Spanish League Round 9: The indispensible item

When American players come over to Spain, they have to pack wisely as they will be overseas for months.  But undoubtedly one of the most important possessions of a WNBA player is a Slingbox.

If you read about WNBA players and their lives overseas, you'll read about Slingboxes a lot.

From Lindsey Whalen:

"As for my down time, Slingbox, iheartradio and NFL Sunday ticket are three great products that – in the last few years – have made my overseas life so much better."

From Candice Dupree:

"I also enjoy having teammates over to hang out, cook dinner and watch TV on my sling box."

From Sue Bird:

"So 9 p.m. is like 7 a.m., I was able to watch the whole game on Slingbox ... and shady websites. I watched all the games on ESPN. I'd get up, eat cereal and watch UConn play live."

Basically, Slingbox is a tool that allows people who travel a lot to watch their favorite TV shows.  As long as you have internet you can watch your shows anywhere.  In the case of Bria Hartley and Kayla McBride in Sopron, Hungary the Slingbox has been installed in their parents' houses and as far as they're concerned, they're ready to survive.  Players in the WNBA playing overseas might forget a coat or leave a favorite pair of shoes back home - but the Slingbox?  Never!

I'm surprised that the WNBA and Slingbox don't enter into some sort of agreement.  Reduced costs for WNBA players in exchange for advertising.  Why should WNBA players be broadcasting the utility of Slingbox for free?

And now, let's take a look at Round Nine games.  It would be nice if someone set up a Slingbox in Spain so we could watch these games in the USA, but we'll have to take what we can get.

Conquero 78, Cadi La Seu 56

Friday's games started out with a match were two of the top four teams in the league faced each other, with Cadi La Seu visiting Conquero.  Conquero moved to an 8-1 record and kept its place in top of the table.  As only the top four teams go to the playoffs, they must be very unhappy as they lose the tie-breaker with Gernika and fall to fifth place.

Conquero won every quarter in their home victory and had a 38-20 lead at halftime.  Clearly, Conquero emptied the bench as only one player played 30 minutes and 12 Conquero players saw court time.  The home squad's shooting percentage - 62 percent - overwhelmed the visitors who had a better 3-point percentage (44 percent) than 2-point percentage (21 percent).

The "Black Power" trio of Chelsea Davis, Adaora Elonu, and Aja Parham had 45 points.  Elonu had another superlative performance, scoring 20 points and shooting 9-for-10.  Patricia Soler and Lucila Pascua also scored in double digits for Conquero. 

Marlou de Kleijn had 13 points to lead Cadi La Seu.  Tyrese Tanner added eight points in 15 minutes of play, but Ali Schwagmeyer only had one rebound and zero points in four minutes of play.

Chelsea Davis thanked her father for her talent in this Instagram post.

Gernika 78, Al-Qazeres 60

As game play started on Saturday Gernika (6-3) earned a decisive win against Al-Qazeres (2-7).  Al-Qazares won the first game of the season but have now lost seven of eight since being promoted to Liga Femenina.

This was another game where one team - Gernika - won every quarter.  Al-Qazeres, despite a 22 point/9 rebound performance from Lady Comfort, only shot 35 percent and was outrebounded 41-25.

Comfort was one of only two players to score in double-figures for the visitors.  The other was Veronica Sanchez who had 15 points.  Gernika, on the other hand, had six players break into double digits.  Mirna Mazic's 14 points and 7 rebounds was the most impressive performance as she shot 6-for-9 from the floor.  Britany Miller added 10 points and 14 rebounds and Bernice Mosby scored 10 points/8 rebounds/5 assists in the win.

Bernice Mosby was happy with her performance.

10pts 8rebs 5assists, 1blk 1stl if your not getting it done offensively get in done in other areas, that's a sign of a Great player????

— bernice mosby (@BerniceMosby) November 22, 2014

Gipuzkoa UPV 61, Bembibre 59

Another home team won in Round 9 as Gipuzkoa UPV (3-6) - a team that lost by over sixty points to Perfumerias in Round 8 - manage to squeeze out a win against Bembibre (5-4).

Bembibre had Gipuzkoa UPV on the ropes in the second quarter and led 38-25 at halftime.  But Gipuzkoa UPV answered back with a 16-6 third quarter and this one would be decided in last ten minutes.  Five minutes in Gipuzkoa UVP took the lead and despite Bembibre hanging in there they couldn't get the win. Gipuzkoa UPV managed to hold their visitors to just 32 percent shooting.  A 51-33 rebounding edge didn't hurt, either.

