Women's Basketball 24.7

"There is no offseason"

WNBA All-Time Career Stats Leaders

by Leave a Comment

With the 2017 regular season complete and recent new career marks set, it is a good time to take a look at all of the career lists.  The league has provided the top 30 in the five main counting stats.  Highlighted players appeared during the 2017 season.  After the retirement of Tamika Catchings, no active players are on all five lists as she and DeLisha Milton-Jones are the exclusive members of that list.  Four active players, Alana Beard, Candace Parker, Diana Taurasi, and Lindsay Whalen appear on four lists.

Points:

It was a major season for broken records, and having a new all time scoring leader was certainly part of it as Diana Taurasi leaped past two players to top the top.  Sue Bird’s other milestone gained more recognition, but she reached the top ten in this category and was joined by a resurgent Candice Dupree.  There are two newcomers on the list as Maya Moore and Sylvia Fowles joined, showing the experience of the Lynx as they have six players on this list, nearly half of the active players.  Plenty of movement should be expected on this list next year, especially when Angel McCoughtry makes her return and jumps well past the 5,000 point mark.

Rebounds:

Tamika Catching set the career mark in this category last season, but her retirement has given Rebekkah Brunson the chance to pass her next year after she moved into the top three and surpassed 3,000 rebounds.  Sylvia Fowles and Tina Charles moved into the top ten, but will have to have great seasons again to reach 3,000 next year.  Camille Little is the latest player to join this list.

Assists:

The most recent milestone was Sue Bird’s climb above Ticha Penicheiro for the all time assists mark.  This was certainly viewed as a possibility before the season, but really required a second straight big year to accomplish.  Courtney Vandersloot was a big gainer on this list this year and a similar performance next year should push her well into the top ten.  There are three newcomers on the list as Candace Parker surpassed the 1,000 mark and Renee Montgomery and Kristi Toliver also check in at the bottom.

Steals:

It will be a long time before anyone threatens this career record, but there has been plenty of movement.  Alana Beard passed several players to reach fourth, but is just shy of Sheryl Swoopes with a question of retirement looming.  Sue Bird looks set to move further up this list next season.  Camille Little and Cappie Pondexter are the newest players to join this list.

Blocks:

This is also not currently within reach, but the chase pack is more clearly defined as Sylvia Fowles and Brittney Griner both had strong seasons in this category and could both make it into the top five in a year.  Diana Taurasi is actually still higher on this list than she is on the steals list.  Jessica Breland, Elena Delle Donne, and Alana Beard are the newest players on the list, giving Beard membership on her fourth list.

2017 Team Stats Update

by Leave a Comment

Now that the regular season has concluded, it is a good time to see how teams stack up in some less traditional statistical categories now that the league is in it’s second year of providing additional information.

Net Rating:

Using offensive and defensive rating is a good way of comparing teams because it equalized the number of possessions being accounted for with both expressed as points per 100 possessions.  The blue bar represents offensive rating while the red bar represents defensive rating.  The difference between the two is the net rating.

The team win-loss records are pretty clear for this season after looking at this chart.  The four non-playoff teams all have substantially worse offenses than the playoff teams.  The top four defenses had the best records in order while the three offenses were among those teams.  Minnesota and Los Angeles continue to lead in both categories while New York continues to rely on a stingy defense to pick up wins.  Dallas and Seattle were the last teams in the playoffs and their solid offenses were betrayed by below average defense.  Atlanta’s defense was very solid, but their lack of offense stifled their attempts to sneak into the playoffs.  San Antonio’s offense continues to lag behind the rest of the league as they finished at the bottom of the standings again.

Change vs. 2016:

With two seasons of statistics, it is now much more simple to compare the two years.  The blue column represents the change in offensive rating, the red column represents the change in defensive rating, and the green column represents the change in net rating from 2016 to 2017.  The changes in wins is included in the team labels.

Looking at the the teams with dramatic changes in fortune between the seasons, it is clear why the number of wins changed.  Connecticut, Dallas, and Washington improved both defensively and offensively.  Indiana’s collapse happened on both sides of the ball, while Chicago and Atlanta saw their decline occur on the defensive end.  Minnesota and Los Angeles were viewed as having dominant regular seasons last year, and this year has seen both of them improve in on court performance, even though there was a negligible difference in their records.

