McCoughtry's Time Up in Slovakia; Back Next Year?

It looks like McCoughtry is back in the United States because her contract has ran out. The Good Angels team is so overwhelming that they need neither her nor Candice Dupree to clean up in the Slovak Extraliga. Now that the Good Angels have been knocked out of the Euroleague Quarterfinals, McCoughtry and Dupree were dismissed at the end of February.

The article is here.

Daniel Jendrichovský, the general manager of the club, had this to say:

"For several years, it remains the preserve of our team to bring the new rising stars, who are four months with us much more demanding in Europe. Candice and Angel want to return here. I would be very happy if our city even higher territorial unit to help in this difficult time, because without them we have no chance. I would like us to Euroleague returned to Kosice in the next season, although it will be very difficult."

Will McCoughtry give Slovakia another try next year? We'll have to wait and see.

Slovakia Extraliga Quarterfinals 2/2009 - Good Angels Kosice 106, Banská Bystrica 32

The Good Angels Kosice team moved on to the semifinals of the Slovakia Extralegia after wiping out Banská Bystrica on the road 106-32. Over the two games the Good Angels scored 221 points to Banská Bystrica's 59.

The closest thing to a box score is here. Printing it might be a war crime in Slovakia.

Once again, Candice Dupree and Angel McCoughtry did not play. Only 200 of Banská Bystrica's showed up for their home game. This game was a foregone conclusion.

Slovakia Extraliga Quarterfinals 1/2009 - Good Angels Kosice 115, Banská Bystrica 27

Yes, that score is correct. Angel McCoughtry's Good Angels Kosice team beat Banská Bystrica by 88 points. Part of the box score is here.

Let's look at the quarter-by-quarter score:

Quarter 1: 36-8
Quarter 2: 29-2
Quarter 3: 30-9
Quarter 4: 20-8

Erin Lawnless played and scored 11 points. Candice Dupree and Angel McCoughtry didn't play at all. Banská Bystrica knew they were in trouble when they saw McCoughtry in her bathrobe and shower cap and Dupree working on her taxes.

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.

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 - Ekaterinburg 81, Good Angels Kosice 56

Angel McCoughtry tries to stop Deanna Nolan.

Every team knew that Ekaterinburg would be tough, but some team would have to play them: that team was the Good Angels of Kosice. Unfortunately, they experienced exactly how tough Ekaterinburg was, as the Russians won at home 81-56 in front of 5,000 spectators.

The game report, box score, play by play and a small gallery are right here.

For the first three minutes, the Good Angels were in control and they marched to a 6-0 lead on Ekaterinburg's turf. Ekaterinburg caught up but only led by one, 17-16 after one quarter. In the second, Ekaterinburg managed to widen the lead out to ten points with a jump shot from Sandrine Gruda in the last minute: they led 47-39 going into halftime.

But the third quarter was a disaster for the Good Angels - they only scored five points in the quarter, and went 0-for-12 over their final twelve shots of the third. Ekaterinburg led 64-44 at the end of thirty minutes and there was no comeback from the Good Angels.

Candace Parker led all players with 21 points and 14 rebounds, and she hit 9 of 11 free throw shots. Sandrine Gruda scored 13 points for Ekaterinburg.

Candice Dupree led the Good Angels with 13 points and 14 rebounds. Ivaná Jalcová scored 12 poitns and had three rebounds and three assists.

For Angel McCoughtry, it was a poor shooting game - she got double digits, but took a lot of shots:

12 points
4-for-16 shooting
8 rebounds
4 steals

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

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

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

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

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

Late Results

In the Slovakia Extraliga, the Good Angels Kosice have played Presov. How that game went is anyone's guess. Of course, you could also ask @angel_35 (Angel McCoughtry) how the game went, but I suspect that the Good Angels won - they're undefeated in Slovakia play this year.

And finally, some word from Chamique Holdsclaw's team over in Cyprus. K. V. Imperial coasted to a 6-50 win over Anagennises to finish at 9-1 at the end of the regular season. At some point, the Cypriot teams will play their semifinals. Holdsclaw also will be playing in the quarterfinals of Eurocup - there's likely to be more information about that than any Cyprus game.

Euroleague 8th Finals 2/2009 - Good Angels Kosice 65, Beretta 59

Angel McCoughtry doing work.

The Good Angels got the upset in Italy and found themselves in a great position - getting the oppotunity to clinch at home. They made good use of that opportunity, winning 65-59 in Slovakia and propelling the Good Angels Kosike team into the Euroleague quarterfinals, a place no one expected the Good Angels Kosice team to be.

All of the information - game report, box score, gallery, etc. - are all at this link.

