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

PLKK Quarterfinals 3/2009 - Polkowice 75, Krakow 66

For Iziane Castro Marques's team, there's still the Euroleague semifinals to take care of on April 9th. However, in Poland...Krakow's season is over. With a 75-66 loss in Polkowice, Krakow has been eliminated from the Polish league post-season.

The box score is here.

One fan joked: "Wisla Can-Pack Krakow - fourth best team in Europe...and fifth best team in Poland". Krakow got off to a great start in the first quarter, leading 19-13 after the first quarter. Unfortunately, Krakow was held to just 12 second quarter points and trailed 38-31 at halftime. After that, Polkowice needed to hold out during the second half, and it appears that Krakow always trailed behind in the second half, never really making a serious push to overcome Polkowice.

The player that put Polkowice over the top was Amisha Carter, a Louisiana Tech graduate who led Polkowice with 20 points and 14 rebounds, fouling out in the fourth quarter after 35 minutes. Natalija Trofimowa scored 22 points and eight rebounds, and Shannon Bobbitt only score two points but had six assists.

As for Krakow, only five players scored. Ewelina Kobryn led with 16 points and seven rebounds, and Janell Burse scored 14 points and nine rebounds. But the rest of the team! Liren Cohen has zero points and three assists in 19 minutes of play. And Iziane Castro Marques had a horrible game for Krakow:

10 points
4-for-18 shooting
4 rebounds
1 assist
33 minutes of play

PLKK Quarterfinals 2/2009 - Krakow 83, Polkowice 61

In the best-of-three series, Krakow went back home to play #4 seed Polkowice needing a win to avoid elimination. It was very tight for the first thirty minutes but Krakow pulled out an 83-61 win in the fourth quarter on Wednesday. The series heads back to Polkowice on Saturday for its deciding game.

The box score is here.

The first half of the game was virtually a dead heat, with Krakow leading 35-34 at the end of the second quarter. The game began to tilt in Krakow's direction with Krakow leading 62-56 at the end of the third, but that wasn't enough to ensure a win. What did ensure the victory was Krakow holding Polkowice to just five fourth-quarter points. Polkowice's coach complained about the officiating, but all Polkowice could do was helplessly watch Krakow seal the Game Two victory.

Nadia Parker of Polkowice was injured in a third-quarter collision with Dorota Gburczyk. I believe she was hauled off the court around 2:13 of the video above. Odds are, she might not be available for Game Three in Polkowice.

Amisha Carter led Polkowice with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Shannon Bobbitt followed with 13 points and four assists.

The player of the game was Janell Burse who had 22 points and eight rebounds for Krakow. Ewelina Kobryn added 20 points and Agnieszka Majewska scored 16.

Iziane Castro Marques had an good game:

14 points
6-for-13 shooting
6 rebounds
6 assists
33 minutes played

PLKK Quarterfinals 1/2009 - Polkowice 83, Krakow 78

Iziane Castro Marques can't stop Daria Mieloszyńska's 21 points.

Eight teams go into the Polish post-season, including #4 seed Polkowice and #5 seed Krakow. The series is a best-of-three. If that's true, then Krakow is going to regret losing home field advantage as home team Polkowice wins 83-78 in Game 1.

The box score is here. A gallery of game images can also be found here.

I don't have information about the play-by-play. Krakow started off well, leading 25-14 after the first quarter, but Polkowice won each of the remaining quarters. Krakow still had a 42-41 lead going into halftime, and over the third quarter Polkowice and Krakow ended up tied after thirty minutes, 61-61.

Shannon Bobbitt scored 21 points for Polkowice, but Daria Mieloszyńska added not only 21 points but six rebounds as well. Amisha Carter had 11 points and 10 rebounds but shot 4-for-15 for Polkowice. Carter played for both the Mystics and the Liberty, Carter's final year in the WNBA being 2005.

Liron Cohen scored eight points and nine assists in the loss by Krakow. Janell Burse was the player of the game with 24 points and nine rebounds, but Iziane Castro Marques had a great game as well:

25 points
9-for-17 shooting
3-for-4 3-points shooting
4 rebounds
4 assists
34 minutes of play

The two teams meet again in Krakow on Wednesday for Game 2.

