loss.

The win by Ros Casares sends them to the finals on Sunday to play Spartak Moscow, who have been Euroleague champs for three years in a row. Krakow plays Ekaterinburg in the consolation game.

The game report, box score, play-by-play and a small gallery can all be found here.

Krakow fell behind 31-15 in the first quarter, and it got worse. With two minutes left in the first half, Krakow was down by twenty points and El Ros took a 57-35 lead into the intermission. In the third quarter, Krakow was held to just seven points and it was all over except for a temporary celebration. Ros Casares shot 53 percent from the field; Krakow only shot 35 percent.

Ewelina Kobryn scored 16 points and nine rebounds for Krakow. The only other player to break double-digits for Krakow was Liren Cohen, who only scored seven points.

Iziane Castro Marques was the third leading scorer for Krakow with nine points, but it was a poor shooting night for Castro Marques:

9 points
3-for-11 shooting
2-for-4 free throw shooting
4 rebounds
3 assists
3 turnovers
27 minutes played

As for Ros Casares, Delisha Milton-Jones scored 17 points and five rebounds. Anna Montanana added 12 points for Ros Casares and Belinda Snell scored just 10 points. But the player of the game, and the winner of the Battle of the Brazilians was Erika de Souza:

23 points
10-for-14 shooting
11 rebounds
3 offensive rebounds

LFB 26/2009 - Ros Casares 79, Estudiantes 58

For Ros Casares, there was nothing to fight for. They had already sealed up first place in the regular season. However, for Estudiantes, it was a fight for their lives to stay in the upper league. They also needed Hondarribia to lose, but if Estudiantes lost they would be relegated - sent down to the bottom league. Unfortunately, their dream of being El Ros was just that - a dream - as they lost 79-58 at home.

The box score is here.

For a few minutes in the first quarter, it looked like Estudiantes was going to fight. They fought to a 6-6 tie after three minutes, led by Laura Herrera.

And then Ros Casares rolled off 20 straight points. 20-0 run. At the end of the quarter, the score was 26-6 in favor of Ros Casares. The game was, for all intents, over. Oh, Estudiantes won the second quarter to close the gap to 44-30. However, Ros Casares stepped on Estudiantes again in the third quarter and led by 28 points after three quarters, 75-47.

In the fourth quarter, both sides mailed it in. Ros Casares scored a grand total of four points, but it was a foregone conclusion anyway. Why get hurt in the final quarter when you have the playoffs to think of? Estudiantes only scored 11 points, so it wasn't as if Estudiantes could take advantage of the ten-minute nap by Ros Casares in the final quarter.

Thyra Liljestrand led all scorers for Estudiantes with 12 points and four rebounds. Marta Zurro scored 11 points and eight rebounds for Estudiantes, and Ashley Battle contributed 11 points in the losing effort. Battle is a five-yeaer WNBA veteran who has played for the Seattle Storm and the New York Liberty.

The only player on Ros Casares who played more than 30 minutes was Laia Palau who only scored five points. Delisha Milton-Jones led all scorers with 21 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Jana Vesela scored 12 points and Belinda Snell scored 10 points.

Erika de Souza took a serious rest this game. She played for 20 minutes, but even so she did a great job:

14 points
4-for-6 shooting
5 rebounds
20 minutes played

LFB 25/2009 - Ros Casares 105, Real Canoe 61

El Ros has run away with the regular season crown.

Ros Casares has already sealed the top spot in the Spanish postseason, and they only have one more game to play after the one they played against Real Canoe today. It wasn't much of a competition as Ros Casares advanced their regular season record to 24-1 with a 105-61 win against Real Canoe.

The box score is here.

There's not much to say about this one - it was a rout, with El Ros starting out 7-0 and forcing Real Canoe coach John Diniz to ask for a time out. Ros Casares was leading 25-9 after the first quarter and 48-20 at halftime. Ros Casares won every quarter by at least seven points, shooting 60 percent from the field and holding Real Canoe to 15 total rebounds.