Beretta managed to get an 18-13 lead, but the second quarter was all Good Angels, going on a 15-9 run in the last four and a half minutes of the first half and taking a 39-33 halftime lead. With the score 54-43 at the end of the third quarter, Beretta stormed back in the fourth quarter with a 9-2 start to close the score to 56-52 with 5:46 left.

Beretta stayed within a couple of baskets until the last minute: Bernadette Ngoyisa scored on a one-and-one with 1:38 left to close to within 60-57. However, the Good Angels would go to the free throw line six times in the remainder of the game...and they'd hit all six shots.

Bernadette Ngoyisa was the player of the game, scoring 18 points and 12 rebounds in just 28 minutes for Beretta. Laura Macchi had 17points for Beretta, the only other player in double-digits for Beretta.

For the Good Angels, there were three players in double digits: Miljana Musovic scored 12 points. Candice Dupree scored 15 points and seven rebounds in 38 minutes. And of course, Angel McCoughtry also had a double-digit game:

12 points
6-for-11 shooting
6 rebounds
4 personal fouls
4 turnovers
4 steals

Euroleague 8th Finals 1/2009: Good Angels Kosice 70, Beretta 67

More than likely, no one expected the Good Angels Kosice to win game one on the road in Euroleague. The Slovaks were one of only two teams on the road to win the opening game of their respective best-of-three 8th Finals series as Raffaella Masciardi of Beretta missed a 3-pointer with nine seconds left in the game that could have tied it for Beretta, which lost 70-67 at home.

Everything that you'd want - a box score, a game report, a play-by-play report and a small gallery are right here. The Good Angels could advance to the quarter-finals with a home win on Friday against Beretta.

After a tied first quarter, the Good Angels shifted into gear, winning the second quarter 30-18 and taking a 48-36 lead into halftime. Beretta managed to hold the visitors to just eight third-quarter points and the Good Angels only led 56-51 at the end of thirty minutes.

In the fourth quarter, Beretta made its move. A lay-up by Elisabetta Moro with 5:26 to go brought Beretta within two points, 61-59 and the Italians were never much more than a couple of baskets away. With 15 seconds left, Raffaella Masciardi nailed a 3-pointer for Beretta to close the team to 69-67.

The Good Angels put the ball in the hands of Angel McCoughtry, who was fouled and missed her first free throw, but hit her second. Beretta got the ball back and Masciardi tried again, but no luck. The Good Angels would get the rebound and the upset win.

All and all, this was a very close game. Bernadette Ngoyisa had 13 points and 9 rebounds for Beretta. Laura Macchi led Beretta with 24 points.

Lucia Kupcikova led all players on the Good Angels in points and rebounds with 17 points and 9 rebounds. Angel McCoughtry didn't have a good shooting game, but had nothing to be ashamed of.

15 points
4-for-13 shooting
7 rebounds
3 steals
2 blocked shots
31 minutes played

Slovakia Extraliga 1-6 Group 2/2009 - Good Angels Kosice 85, Ružomberok 67

The only pic. I'm surprised it's not one of McCoughtry getting beat up. McCoughtry is in the yellow.

In the mysterious 1-6 Group of the post-season - maybe those six teams are playing for playoff position - the Good Angels Kosice team continues to roll over every team it faces, beating second-place finisher Ružomberok at home to remain undefeated in the Slovakia Extraliga.

The box score is here.

However, this game was probably the closest anyone has played the Good Angels since Euroleague. It seemed that the Good Angels could not get any farther than a couple of baskets at first - 28-24 lead at 12 minutes in, 32-30 lead later, and with six minutes left in the game - 66-64. Then, the Good Angels blew open the doors, outscoring Ružomberok 19-3 over the rest of the game.

What's more amazing is that the Good Angels didn't hit a single 3-pointer. They went 0-for-14 from long range.

Simona Podešvová led Ružomberok with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Klaudia Lukačovičová also scored 18 points for the visitors.

Candice Dupree was the leading scorer for the Good Angels, with 20 points and 10 rebounds overall. Angel McCoughtry also had a good game, but she was beaten up a lot:

18 points
4 points from the floor, 12-for-14 from the free throw line
8 rebounds
9 fouls received

Slovakia Extraliga 1-6 Group 1/2009 - Good Angels Kosice 70, Poprad 50

The Good Angels Kosice team - Angel McCoughtry's team - has made it into the "1-6 Group" in the postseason. My understand is that the 1-6 group moves to the next level of the playoffs and the 7-10 group fights to avoid relegation.

How long Good Angels Kosice will be playing in the 1-6 Group is beyond me. However, their first match was on the road against #6 finish Poprad, where the Good Angels won convincingly 70-50.

UPDATE: McCoughtry on Twitter says that this wasn't a playoff game. Like I wrote, the postseason in Slovakia is confusing.

The box score is here.