Rebound Percentage:

Separating the two rebound percentage statistics gives a better picture of team at each end of the court.  The x-axis represents the percentage of available offensive rebounds that the team grabs while the y-axis represents the percentage of available defensive rebounds that the team grabs.  Since offensive rebounding is often the result of strategy decisions, measuring defensive rebounding on its own is useful.  Strong defensive rebounding limits the opposition’s chances and gives the team more chances on offense.  Strong offensive rebounding can give the team more chances, but if it is the result of sending more players to crash the board, could result in giving up more transition points.

New York continues to be one of the league’s better rebounding teams, leading in both categories.  Connecticut follows them on the defensive end while Minnesota is the next team on the offensive end while also being among the leaders on the defensive end.  Indiana, Seattle, and Chicago struggle at both ends while the rest of the teams hover around the average defensively, but range widely at the offensive end.  The top five defense rebounding teams also have the top five defense and include the four teams in the league with the best records.  Offensive rebounding does not share the same relationship with offense.

Points Breakdowns:

The first chart is a breakdown of how each team scores its points while the second chart show how each team gives up its points.  The blue bars represent points from two pointers, the red bars show points from three pointers, and the green bars show the percentage of points coming from free throws.  While some of the extremes from other seasons are not replicated in this seasons figures, there are still some interesting observations.  Seattle scores a larger percentage of its points from behind the arc, but it also gives up the largest percentage from distance.  Dallas scores the lowest percentage of its points from two point field goals, but a larger percentage of the points scored on them come from inside the arc than for any other team.

Correlations:

Measuring correlation between various statistics can lead to rethinking of the relationships between them.  It is difficult to determine whether or not these relationships exist, but R-Squared, which ranges from 0 to 1 can determine how strong that relationship is within the data that is available with higher numbers being stronger.  The first chart shows correlations calculated with offensive rating and the second chart shows correlations calculated with defensive rating using team data.

Unsurprisingly, teams with strong assist to turnover ratios at higher offensive ratings.  Assists signify good offense while turnovers prevent more scoring opportunities, which is also shown by teams with higher turnover percentages having lower offensive ratings..  Teams with better defenses also tended to have better offenses, which is likely due to those teams having better personnel among other factors.  What is interesting is that defensive rebounding percentage had a higher correlation than offensive rebounding percentage, although neither had a particularly large R-Squared.  In theory, offensive rebounds should result in more chances to score, but this may represent different strategic choices.  Defensive rebounding could indicate talent disparities, but less energy expended on defense could also boost offense.  Pace and free throw rate have positive, but weak correlations.

It is no surprise that defensive rebounding has a strong correlation with better defense.  The ability to limit opponents to single chances on the offensive end is clearly useful.  Offensive rebounding also had a correlation in the same direction, which could indicate that crashing the boards could help prevent the opposition from getting into their offense quickly.  Block percentage and pace had correlations in direction that would be expected, with teams blocking more shots and teams that played in slower games having better defensive ratings, but neither correlation was particularly strong.

2017 Individual Stats Update

by Leave a Comment

With the second season of the WNBA’s commitment to providing additional statistics complete, let’s take a look at how players stack up in some of the non-traditional measures.  In order to be counted in these lists, players must have been on the court for 680 possessions, 20 per game that each team plays.  For players who played for multiple team, the last team name is listed, but stats compiled for all teams are included.

Usage:

Usage measures the percentage of her team’s possessions that the player terminates while she is on the court.  It provides two separate measures that help us understand a team’s offense, both showing which players are stars that a team relies on heavily and also identifying players who come off the bench or play fewer possessions, but take shots while they are on the court, which would not show up as much in traditional counting stats.  Players with a usage percentage of at least 23% are included on this list.

No single player may have been more critical to her team than Tina Charles this year and it showed on this list as she was the only player to exceed 30% usage and was the only Liberty player on the list.  She is followed by two teammate duos as the young stars of the Storm and the Mercury’s veterans were leaned on offensively.  Brittney Sykes pushed her way into the rookie of the year statistics as the season progressed and it was clear how she did so as she was given a larger and larger role over time.  Unlike some other instances, the number of players appearing on this list with fewer minutes played was not particularly large as Monique Currie was asked to play a variety of roles on two different teams this season while Ivory Latta was the only player on the list to play less than 20 minutes per game.  Skylar Diggins-Smith made the list as the only Wings player as she was on the court for more possessions than any other player in the league this season.