Laura Garcia Salinero lead Real Canow with 18 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Cela Maria Menendez Anatoli was the only other Real Canoe player to break double figures with 17 points.

As for Ros Casares, it was an easy victory with five players in double figures, including Delisha Milton-Jones with 18 points and 7-for-10 shooting, and Belinda Snell with 15 points and five steals. (The crowd at Valencia - this was Ros Casares's final regular season home game - was shouting "MVP! MVP!" for Milton-Jones.) Erika de Souza was the informal player of the game, racking up a lot of points in a very short time:

17 points
8-for-11 shooting
9 rebounds
2 steals
22 minutes of play

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

Erika de Souza Signed to Two-Year Contract

Atlanta's power in the post should be intact for the 2010 and 2011 seasons as Erika de Souza was re-signed to a two year contract. The notice from the Dream is here:

“It’s a situation where Erika wanted to be here and we certainly wanted her back,” said Dream General Manager & Head Coach Marynell Meadors. “She is one of the best centers in the world right now. We are very fortunate that were able to sign her to a two year deal.”

We're getting closer to that 2010 season. It's two months away. Woo-hoo!

LFB 23/2009 - Ros Casares 93, Gran Canaria 69

The first game of note this Saturday turned out to be a laugher - Gran Canaria was down 27-5 at one point in the first quarter and was down by 23 points at the end of the first half. They never returned to make a contest of it as Ros Casares won 93-69 at home in Valencia. Ros Casares jumps up to 22-1 with just three games left in the regular season. Gran Canaria falls to 10-13 and hangs on to 7th place, still hoping for a run at th post-season - the top eight teams go to the post-season.

The box score is here.

Gran Canaria turned the ball over six times in the first 10 minutes. In the final period, both sides rested their players, thinking about the post-season.

Arina Markotenko and Jaklin Zlatanova each had 15 points for Gran Canaria - even though Zlatanova also had six turnovers. Utah graduate Morgan Wharburton added eight points but also had six turnovers.

Belinda Snell had 19 points, five rebounds, and four assists for Ros Casares. Delisha Milton-Jones led the team with 25 points, five rebounds and five assists. She was the best player of the game, barely edging out Erika de Souza.

How did Erika de Souza fare? Very well:

17 points
8-for-10 shooting
11 rebounds
4 offensive rebounds
5 blocked shots
27 minutes played

LFB 22/2009 - Ros Casares 85, Ibiza 68

Ibiza continues to fight for its life, sitting at the bottom of the Liga Femenina and facing relegation. A battle against Ros Casares couldn't help, and I'm sure any Ibiza fan simply hoped that the outcome wouldn't be too embarrassing. I suppose that an 85-68 defeat wasn't too bad for Ibiza, which falls to 3-19.

The box score is here.

As in the Perfumerias game, Ros Casares won the first two quarters, 44-33. El Ros came out strong in the third quarter and extended the lead to twenty points, with Ros Casares slowing down a bit in the final quarter.

Shannon Johnson, now retired from the WNBA, scored 19 points for Ibiza but had six turnovers. All in all, Ibiza shot 51 percent in the game. Sandra Pirsic added 14 points and Alicia Polez added 10 points and five assists.

Delisha Milton-Jones led all players with 23 points and six rebounds. Belinda Snell had 18 points and five assists, and Amaya Valdemoro scored 17 points and had four steals.

Erika de Souza didn't have much of a game, playing less than a full half.

4 points
4 rebounds
2 assists
18 minutes played

LFB 21/2009 - Ros Casares 88, Olesa 73

After knocking Spanish League rival Perfumerias out of the Euroleague on Friday, Ros Casares returned to Valencia and resumed their march through the Liga Femenina, ovrecoming a temporary third-quarter setback to defeat visiting Olesa 88-73.

WIth five games left in the Liga Femenina season, Ros Casares advances to 20-1 on the year, where Olesa falls to 10-11. The box score is here.