I can't find out any details about the game itself. The Good Angels won every quarter of the game, so it couldn't have been much of an exciting victory.

Katarína Tetemondová led Poprad with 15 points and eight rebounds. As for the Good Angels Kosice 70, Candice Dupree had 16 points and nine rebounds.

McCoughtry had a good game as well:

9 points
8 rebounds
4 assists

Euroleague 10/2009 - Good Angels Kosice 95, Gorzow 88

The Good Angels knew they were going on to the Eighth Finals, but the questions was whether they'd finish second in Group C - or fourth. They had to go on the road to Poland to face Gorzow, and managed to win 95-88 on the strength of great performances by Angel McCoughtry and Candice Dupree

Good Angels Kosice finishes at 6-4 in Group C and advances to the Eighth Finals. Their next opponent will be Beretta, which finished at 7-3 in Group B.

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

Both teams stormed out of the gate, with Gorzow leading 35-23 after the first quarter and 53-51 at the half. With 1:01 in the third quarter, Gorzow led by ten points, 77-67...but the Good Angels scored the next 10 points to tie the game. Up 82-81 with 4:57 to go in the game, the Good Angels went on an 11-2 run to secure the victory.

Liudmilla Sapova scored 22 points and five rebounds for Gorzow. Candice Dupree had an amazing game, with 22 points and 19 rebounds.

However, Angel McCoughtry was no slouch herself:

21 points on 7-for-16 shooting
10 rebounds (3 offensive/7 defensive)
5 assists (but unfortunately 6 turnovers)

Slovakia Extraliga 18/2009 - Good Angels Kosice 75, MBK Ruzomberok 51

The Good Angels finished their regular season 18-0 - undefeated - with a 75-51 win over MBK Ruzomberok. Certainly, all of you Slovakian basketball experts out there know how important this match us, as it was MBK's last chance to derail the Good Angels perfect season. Ruzomberok will have to be satisfied with their 15-3 finish.

Let's see. The second best team in women's Slovak basketball lost 77-56 to the Good Angels at home and lost 75-51 to the Good Angels on the road. I wonder how those finals are going to turn out.

As for how the actual finals work, there's no telling. During last year, there was a set of confusing elimination rounds that took place in February that involved virtually every team. How this will play out is incomprehensible.

At the very least, you can get the Good Angels half of the box score from their website. They're so dominant, they don't need to put the enemy stats up, because who cares?

I don't see Angel McCoughtry's stat line anywhere in the box score. Is she still playing for the Good Angels? She's still on their promotional material, so I'm assuming the answer is "yes".

Euroleague 9/2009 - Good Angels Kosice 89, Prague 75

It looks like Angel McCoughtry was all that Good Angels Kosice needed to turn their Euroleague season around. The Good Angels advance to 5-4 in Euroleague and move into second place in Group C with an 89-75 win over Prague in the Czech Republic.

The last game in opening round play is next week against Gorzow. If the Good Angels win, they secure second place and move into the round of 16.

All the good stuff - the game report, the box score, and the play by play - is at this link.

Candice Dupree and Angel McCoughtry helped the Good Angels to a 14-0 run in the second quarter that put the Good Angels up for good. Dupree and McCoughtry scored all 14 of those points. Prague managed to close to 69-66 in the fourth quarter but could get no closer.

The Good Angels shot 35-64 for the game and had 46 total rebounds, winning despite 20 personal fouls and 20 turnovers.

Sonja Kireta was the top performer for Prague with 21 points and 7 rebounds. As for Angel McCoughtry...

...McCoughtry was dynamite. Candice Dupree had 23 points and 11 rebounds, but Angel McCoughty had 28 points and 15 rebounds. It was her best Euroleague performance of the year. Congratulations, Angel!

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

Wednesday's Euroleague Games

(Note: Click on each of the links below to get a game summary, a box score and (usually) a gallery of pictures.)

Perfumerias 70, Pécs 63. Perfumerias won again in Group B to go to 6-2, while the loss sends Pécs to 2-6. Perfumerias can't make it to first place - Krakow will finish ahead of Perfumerias - but if Perfumerias can secure second place it would give them a game against a third-place finisher in the Round of 16.

Perfumerias won each of the first three quarters and maintained the lead. However, Pécs staged a comeback and managed to close the gap to 68-63 with just 50 seconds left. Dalma Ivanyi of Pécs stole the ball and Alexandra Quigley tried a 3-pointer with 18 seconds left - she missed the 3-pointer. Perfumerias made one of two free throws, and Pécs had another chance to get closer but Quigley turned the ball over with 12 seconds left.

For Perfumerias, Le'coe Willingham had 19 points and 12 rebounds and Sancho Lyttle picked up 14 points and 15 rebounds. Perfumerias went to the free throw line 27 times and hit 22 shots. Nicole Ohlde of the Phoenix Mercury had 15 points and 11 rebounds for Pécs and Alexandra Quigley, a graduate of DePaul had 11 points and 5 rebounds. Kelly Mazzante had 8 points and four personal fouls.