Effective Field Goal Percentage:

Effective field goal percentage helps nullify the advantage that post players and others who shoot closer to the basket have on players who shoot more of their shots from distance.  Three point shots are given more value to account for the additional point that they provide.  Players who have an effective field goal percentage above 55% are included on this list.

Adding points for three pointers did not change the leader in this category as Sylvia Fowles stayed on top without attempting a shot from behind the arc.  Crystal Langhorne was behind her while almost exclusively operating from two point range.  The first player with a reputation as a sniper checked in at third as Allie Quigley’s percentage clearly benefits from this adjustment.  Stefanie Dolson and Nneka Ogwumike get additional credit from this system as they mix a comfort of operating in the paint with an ability to stretch the floor.

Free Throw Rate:

Free throw rate measures the number of free throws attempted as a percentage of field goals attempted.  Players with at least 40% as many free throw attempts as field goal attempts are included on this list.  Players who rank high on this list tend to be either post players or slashers.

Five players attempt at least half as many free throws as field goals.  While Emma Cannon is a newcomer to the league, the other four are certainly no strangers to the list.  Alyssa Thomas just under 50% last year, but the other three were above and all in the top five on that list.  Shavonte Zellous, Karima Christmas-Kelly, and Brittney Griner all increased their percentages from 2016.  While those at the top of the list had higher rates than last season, the number of players at 42% and over decreased as only 18 players were at that mark after 24 players hit that rate a year ago.

Rebound Percentage:

Rebound percentage statistics help isolate multiple factors, not just controlling for minutes on the court.  Offensive and defensive rebounding are separate, which helps account for team philosophy and player roles.  The basis of measurement is available rebounds, which mitigates the effect of different field goal percentages.  Players who grabbed at least 20% of available rebounds on the defensive end made that list and players who grabbed at least 8% of available offensive rebounds made the other list.

Separate statistics are not needed to show that Jonquel Jones was dominant on the boards this season.  She grabbed nearly a third of her opponent’s misses, more than five percentage points above any other player while also leading in the offensive category as she nearly doubled her defensive rebounding rate from last year with a big increase in minutes.  The split better showcases Candace Parker’s rebounding as she was second on the defensive end, but not on the list for the offensive end where the Sparks were not among the league leaders, perhaps reflecting team philosophy.  Other Mystics acquisitions deservedly had more fanfare, but this statistic shows another key move as Krystal Thomas was in the top three in both categories, one of nine players players on both lists as Tianna Hawkins also helped the Mystics rebound well.  Sylvia Fowles and Rebekkah Brunson are both in the top ten of total rebounds all time, so it was no surprise to see them as the other pair of teammates to appear on both lists.

Afrobasket Final August 27th

by Leave a Comment

August 27, 2017

Senegal started the final better, but the rest of the game was all Nigeria as they got the 65-48 win and completed an undefeated tournament.  A great result for Nigeria continues to suggest that with continued organization, the team’s available talent could turn them into the continent’s powerhouse.  Astou Traore led Senegal again, which got her the MVP honors in a loss.  Five different countries were represented in the team of the tournament as Traore was joined by Italee Lucas of Angola, Evelyn Akhator of Nigeria, Leia Dongue of Mozambique, and Naignouma Coulibaly of Mali.  Before the final, Mali at least sent the fans home with something to celebrate as a 75-52 win over Mozambique got them the last medal.  The day started with an exciting game for 7th palce as Ramses Lonlack and Cameroon came up just short in their comeback as they lost 86-83 to Egypt.  The Ivory Coast then beat Angola 61-56 for 5th place.

Final:

Senegal vs. Nigeria 48-65 SEN As. Traore 17/6r Sy Diop 7 Daou 6 Aw. Traore 6 Diouf 5 Sarr 4 Thiam 3 Fall 0 Sy 0 Sene 0 Sidibe 0 Dieng 0 NGR Akhator 13/7r Elonu 12 Nyingifa 11 Kalu 8 Ogoke 8 Mohammed 6/7r Atosu 3 Akashili 2 Nwaigwe 2 Madu 0 Udeaja 0 Okoye 0

3rd Place:

Mozambique vs. Mali 52-75 MOZ Dongue 10 Seda 9/7r Mafanela 9/6r Pinto 9 Mucubaquine 7 Pereira 5 Muianga 3 Cossa 0 Ventura 0 Massingue 0 Lhavanguane 0 Halar DNP MLI Traore 19 Tirera 15/8r Diakite 9/8r Bagayoko 7 Gandega 7 N. Coulibaly 6/6r Maiga 5 M. Coulibaly 4 K. Coulibaly 3 Dabo 0 Camara 0 Keita DNP