No game writeup as of yet, and no pictures. Ros Casares only put seven players on the floor, while only eight Olesa players saw any minutes. Olesa was held to only ten second quarter points and El Ros led 41-27 at halftime. However, Olesa exploded in the third quarter for 31 poitns and closed the gap to 60-58 at the end of thirty minutes. Ros Casares would prove to be the toughest team, scoring 28 points in the final quarter to seal the victory.

Michelle Maslowski led Olesa with 20 points and 6 rebounds. Maslowski is a graduate of Drexel University. Iva Perovanovic added 14 points and 11 rebounds in the losing effort.

Belinda Snell had 20 points for Ros Casares, but the player of the game was clearly Erika de Souza. Some writers are saying that Erika de Souza might challenge fellow Atlanta Dream player Sancho Lyttle for the MVP title of the Spanish League.

Erika de Souza's game:

24 points
12-for-15 shooting
11 rebounds
4 assists
30 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 - Ros Casares 75, Zaragoza 68

The Ros Casares team has been dealing with different injuries during a grueling season both in the Spanish League and in Euroleague. Amaya Valdemoro has a bruised inner calf. Erika de Souza is experiencing knee discomfort. Furthermore, Zaragoza had lost three straight coming into the match and were looking for a victory.

They wouldn't find it in Zaragoza. The visiting El Ros team defeated Zaragoza 75-68, advancing to 19-1 for the season. Zaragoza falls to 11-9 on the year. The box score of the game is here.

Ros Casares got on the scoreboard early, leading 21-14 after the first quarter. Zaragoza answered with a 12-3 second quarter run, tying the game 26-26. The visiting Ros Casares barely hung on with a 40-39 lead at halftime.

The second half started fast, and Erika de Souza got the benefit on the offensive glass - Ros Casares went on an 8-0 run and led 47-42. Unfortunately, Erika picked up her fourth personal foul in the third quarter but Ros Casares held on to a 53-48 lead.

In the fourth quarter, Paula Palomares scored nine points to lead Zaragoza on a comeback, closing to 61-58 and then to 68-68 with just one minute left. However, Erika de Souza added four points, Belinda Snell added three free throws and Zaragoza was shut out during the final minute of play.

Paula Palomares led Zaragoza with 17 points. Allison Feaster scored 16 points and six rebounds for Zaragoza with nine points in the last ten minutes. Unfortuately, she also had five turnovers during the game.

Belinda Snell was the player of the game for Ros Casares, with 20 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals. Erika de Souza had a good game as well despite knee discomfort:

16 points
12 rebounds
8-for-15 shooting
2 blocks

LFB 19/2009 - Ros Casares 91, Cadi la Seu 48

De Souza making someone else miserable.

There are below average teams like Cadi la Seu - and there are superteams like Ros Casares. Despite Cadi la Seu's 7-11 record, Ros Casares crushed Cadi la Seu in Valencia like an old soda can by a score of 91-48.

The box score is here. A gallery of pictures can be found here.

What's to say? Ros Casares won every quarter but the second one - and they only lost that quarter by one point. They started out the game 13-3, they led 46-29 at halftime and held Cadi la Seu to 19 points over the second half.

Cadi la Seu's statistical woes:

* They only shot 27 percent for the game. El Ros shot 54 percent.
* They were out-rebounded 50-26.

Only two players scored in double figures for Cadi la Seu. Jasmon Covington, a graduate of Louisville, scored 15 points and had 11 rebounds for the game's only double-double. Brooke Reves had 12 points for Cadi la Seu. Reves is a graduate of Kansas.