Angel's last game in Slovakia?

Good Angels Kosice 72, Rivas Ecopolis 61: Rivas Ecopolis went down to their first defeat this year, leaving only Krakow and Spartak Moscow undefeated in Euroleague play. Kosice, at 4-4, still remains alive in Group C. Rivas Ecopolis has already secured first place, so maybe they didn't fight as hard.

Rivas Ecopolis led on the road 19-16 at the end of the first quarter, and the game stayed tight in the second quarter with a Candice Dupree layup with one second left in the half putting Kosice up 37-33...and in the third quarter, she did it again with a buzzer-beating jump shot tying the game 47-47 after thirty minutes.

Tied 58-58 with 3:42 left in the game, Rivas Ecopolis just ran out of steam, only scoring three points for the rest of the game. Rivas Ecopolis went 1-for-5 in shooting during the remainder of the game. Kosice would score the final eight points of the game.

Candice Dupree of the Good Angels led with 27 points and 12 rebounds, and Angel McCoughtry added 23 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists. Crystal Langhorne of the Washington Mystics led Rivas Ecopolis with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Cathy Joens of the Chicago Sky scored 8 points and 4 rebounds for Rivas Ecopolis.

Supposedly, Angel McCoughtry will be back in the United States in Sunday, unless the Good Angels re-sign her.


De Souza vs. Pondexter.

Ekaterinburg 82, Ros Casares 70: Ekaterinburg and Ros Casares split the season series as Ekaterinburg gets its revenge with a home win in front of 5,000 spectators. Ekaterinburg moves to 7-1 and first place in Group A; Ros Casares falls to 6-2 and second place.

A last second 3-pointer by Agnieszka Bibrzycka tied the game 24-24 at the end of the first quarter. Halfway through the second quarter, Ekaterinburg went on a 12-4 run that helped Ekaterinburg establish a 44-35 lead by halftime. Ros Casares managed to get within four points, 46-42, in the third quarter but were held scoreless for 3 1/2 minutes as Ekaterinburg went on a 13-0 run that essentially won the game. With 3:53 left in the game, Ekaterinburg had a 79-59 lead that saw them through to the end.

Here's how the superstars performed:

Ekaterinburg

Agnieszka Bibrzycka: 16 points, 5 steals.
Deanna Nolan: 12 points for the Tulsa star.
Cappie Pondexter: 16 points from the Phoenix Mercury player on 5-for-7 shooting.
Sandrine Gruda: 12 points, 5 rebounds. Gruda plays for the Connecticut Sun.
Ann Wauters: 10 ponts in 23 minutes for the San Antonio star.
Maria Stepanova: 4 points in 15 minutes.
Svetlana Abrosimova: 4 points in 10 minutes.

Ros Casares

Delisha Milton-Jones: 12 points, 8 rebounds.
Elisa Aguilar: 12 points.
Erika de Souza: 10 points, 8 rebounds.
Belinda Snell: 11 points.
Becky Hammon: 7 points.


Janell Burse certainly looks determined.

Krakow 93, Lille Metropole 73. Krakow remains undefeated at 8-0 in Group B.

Krakow scored the first eight points, led by 15 at the end of the first quarter, and were never challenged. Janell Burse led Krakow with 28 points and an astonishing 17 rebounds. Ten of those rebounds were offensive rebounds. Burse shot 11-for-21.

Iziane Castro Marques scored 19 points. For Lille Metropole, Lady Comfort, a graduate of Temple, scored 20 points and eight rebounds. Jolene Anderson, who last played for the Connecticut Sun, scored eight points for the French team.

Back Home for McCoughtry

A Twitter message from Angel McCoughtry:

@angel_35 cant wait to get back to America on sunday

When Angel McCoughtry was initially signed, she was signed for seven weeks. Beyond that depended on Kosice, their Euroleague performance, and club finances.

Even though the Good Angels are 3-4 in Euroleague and could use a few wins, there's a break in the Slovakia Extraliga season and the Good Angels are 16-0. I can't find evidence, but it looks like the Good Angels won't be resigning McCoughtry. At least she gets to come back home healthy.

Sunday's Games

Good Angels Kosike 92, Basket Steel Kosice 67: The Good Angels raised their record to 16-0 in the Slovak Extraliga on Sunday. Angel McCoughtry is not listed anywhere in the box score, so I wonder why she didn't play. Some of the information on the Good Angels website indicate that there's a flu going around, so I wonder if that stopped her. Lucia Kupcikova led with 18 points and Erin Lawless, a graduate of Purdue, scored 15.