5th Place:

Angola vs. Ivory Coast 56-61 ANG Filipe 13/10r Eusebio 12 Ndoniema 9/6r Goncalves 8 Tomas 7 Gala 3 Mpaka 2 Miguel 2 Lucas 0 Jorge 0 Afonso DNP Matiquite DNP CIV K. Kouyate 15/7r Diawara 9 Fofana 9 Diaby 8/11r Bognini 8 Cisse 7 Ab. Kone 3 Djedjemel 2 N’Goran 0 Aw. Kone 0 M. Kouyate 0 Kouakou DNP

7th Place:

Cameroon vs. Egypt 83-86 CMR Lonlack 22/8a Ebogo Fabo 19/16r Mfoula 10 Weledji 8/6r Tchasi 8 Mba Minna 6/7r Ramey 4 Ade 4 Ghane Yenou 2 Assena 0 Mbiandija DNP Abenkou DNP EGY Abdelgawad 16/6r Elshaarawy 16 Helwa 15/10r R. Awad 14 Deghady 12/7r Abdelalim 7/6r Sherif 6 Youssef 0 Abdelfattah DNP M. Awad DNP Bakr DNP

Afrobasket Semifinals August 26th

by Leave a Comment

August 26, 2017

Semifinals:

The semifinals were critical not just because they meant there would be a chance at a championship, but also because a win was the only way to qualify for the World Championship.  The high stakes of the occasion showed in the first game as both teams had a nervy start and had to resort to grinding out the rest of the game.  Nigeria continued to build their lead, but Mali was roared on by the home fans and refused to let the visitors pull away, fighting back late, but missing several opportunities to finally give themselves a lead, falling 48-47.  The next game had a different flow as Astou Traore and Senegal were able to build a solid lead and win 72-52.  Leia Dongue led Mozambique again, but they could not contend for that final spot in next summer’s tournament.

Nigeria vs. Mali 48-47 NGR Kalu 11/6a Nyingifa 11 Elonu 7/6r Akhator 5/10r Ogoke 5 Okoye 5 Mohammed 4 Madu 0 Atosu 0 Akashili 0 Udeaja 0 Nwaigwe DNP MLI Tirera 15/6a Diakite 12/9r Traore 7 N. Coulibaly 6/17r Maiga 4 Bagayoko 3 Dabo 0/8r Gandega 0 K. Coulibaly 0 M. Coulibaly 0 Camara 0 Keita DNP

Mozambique vs. Senegal 52-72 MOZ Dongue 20/6r Seda 15/14r Pereira 6 Cossa 5 Mafanela 4 Muianga 2 Ventura 0 Mucuaquine 0 Pinto 0 Lhavanguane 0 Massingue 0 Halar 0 SEN As. Traore 22 Sene 12 Diouf 10 Sy Diop 8 Sarr 7 Thiam 5 Daou 4/7r Fall 4 Sidibe 0/8r Aw. Traore 0 Sy 0 Dieng DNP

5th Place:

The quarterfinals losers still had 5th place to chase.  Angola built a big lead at halftime to beat Cameroon 66-54.  Egypt started better, but the Ivory Coast played well for the rest of the game to win 73-70.

Angola vs. Cameroon 66-54 ANG Tomas 16/7r Gala 14 Jorge 11 Filipe 7/8r Lucas 5 Eusebio 5 Mpaka 4 Miguel 2 Ndoniema 2 Afonso 0 Goncalves 0 Matiquite DNP CMR Lonlack 18 Ade 12/6r Mfoula 10 Mbiandija 7 Assena 3 Abenkou 2 Tchasi 2 Weledji 0 Ramey 0 Mba Minna 0 Ghane Yenou DNP Ebogo Fabo DNP

Ivory Coast vs. Egypt 73-70 CIV Cisse 19 Diawara 13/9r Diaby 11/9r M. Kouyate 11/7r K. Kouyate 11/6r/8a Bognini 3 Ab. Kone 3 Kouakou 2/7r N’Goran 0 Djedjemel 0 Fofana 0 Aw. Kone DNP EGY Elshaarawy 19/6r Abdelgawad 15 R. Awad 13 Helwa 8/9r/6a Abdelalim 6 Deghady 6 Youssef 3 Sherif 0 Abdelfattah 0 M. Awad DNP Bakr DNP

9th Place:

The Democratic Republic of Congo ended their tournament on a winning note after getting past Guinea 69-38.