Not much to report. Delisha Milton-Jones led Ros Casares with 23 point and eight rebounds. Belinda Snell scored 19 points and Anna Montanana had 16 points and eight rebounds. Erika de Souza only played 18 minutes, but she had a good game:

8 points
3-for-6 shooting
14 rebounds
3 blocked shots

LFB 18/2009 - Ros Casares 80, Vigo 70

The big news coming out of the Ros Casares camp for WNBA fans has nothing to do with their successes in the Liga Femenina. Rather, it's that Becky Hammon and Ros Casares have mutually agreed to end their contract. Supposedly, Becky Hammon will be making an announcement about why she decided not to stay, that announcement occurring shortly after the NBA All-Star break.

This had nothing to do with Ros Casares's 80-70 win over Vigo, which keeps Ros Casares as #1 in the Spanish league with just one loss. The box score for the game is here.

Even after playing two European league games, Ros Casares led 45-29 at halftime, and after that, it was just a question of minding the lead. Vigo played El Ros evenly in the third quarter, but sixteen points were just too much to make up in the final ten minutes.

Egle Stakneviciene scoreed 19 points and seven rebounds for Vigo, with Iva Sliskovic contributing 11 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.

Belinda Snell had 16 points and five rebounds for visiting Ros Casares with Amaya Valdemoro also contributing 16 points. Becky Hammon had nine points, five rebounds and two assists in her final game with Ros Casares.

How did Erika de Souza did? She shot 100 percent from the field, but didn't take many shots:

9 points
4-for-4 shooting
4 rebounds
2 steals
21 minutes of play

Pictures provided when I find them.

Euroleague 8th Finals 2/2009: Ros Casares 85, Prague 74

Sandra Le Dréan vs. Erika de Souza.

Ros Casares became the first team - chronologically speaking - to secure a spot in the "Elite Eight", the Eurocup Quarterfinals by defeating Prague 85-74 in the Czech Republic. Ros Casares swept the Czechs 2-0 to end the playoff.

All of the information - the game report, the play-by-play, the box score and a small gallery are right here.

What's to say? It really wasn't much of a contest despite the score. El Ros led 18-4 at the start and finished the first quarter with a 24-12 lead. Down 13 points at halftime, Prague would have to claw their way back. Prague managed to close to 55-46 in the third quarter but Ros Casares played just as well, leading 64-51 at the end of three quarters. With four minutes left, Prague closed to 74-66 but would never get any closer than eight points to Ros Casares.

Sandra Le Dréan scored 11 points and six rebounds for Prague. Katerina Elhotova led all scorers for Prague with 13 points.

Delisha Milton-Jones led Ros Casarese with 18 points and six rebounds. Amaya Valdemoro would have 12 points and five rebounds for El Ros. Erika de Souza would also break double-digits in points.

10 points
5-for-9 shooting
5 rebounds
2 assists
27 minutes played

Euroleague 8th Finals 1/2009: Ros Casares 81, Prague 70

Erika de Souza is glad to help out Amaya Valdemoro.

With a crowd of 2240 watching in Valencia, it looked like Ros Casares was going to coast to a win by halftime. However, Prague staged a second-half comeback but could not match the first half numbers of El Ros as they fell short to the Spaniards, 81-70.

A game report, a box score, a play-by-play report and a small gallery can all be found right here. Ros Casares moves to the quarter-finals with a win over Prague on Friday.

Ros Casares won each of the first two quarter by at least ten points and had a 52-31 lead at the halftime break. However, El Ros would not break the century mark. Prague outscored Ros Casares in the second half, winning both quarters. A free throw by Charde Houston with 3:41 left in the game closed the gap to 71-62 but Prague would get no closer than eight points to Ros Casares.

Sandra la Drean had 8 points and 8 rebounds for Prague. Ros Casares would have 23 turnovers in this game. Sonja Kireta would have 18 points and 8 rebounds for the Czechs, who had 12 steals.

Five players scored in double figures for Ros Casares, including Delisha Milton-Jones with 14 points and six rebounds. The player of the game was clearly the Beast from Brazil, Erika de Souza:

24 points
11-for-15 shooting
12 rebounds
3 steals
3 blocked shots
28 minutes of play