PLKK 26/2009 - Krakow 91, Pruszkow 78

So how far will Krakow go in the post-season?

The regular season in Polish women's basketball ended on Wednesday. In their final regular season game, Krakow defeated Pruszkow 91-78 at home. Unfortunately, Krakow finished at 17-7 and tied with Polkowice...but Polkowice finished fourth, Krakow finished fifth and with eight teams in the quarterfinals, Krakow will not earn home field advantage.

The box score is here. A gallery of game images can also be found here.

According to the write-up on the PLKK site, the game seemed over at the end of the first, with Krakow taking a 23-14 lead. Ashley Shields helped Pruszkow make a mini-comeback in the second quarter, and closed the gap to five points, 47-42 at halftime. However, Krakow was firmly in control in the second half and the Krakow coach emptied the bench in the fourth quarter.

Krakow takes on Polkowice on Saturday in Game 1 of the PLKK Quarterfinals. I don't know how the Polish post-season works, so we'll make it up as we go along.

The player of the game was clearly Ashley Shields, who scored 34 points (!!!) and eight rebounds in 35 minutes of play. She was fouled nine times during the game, and Shields scored 10 points at the free throw line. Joanna Górzyńska-Szymczak added 14 points and five rebounds.

Janelle Burse carried the burden for Krakow, scoring 19 points in 25 minutes of play. Among other players breaking double-digits were Marta Fernandez with 13 points and Dorota Gburczyk with 11 points.

Iziane Castro Marques only played for 21 minutes but made quite an impact.

17 points
6-for-9 shooting
3-for-3 from 3-point range
2 rebounds
21 minutes of play

PLKK 23/2009 - Krakow 78, Gorzow 77

Despite all of the hullabaloo about Krakow making it to the semifinals of Euroleague, the queens of the Polish League were Gorzow. Krakow wasn't likely to beat Ros Casares, Ekaterinburg or Spartak Moscow for a Euroleague title but Gorzow were definitely the favorites to go undefeated. They had already mathematically secured the regular season title and first place in the season. They had nothing to worry about, right?

Not anymore. Krakow went to Gorzow and beat them 78-77, ending Gorzow's perfect record. Gorzow falls to 22-1 and Krakow goes to 16-7. Depending on how Polkowice does, Krakow could move up to 4th place in the league and gain home field advantage in the opening round of the playoffs - Krakow only has three regular season games left.

The box score is here.

There's no write-up of the game just yet - this is "hot off the press" - but someone wrote that Janell Burse had 11 points and 11 rebounds in just 11 minutes. Despite that, Gorzow was in control of the game early, leading 26-19 after the first quarter and 51-40 at halftime.

However, Krakow came fighting back. They would win the third quarter by five points and close the gap to 62-56 at the end of thirty minutes. I'm reading this person who live-blogged the game in Poland and apparently:

Great defense score, did not finish the action. Marques and already only 74:73 50 seconds to end

74:75 Kobryn, but three Żurooooowskaaaaaaa !!!!!!!!!!!! 77:75 for 14 seconds before the end. Links Vistula, smells OT

All the standing odlądają tip !!!!! Fernandez for three. Unlikely ... less than two seconds to the end. Will we live?

It looks like Marta Fernandez hit a 3-pointer with less than two seconds left in the game that put Krakow up to stay.

Liudmila Sapova led Gorzow with 19 points. Justyna Żurowska scored18 points, four rebounds and two assists for Gorzow. Sidney Spencer would add 10 points for the home team.

For the visiting Krakow team, Janell Burse had an amazing game - 15 points and 16 rebounds before fouling out. (Burse only played 23 minutes.) Marta Fernandez made the game-winning shot scoring 20 points with 3-for-4 three-point shooting.