Oumoul Sarr scored 17 points but the difference maker was Lenita Sanford, a forward who graduated from UNLV in 2012.  Sanford had 17 points and 12 rebounds in her Spanish league debut. Maria Gomez added 8 points and 8 assists to the Gipuzkoa UPV win.

Bembibre was led by Dita Liepkalane with 18 points and eight rebounds, and Ariel Edwards added 14 points in the loss.

Gran Canaria 85, Mann Filter 65

Another home victory for the Liga Femenina, in a meeting of two teams near the bottom of the league table where Gran Canaria (3-6) wins easily against Mann Filter (3-6).

Mann Filter kept this fairly close.  At halftime they were down 44-35 and they managed to pick up an extra point after three quarters to close it to 61-53 after thirty minutes.  Then they ran out of gas in the final quarter, being held to just 12 points by Gran Canaria.

Iris Junio led all players with 19 points and Yurena Diaz had 12 points and five assists. Akila McDonald scored 13 points and 9 rebounds and Robyn Parks added nine points.

For Mann Filter, Belen Arrojo led all palyers with 18 points/7 rebounds/4 assists.  Laura Herrera has 16 points and Melisa Gretter had 10 points and five assists.  Samarie Walker had 9 points and 13 assists for Mann Filter in the loss.

Perfumerias 89, Zamora 62

There was an exception to the pattern of home teams beating the visitors.  Perfumerias (8-1) confirmed its hold of the top of the Liga Femenina with a win against Zamora (4-5).

Perfumerias won every quarter of the game, and after starting off 22-11 didn't have much to worry about.  They outshot Zamora 52 percent to 34 percent and hit 22 out of 25 of their total free throw attempts.

Shay Murphy exploded for 26 points and Angel Robinson had 14 points and 13 rebounds for Perfumerias.  Marija Rezan also had 10 points for Perfumerias.

Daria Mieloszynska-Zwolak led Zamora with 13 points.  Maria Manzanares had 8 points but also 5 assists and 7 seals.  Caroline Durbin only scored two points in 24 minutes of play.

Rivas Ecopolis 65, Ferrol 61

Rivas Ecopolis (3-6) is looking like they're turning things around with the acquisition of Lyndra Weaver.  They slip into the win column again with a close win against visiting Ferrol (3-6).  It's their second straight win and their first winning streak of the season.

This game wasn't decided until near the end.  Up 63-61, Ferrol had the chance to tie the game but Beatriz Sanchez missed the tying shot and were forced to foul Rivas, where Gaby Ocete hit the two free throws that sealed the Rivas win.

Lyndrea Weaver has 14 points and 9 rebounds for Rivas and Angela Salvadores had 19 points and 7 rebounds.  Gaby Ocete had 10 points, five rebounds and five assists.  Rivas was 19-for-22 at the free throw line.

Haley Peters and DeNesha Stallworth did their work for Ferrol, scoreing 19 points and 13 points, respectively.  Stallworth was one point shy of a double-double with nine rebounds.

Weaver was dressed for the occasion.  (Instagram link is here.)

Uni Girona 70, Campus Promete 66

This was the final game of Round 9 on Sunday. Uni Girona (8-1) led 50-30 at halftime. I can't find out much information about this game, but it seems that home team Campus Promete (1-8) stage a mini-comeback in the second half.

This close game came down to free throws.  Campus Promete was a disappointing 3-for-8 at the free throw line, whereas Uni Girona was 13-for-14.

Licet Castillo was the leading scorer for Campus Promete with 21 points and four assists.  LaNedra Brown contributed 10 points and 5 rebounds. Leslike Knight only had two points in 21 minutes of play.

But the MVP performance of Round 9 probably belongs to Iby Ibekwe.  27 points and 23 rebounds! 11-for-15 shooting!  Brittany Chambers also had 16 points and 6 rebounds.

Round 10 games (November 28-30)

Gran Canaria (3-6) @ Uni Girona (8-1)
Gipuzkoa UPV (3-6) @ Mann Filter (3-6)
Campus Promete (1-8) @ Cadi La Seu (6-3)
Gernika (6-3) @ Ferrol (3-6)
Rivas Ecopolis (3-6) @ Perfumerias (8-1)
Zamora (4-5) @ Bembibre (5-4)
Conquero (8-1) @ Al-Qazeres (2-7)