Guinea vs. Democratic Republic of Congo 38-69 GUI Mara 14 Bah 8/6r Mbaye 5 Sylla 4 Berete 4 Bangoura 2 Soumah 1 S. Keita 0 Sacko 0 A. Keita 0 Peruch Niang DNP COD Ngoyisa 13/12r Mokango Modiri 11 Muganza Nyota 10/7r Mukoso Nyoka 8 Bilonda Ntumba 8 Kabobo Haongi 6 Mambengya Teba 4 Ngusu Mafuta 4 Bombolo Balongya 3/8a Kapinga Kalombo 2 Mfutila Makiese 0 Mbiya Tshiyoyo DNP

11th Place:

The day started with the battle to avoid last place.  Abeti Kossi had one of the best individual tournaments of any player, but her team could not pull out of the cellar after a 73-63 loss to Tunisia.

Tunisia vs. Central African Republic 73-63 TUN Hamrouni 14 Ksouri Sbeii 13 Ben Mahmoud 12/12r Msadak 6 Mefteh 6 Khlifa 6 Loubiri 5 Ben Mechlia 5 Mnasria 4/7r Shili 2 Jedidi Mistiri DNP Ben Ameur DNP CAF Kossi 23/11r Gaombalet 9 Djel 9 Yagba Kokito 8/8r Guegbelet 5/14r M’Baye Ndack 4 Kalene 4 Eyene 1/7a Yamalet 0 Ngbonga 0 Koumba DNP Derebone-Ngaisset DNP

Final Day Schedule:
1st: Senegal vs. Nigeria
3rd: Mozambique vs. Mali
5th: Angola vs. Ivory Coast
7th: Cameroon vs. Egypt

Afrobasket Quarterfinals August 25th

by Leave a Comment

August 25, 2017

Quarterfinals:

The first quarterfinal was not close as Evelyn Akhator led Nigeria again in their 98-43 win over the Ivory Coast.  The next game was Africa’s most classic rivalry.  Angola looked to be starting well, but Italee Lucas did not get enough help and Leia Dongue went to work for Mozambique as they handed their opponents their first loss of the tournament at the worst time 61-47.  Mali built on their lead after halftime to roll to a 90-50 win over Egypt.  Ramses Lonlack had her best game of the tournament for Cameroon as they managed to hang in for a while, but Astou Traore and Senegal got the 71-58 win.  The winners of the semifinals on Saturday will take the last two spots in the World Championship next summer.

Ivory Coast vs. Nigeria 43-98 CIV Bognini 11 K. Kouyate 7/9r Diawara 7 Diaby 6/6r Kouakou 6 N’Goran 4 M. Kouyate 2 Cisse 0 Djedjemel 0 Fofana 0 Aw. Kone 0 Ab. Kone 0 NGR Akhator 21/11r Kalu 17/8a Akashili 13 Atosu 12 Madu 10 Udeaja 5/6r Okoye 5 Elonu 5 Nyingifa 5 Ogoke 3 Mohammed 2 Nwaigwe DNP

Mozambique vs. Angola 61-47 MOZ Dongue 27/14r Pereira 12 Seda 6/15r Mafanela 6 Muianga 5/7r Cossa 3/8r/10a Pinto 2 Ventura 0 Halar 0 Mucubaquine DNP Massingue DNP Lhavanguane DNP ANG Lucas 18/7r/6s Tomas 6/6r Jorge 6 Gala 4 Miguel 3/7r Goncalves 3 Mpaka 3 Filipe 2 Ndoniema 2 Eusebio 0 Matiquite 0 Afonso DNP

Egypt vs. Mali 50-90 EGY Abdelgawad 15 Helwa 14/9r Deghady 7 Abdelalim 7 Elshaarawy 6 Awad 1 Bakr 0 Youssef 0 Sherif 0 Abdelfattah DNP Awad DNP MLI N. Coulibaly 16 Bagayoko 14 Tirera 11/7r Traore 10 Diakite 9 M. Coulibaly 8/9r Gandega 6/6r K. Coulibaly 4/12r Camara 4/6r/7a Keita 4 Maiga 4 Dabo DNP