The other player to carry the burden for Krakow? Iziane Castro Marques:

16 points
7-for-14 shooting
4 rebounds
29 minutes played

Highlights of Euroleague Quarterfinals: Krakow vs. Brno

This is how highlights should be done:

* The bus arrives.
* Clapping in unison.
* Great basketball.
* Actual BURN IT WITH FIRE from the fans about six minutes in the first clip!
* Actual BURN IT WITH FIRE from the players about seven minutes in!
* Unidentified mascots in the first minute of the second clip.

(Thanks to the Painel do Basquete Femenino blog for cluing me in to these clips.)

Euroleague Quarterfinals 3/2009 - Krakow 78, Brno 73

Iziane is on her way to a Euroleague semifinal.

Erika de Souza, meet Iziane Castro Marques. Krakow wins their Euroleague series against Czech team Brno by winning Game 3 of the best-of-three series at home, 78-73 in front of 2200 spectators. The win sets up a Ros Casares-Krakow Euroleague semifinal, where the two Atlanta Dream players and Brazilian stars will play against each other.

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

It was an extremely tight game to start with - no team could get a lead of more than three points ahead of the other in the first quarter, which ended 26-24 in favor of Krakow. Karkow managed to put themselves back up by five points on two free throws by Iziane, 34-29, but Brno erased the lead with six straight points. With 45 seconds left, Liren Cohen hit the final two shots of the first half to give Krakow a 47-45 halftime lead.

In the third, with Krakow ahead 57-55 with four minutes left, Krakow put together a 6-0 run that gave them a 63-55 lead, the biggest in the game. DeWanna Bonner hit a pair of free throws for Brno, but Krakow took a 63-57 lead into the final ten minutes.

The question was could Brno fight back? Bonner was still good at the free throw line and she helped Brno come back to a 65-65 tie with 5:40 left. However, Krakow went on an 8-0 run taking them to a 73-65 lead with 3:28 left. Brno stayed in striking distance, and with Krakow up 76-70, Jelena Skerovic hit a 3-pointer that brought Brno back to 76-73 with 32 seconds left. Unfortunately for Brno, Krakow got the ball back and with 12 seconds left, Marta Fernandez hit a jumper that put Krakow up by five points and Brno could get nothing else going.

Taj McWilliams led Brno with 15 points, eight rebounds and three assists. DeWanna Bonner added seven points and eight rebounds in the losing effort.

The clear player of the game was Janell Burse who scored 20 points on 10-for-17 shooting. Iziane Castro Marques scored 14 points, but had an average game:

14 points
5-for-13 shooting
3 rebounds
4 assists
35 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 - Krakow 78, Brno 74

Iziane Castro Marques was definitely needed in the Euroleague quarterfinals series against Brno - everyone was going to be needed, because most Euroleague observers figured this to be a close game. Krakow came back from a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter and an exciting final two minutes ended with Krakow winning 78-74 in Poland in front of 2000 spectators.

The game report, box score, and play-by-play is here. There's no gallery of pics, not yet, anyway, but we do have...some film! (Check out Iziane Castro Marques at about 44 seconds in.)

Brno took the lead early in the first quarter but Krakow came back to tie the score at 19-19. DeWanna Bonner and Hollie Grima provided the offense punch for the Czechs and led 43-34 at halftime. Brno maintained the two-point lthrough most of the third quarter and led 62-56 at the end of thirty minutes.

Krakow came back. They held Brno to just five points in the first five minutes of the final quarter and retook the lead, 70-69. With four minutes left, Eva Viteckova hit a 3-pointer for Brno that tied the game at 72-72.

For the next four minutes, both teams tried to make something happen. Brno could get the rebounds, but couldn't take a shot. Krakow took shot after shot, and missed most of them. However, with Krakow up 76-74, Janell Burse hit a jumper with 16 seconds left that put Krakow up 78-74. With 10 seconds left, DeWanna Bonner tried to hit a 3-pointer for Brno, but Krakow got the rebound and the win.

Brno was led by Eva Viteckova's 22 points. DeWanna Bonner scored 17 points and 12 rebounds, and Taj McWilliams scored eight points and 10 rebounds.

Krakow had three players score 18 points. Janlle Burse shot 8-for-11 with 12 rebounds; Ewelina Kobryn shot 8-for-12 with 11 rebounds.

Iziane Castro Marques had 18 points in 26 minutes:

18 points
7-for-17 shooting
2-for-7 from 3-point range
3 rebounds
26 minutes

PLKK 20/2009 - Krakow 77, Siemens 44

Krakow defeated Siemens 77-44 at home. The win moves Krakow to 14-6 in the Polish league. Siemens falls to 4-16.

The box score is here.

Iziane Castro Marques did not play in this game. Apparently, she "turned" her right ankle during practice before the game and did not play. Hopefully, Iziane Castro Marques will be back, because Krakow will need her for Euroleague.

PLKK 19/2009 - Gydnia 65, Krakow 54

Iziane Castro Marques should have bought a ticket.

Krakow might be the sensation of Euroleague - but Gydnia is one of the queens of the Polish League, so it was going to be a big game. Krakow fought hard but fell apart in the fourth quarter as Gydnia beat Krakow 65-54 to stay on top of the league. Krakow falls to 13-6 and fourth place.

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

Gydnia jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the first quarter, but Krakow fought right back. The score was 17-14 in favor of Krakow at the end of the first quarter, and Krakow lead 32-30 at halftime. In the third quarter, Gydnia had the lead - briefly - at 36-34, but Krakow would lead 46-43 with thirty minutes over.

Leading 52-50 in the fourth quarter - Krakow collapsed. Gydnia went on a 13-0 run and with three minutes left, the score was 63-52. The writeup from the PLKK website:

If anyone would seek answers to the question how best to characterize the English term "team spirit" should watch the last 6 minutes of the match. Gdynianki fought with great sacrifice, in defense worked like ants, helped each other, as they could. Formed a team in which one after another goes into the fire!

Ivana Matovič had 18 points and seven rebounds for Gydnia to lead the home team. " Tanasha Wright" (or so her name is spelled on the PLKK website) scored 12 points, six rebounds and seven assists.

For Krakow, Janelle Burse led all players with 14 points and an amazing 14 rebounds. Ewelina Kobryn added 12 points and seven rebounds for the visitors.

The comment about Iziane Castro Marques from the PLKK website?

"Iziane Castro Marques had almost a hundred percent neutralized."

4 points
2-for-5 shooting
one rebound
14 minutes

Euroleague 8th Finals 3/2009 - Krakow 69, Pecs 57

With the folding of CSKA, the Krakow team had been folded in as a last-minute replacement. However, Krakow has played like a Russian team, at least in the Euroleague, and the miracle season won't be coming to a stop soon - Krakow defeated Hungarian team Pecs 69-57 in Krakow in the deciding game of the best-of-three series. Krakow will be moving on to the Euroleague quarterfinals.

All of the good stuff - the game report, the box score, the play-by-play and the pictures - are right here.

Krakow managed to control the lead during the first quarter, leading 21-18 after the first ten minutes. Pecs, however, kept after Krakow and managed to briefly lead a couple of times in the second quarter. At halftime, the game was virtually tied, 38-37 in favor of home team Krakow.

Krakow took the lead again in the third, but Pecs was close behind. A 6-0 run to end the third quarter put Pecs in the lead by one point, 49-48. The teams continued the struggle in the fourth quarter, with the score tied 55-55 with five minutes left.

From that point, however, it was all Krakow. Krakow outscored Pecs 14-2 for the rest of the game. Pecs took nine shots and only hit one of them. The last six points from Krakow came in the form of free throws.

Dalma Ivanyi for Pecs had an interesting double-double - 10 rebound and 11 assists. She also had four points and six steals. Anna Vadja had 18 points and five rebounds for Pecs.

Marta Fernandez had 17 points, six rebounds and five assists for the winners. Janelle Burse had seven points...and 16 rebounds for Krakow.

For Iziane Castro Marques, it wasn't much of a day.

4 points
1-for-9 shooting (0-for-5 from 3-point range)
2 rebounds
22 minutes

Euroleague 8th Finals 2/2009 - Pécs 68, Krakow 64

Iziane Castro Marques tries to put Krakow on her back.