Cameroon vs. Senegal 58-71 CMR Lonlack 21/9r Weledji 10/6a Ade 8 Mba Minna 5 Mfoula 5 Mbiandja 3 Assena 3 Abenkou 2/7r Tchasi 1 Ebogo Fabo 0 Ramey 0 Ghane Yenou DNP SEN As. Traore 21 Thiam 14 Sarr 12 Fall 8 Sy Diop 6 Diouf 6 Sene 2 Aw. Traore 2 Daou 0 Sidibe 0 Dieng 0 Sy DNP

Brackets:

Semifinals:
Mozambique vs. Senegal
Nigeria vs. Mali

5th Place:
Angola vs. Cameroon
Ivory Coast vs. Egypt

9th Place Playoffs:

The consolation bracket started with Guinea beating Tunisia 60-56.  The other game was nowhere near as close as Ginette Mfutila helped the Democratic Republic of Congo ease to a 101-40 win over the Central African Republic.

Guinea vs. Tunisia 60-56 GUI Sylla 18 Mara 10/10r Mbaye 10 Bah 9/8r Soumah 9 S. Keita 2/12r Berete 2 Sacko 0 Bangoura DNP Peruch Niang DNP A. Keita DNP TUN Loubiri 14 Mnasria 10 Ben Mechlia 8 Hamrouni 7 Msadak 6 Jedidi Mistiri 5 Ksouri Sbeii 2 Shili 2 Khlifa 2 Ben Mahmoud DNP Mefteh DNP Ben Ameur DNP

Central African Republic vs. Democratic Republic of Congo 40-101 CAF Imbangueret 13 Yagba Kokito 11 Eyene 9 M’Baye Ndack 4 Gaombalet 2 Ngbonga 1 Guegbelet 0 Yamalet 0 Kalene 0 Koumba 0 Djel 0 Derebona-Ngaisset 0 COD Mfutila Makiese 25/8r Muganza Nyote 15/8r Ngoyisa 13 Kabobo Haongi 10/10r Bombolo Balongya 10 Bilonda Ntumba 8 Mukoso Nyoka 7 Ngusu Mafuta 6 Mokango Modiri 5 Kapinga Kalombo 2 Mambengya Teba 0/6a Mbiya Tshiyoyo DNP

Afrobasket Day 4 August 22nd

by Leave a Comment

August 22, 2017

Group A:

Cameroon put themselves in a solid position to qualify with a 64-49 win over Tunisia with Tia Weledji leading the way.  Hosts Mali beat the Central African Republic 97-38.  The day ended with Angola winning the group after having a tough time with the Ivory Coast before winning 70-62 thanks to Italee Lucas.  Their game against the Central African Republic will be meaningless for both teams, but Tunisia will need a win to stay alive in the next game against the Ivory Coast.  That result will determine how much is at stake when Mali and Cameroon play in the following game.

Tunisia vs. Cameroon 49-64 TUN Loubiri 10 Ben Mechlia 10 Ksouri Sbeii 8 Mnasria 7/7r Hamrouni 6/7r Jedidi Mistiri 4 Mefteh 4 Msadak 0 Khlifa 0 Ben Ameur 0 Shili 0 Ben Mahmoud DNP CMR Weledji 22/7r Lonlack 18/7r Ade 6 Mfoula 6 Assena 6 Ramey 4 Mbiandija 2 Abenkou 0 Tchasi 0 Ghane Yanou 0 Ebogo Fabo 0 Mba Minna DNP

Central African Republic vs. Mali 38-97 CAR Imbangueret 13/8r Yagba Kokito 13 Guegbelet 5/9r Gaombalet 3 Kalene 2 M’Baye Ndack 2 Eyene 0 Yamalet 0 Derebona-Ngaisset 0 Djel 0 Koumba 0 Ngbonga DNP MLI Diakite 15 K. Coulibaly 12/6r Maiga 12 Bagayoko 12 Tirera 11 Gandega 7/7a Dabo 6/8r Traore 6/6r M. Coulibaly 5 Camara 5 N. Coulibaly 4 Keita 2

Ivory Coast vs. Angola 62-70 CIV K. Kouyate 19/9r Diaby 12/8r Ab. Kone 11 Kouakou 6/6r Bognini 5 Fofana 4 M. Kouyate 2 N’Goran 2 Djedjemel 1 Cisse 0 Diawara 0 Aw. Kone DNP ANG Lucas 27/8r Jorge 9 Mpaka 9 Miguel 5 Matiquite 5 Tomas 4 Goncalves 4 Eusebio 3 Gala 2 Filipe 2 Ndoniema 0 Afonso 0