With Krakow winning the first game, the best-of-three series moved to Hungary. Down on the ropes in the fourth quarter, Pécs made a stunning fourth-quarter comeback in a must-win situation to win 68-64, tying the series at 1-1. Dalma Ivanyi's triple-double helped save the Hungarian team from elimination. The deciding Game Three will take place on Wednesday, February 10th.

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

Pécs had the start of a good game. Pécs led 24-19 at the end of the first quarter, and built up a double-digit lead, 38-28 by halftime. However, Krakow began to come back despite the support of 3000 spectators - a 3-pointer by Marta Fernandez with 2:44 left in the third quarter put Krakow in the lead and the Polish team led 54-51 at the end of thirty minues.

But in the fourth quarter, Pécs rolled out to a 15-3 lead to start the quarter, leading the visitors 66-57 with five minutes left in the game. Krakow began their comeback, and would hold Pécs to just two points for the rest of the game -however, seven of those points came from free throws and Krakow could not buy a basket. Iziane Castro Marques went 0-for-3 in the last five minutes, including a couple of 3-point attempts in the final ten seconds.

The player of the game was Dalma Ivanyi, who carried the Pécs team on her back. She had 24 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, going 4-for-5 from the 3-point line. Add four steals to that and it was a helluva game.

Ewelina Kobryn scored eight points and five rebounds for Krakwo. Janell Burse and Marta Fernandez had 16 points each.

Iziane Castro Marques scored in double-digits, but took a lot of shots to do it:

14 points
5-for-13 shooting, including 3-for-10 from the 3-point line
One rebound, one assist
29 minutes

Euroleague 8th Finals 1/2009: Krakow 80, Pecs 53

In front of 2200 spectators in Krakow, Krakow showed that their top finish in their group was no fluke as they massacred Hungarian team Pecs 80-53 to take a one game lead in their best-of-three series.

The game report, box score, a small gallery and play-by-play are all here. Krakow can close out the series on Friday with a win at Pecs and advance to the quarter-finals.

Pecs fought Krakow hard in the first half - they were only down by five points, 42-37 at halftime. Unfortunately for Pecs, they only scored sixteen points in the second half: nine in the third quarter and seven in the fourth. Pecs was like a wind-up toy that had wound down and they provided no challenge for Krakow.

Krakow would end up outrebounding Pecs by a factor of 41-23.

Nicole Ohlde wound up with 14 points and 10 rebounds for Pecs. Allie Quigley had 11 points and four rebounds for the Hungarians.

Janell Burse was the player of the day for Krakow with 17 points and nine rebounds. Five players would score in double figures for Krakow.

Iziane Castro Marques's line:

13 points on 5-for-11 shooting
3 rebounds
2 assists
21 minutes played

PLKK 18/2009 - Krakow 86, Leszno 65

Krakow continues to work in the Polish League for a good position in the post-season, beating Leszno in Krakow by a score of 86-65. Krakow advances to 13-5 on the season, tied with Polkowice for third place. Leszno falls to 8-9 and to seventh place.

The box score is here.

Krakow didn't have many problems against Leszno. Krakow got off to a slow start, down 22-13 at the end of the first quarter, but fought their way to a 39-39 tie at halftime. The second half was all Krakow, as Leszno was held to nine points in the third quarter and never found their way back. Another problem was that Leszno found itself in foul trouble.

Magdalena Gawrońska led Leszno with 20 points and three rebounds. Joanna Walich had 11 points, five rebounds and three assists for Leszno.

For Krakow, Ewelina Kobryn had another great game with 20 points and five rebounds. Janell Burse had 11 points for Krakow.

And how did Iziane Castro Marques do? Iziane did well in the third quarter and had a good game for her limited minutes.

8 points
4-for-5 shooting
3 rebounds
2 assists
19 minutes played

Polish Cup Quarterfinals 2009 - Krakow 83, Siemens 54

I wonder what cold medicine she's taking?

There are eight teams competing for the Polish Cup, and Krakow took on Siemens, a team standing at 4-13 in the PLKK. It didn't take much for Krakow to win, cruising easily to an 83-54 win and on to the quarterfinals which will take place later in the year.

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

What happened? Very simple: Krakow outscored Siemens 34-6 in the first quarter, and Krakow coasted the rest of the way towards the victory. Even though Siemens won two of the following three quarters, they didn't win by enough to overcome that 28 point first-quarter deficit.

Ugochukwu Oha scored 18 points and 14 rebounds for Siemens (Owa is a graduate of George Washington University). Alena Novikava scored 12 points, four rebounds and five assists for Siemens.

For winning Krakow, Ewelina Kobryn led all scorers for 20 points and 10 rebounds. Marta Fernandez had 14 points and four assists.

Iziane Castro Marques, recovering from a cold, had a so-so game.

11 points
3-for-9 shooting
17 minutes played

PLKK 17/2009 - Krakow 84, Inea AZS Posnan 65

This one was a gimme for Krakow. Deciding not to play Iziane Castro Marques, Krakow won a against bottom-dwelling Inea AZS Posnan 84-65. Krakow advances to 12-5 in the Polish league while Inea AZS Posnan falls to 3-12. Castro Marques has a cold, and she was doubtful even before the game started. It looks like she wasn't needed after all.

The box score is here.

Agnieszka Skobel had 13 points and five rebounds for Inea AZS Posnan. For Krakow, Janell Burse had 14 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

Perfumerias 10/2009 - Krakow 85, Gospic 84

Iziane Castro Marques tries to stop Carla Thomas.

All Krakow had to do to secure first place in Group B was defeat Gospic, a team 1-8 coming into this game. True, Krakow would have to play on the road but how hard could a win against Gospic be?

However, Krakow's perfect Euroleague record was broken the previous week with a 92-88 loss to Beretta. It seems that Krakow needed everything it could get to beat Gospic, squeezing out an 85-84 win to secure first place in Group B. Krakow moves on to the Eighth Finals where they will play the Hungarian team Pecs, which finished at 4-6 in fourth place in Group B.

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

It was a great game, with no quarter being decided by more than three points, and with Krakow leading 63-61 after three quarters. Jelena Ivezic tied the score at 71-71 with a jumper with 5:13 to go, but Krakow regained the lead - but Gospic was always a basket behind. With Krakow leading 85-81 going into the final quarter, Carla Thomas of Gospic hit a 3-pointer to close the score to 85-84 with 49 seconds to go.

Krakow worked 15 seconds off the clock before Katerina Zohnova attempted and missed a 3-pointer for Krakow. Ivezik got the reabound and they worked the clock down for Gospic to take the final shot. With one second left, Ivezic took the shot for Gospic to win the game - and missed. Ivana Jurcevic got the rebound and tried an at-the-buzzer shot but that didn't go down either.

Great game. A shame that only 300 people saw it.

Carla Thomas led Gospic with 23 points, six rebounds and four assists. Ewelina Kobryn scored 15 points and 14 rebounds for Krakow.

But what about Iziane Castro Marques? She tied Janell Burse in points with 17 for Krakow.

17 points in 19 minutes played
7-for-16 shooting
4 rebounds

PLKK 16/2009 - Krakow 100, Rybnik 53

Yes, that's the actual score - a 47-point whalloping by Wisa Can-Pack Krakow, which advances to 11-5 in the Polish league. Rybnik falls to 6-8. (Remember Rybnik when Kasha Terry was playing there?)

The box score is here.

Krakow shot 56 percent from the field, with Rybnik shooting 32 percent. Krakow led 56-26 by haltime. Rybnik had a couple of players with double-doubles - Nikita Bell had 18 points and 11 rebounds and Devanei Hampton had 16 points and 10 rebounds. Hampton had nine "fouls received", suggesting that Krakow spent most of the game beating the crap out of her.

As for Krakow, Katarina Zohnova led Krakow with 22 points. Iziane Castro Marques only played 21 minutes.

Her line:

12 points
5-for-11 shooting
3 rebounds
4 assists