Group B:

This group had all of its games start the day.  Astou Traore and Senegal beat Egypt 93-61.  Evelyn Akhator continues to emerge for Nigeria as they beat Guinea 106-33 to also remain undefeated.  Mozambique kept the Democratic Republic of Congo winless 52-42.  That leaves the last day of round-robin play with few complications.  Guinea and the Democratic Republic of Congo open Wednesday having already been eliminated followed by Egypt and Mozambique playing to determine which of them will be third and fourth in the group.  Senegal and Nigeria will close the day with the winner taking the top spot in the group.

Egypt vs. Senegal 61-93 EGY Awad 13 Helwa 10/6r Deghady 10 Osama 10 Abdelgawad 7 Abdelalim 4 Elsharaawy 4 Youssef 3 Sherif 0 Bakr 0 Abdelfattah DNP SEN As. Traore 26/7r Daou 17/12r Aw. Traore 14 Sy Diop 10/8a Sene 8/6r/7a Thiam 7 Fall 5/7r Dieng 4 Sarr 2/7r Sidibe 0 Diouf 0 Sy 0

Guinea vs. Nigeria 33-106 GUI Mara 11 Berete 5 Soumah 4 Bangoura 4 Peruch Niang 3 Sacko 3 A. Keita 2 Mbaye 1 S. Keita 0 Bah 0 Sylla 0 NGR Akhator 24/7r Ogoke 13 Akashili 12 Elonu 11 Nyingifa 8 Udeaja 7/6r Atosu 7 Mohammed 6 Okoye 6 Kalu 5 Nwaigwe 4 Madu 3/7r

Democratic Republic of Congo vs. Mozambique 42-52 COD Mukoso Nyoka 13 Bilonda Ntumba 8 Mokango Modiri 6/6r/6b Ngoyisa 5/6r Mambengya Teba 4 Muganza Nyota 2 Kapinga Kalombo 2 Mfutila Makiese 2 Bombolo Balongya 0/6a Kabobo Hoangi 0 Ngusu Mafuta 0 Mbiya Tshiyoyo DNP MOZ Dongue 14/11r Mafanela 12 Pereira 10 Pinto 6 Seda 5/8r Cossa 3/8a Ventura 2 Mucubaquine 0 Lhavanguane 0 Massingue DNP Halar DNP Muianga DNP

Afrobasket Day 3 August 20th

by Leave a Comment

August 20, 2017

Group A:

Angola stayed undefeated, but had a tricky time with Tunisia before winning 62-55.  Mali stayed right behind them in the standings by handing the Ivory Coast its first loss 61-39.  The day ended with a game between two teams looking for their first win as it was Cameroon defeating the Central African Republic 94-42 despite the best efforts of Abeti Kossi.

Angola vs. Tunisia 62-55 ANG Lucas 15/6r Gala 13 Eusebio 8 Filipe 7/7r Tomas 4/10r Ndoniema 4 Miguel 3/6r Afonso 3 Mpaka 3 Goncalves 2 Jorge 0 Matiquite DNP TUN Hamrouni 14 Mnasria 9/9r Loubiri 9 Ksorui Sbeii 8 Ben Mechlia 6 Msadak 3 Ben Ameur 3 Khlifa 2/6r Jedidi Mistiri 1 Shili 0 Ben Mahmoud DNP Mefteh DNP

Ivory Coast vs. Mali 39-61 CIV K. Kouyate 10 Diaby 10 Fofana 8 N’Goran 4 Cisse 3 Bognini 3 Ab. Kone 1 M. Kouyate 0 Diawara 0 Kouakou 0 Djedjemel 0 Aw. Kone DNP MLI N. Coulibaly 12/13r Gandega 12 K. Coulibaly 11 M. Coulibaly 10/8r Tirera 6 Traore 4 Dabo 2 Bagayoko 2 Camara 2 Diakite 0/7r Keita 0 Maiga 0

Cameroon vs. Central African Republic 94-42 CMR Lonlack 15/6r Assena 15 Weledji 13 Ade 12/9r Ghane Yenou 9 Mfoula 8 Mbiandja 6/6a Tchasi 6 Abenkou 4 Ebogo Fabo 3/7r Mba Minna 3 Ramey 0 CAF Kossi 25/12r Eyene 7 Guegbelet 3/8r Derebone-Ngaisset 2 Kalene 2 Gaombalet 1 M’Baye Ndack 1 Ngbonga 1 Yagba Kokito 0 Koumba 0 Djel 0 Yamalet 0

Group B:

The day started with Nigeria beating Egypt 106-72 in a battle of unbeatens thanks to Evelyn Akhator.  Mozambique won a battle of winless teams 88-47 over Guinea.  Senegal’s 70-63 win over the Democratic Republic of Congo kept them undefeated too as they and Nigeria advanced to the quarterfinals.

Nigeria vs. Egypt 106-72 NGR Akhator 24/13r Kalu 18 Nyingifa 15/12r Ogoke 13 Okoye 9/6r Akashili 7 Elonu 5/8a Atosu 5 Nwaigwe 4 Udeaja 4 Madu 2 Mohammed 0/6r EGY Deghady 15 Osama 12 Abdelalim 10 Abdelgawad 7/7a Elshaarawy 6/7r Helwa 6 Youssef 6 Awad 5 Bakr 3 Sherif 2 Abdelfattah DNP

Mozambique vs. Guinea 88-47 MOZ Dongue 18/7r Mafanela 12/11r Seda 11/12r Cossa 11 Ventura 10 Pereira 8 Pinto 6 Mucubaquine 6 Muianga 2 Lhavanguane 2 Massingue 2 Halar 0 GUI Mara 18 Mbaye 11 Soumah 8 Bah 4/6r S. Keita 2/8r Peruch Niang 2 A. Keita 1 Sylla 1 Berete 0 Bangoura 0 Sacko 0

Democratic Republic of Congo vs. Senegal 63-70 COD Mokango Modiri 12/7r Ngoyisa 12/6r Mambengya Teba 12/10a Kapinga Kalombo 11 Muganza Nyota 5/8r Ngusu Mafuta 4 Kabobo Haongi 4 Mukoso Nyoka 3 Bombolo Balongya 0 Bilonda Ntumba 0 Mfutila Makiese 0 Mbiya Tshiyoyo DNP SEN As. Traore 19/8r Sene 10 Sy Diop 8/7r/6a Diouf 8 Ay. Traore 7 Thiam 6/7a Sarr 6 Daou 4 Sidibe 2 Dieng 0 Sy 0 Fall 0

Afrobasket Day 2 August 19th

by Leave a Comment

August 19, 2017

Group A:

The day started with Tunisia using a balanced effort to beat Abeti Kossi and the Central African Republic 96-51.  The next game was closer as the Ivory Coast used a big third quarter to beat Cameroon 57-54.  Italee Lucas proved to be the difference for Angola again as they beat Meiya Tirera and hosts Mali 68-59.

Central African Republic vs. Tunisia 51-96 CAF Imbangueret 30/8r Eyene 4 Guegbelet 3/6r Kalene 3 Yagba Kokito 3 Ngbonga 3 Gaombalet 3 Koumba 2 Yamalet 0 M’Baye Ndack 0 Djel 0 Derebona-Ngaisset DNP TUN Hamrouni 19/10r Mnasria 12 Msadak 12 Khlifa 11 Loubiri 11 Ben Mechlia 10 Ben Ameur 9 Ben Mahmoud 5 Jedidi Mistiri 4 Shili 2 Ksouri Sbeii 1 Mefteh 0

Cameroon vs. Ivory Coast 54-57 CMR Ade 15/8r Mbiandja 8 Ramey 6 Mfoula 6 Lonlack 5 Abenkou 4 Assena 4 Tchasi 3 Weledji 3 Ebogo Fabo 0 Ghane Yenou 0 Mba Minna DNP CIV Diawara 18 Diaby 15/9r Cisse 9 N’Goran 8 K. Kouyate 3 Fofana 2 M. Kouyate 2 Kouakou 0 Ab. Kone 0 Djedjemel 0 Bognini 0 Aw. Kone DNP

Mali vs. Angola 59-68 MLI Tirera 21 Gandega 13 N. Coulibaly 10/15r Traore 4 Dabo 4 M. Coulibaly 4 Diakite 3 Camara 0 K. Coulibaly 0 Bagayoko 0 Maiga 0 Keita 0 ANG Lucas 21/6r Goncalves 19 Miguel 8/6r Ndoniema 8/6r Gala 6/8r Eusebio 4 Matiquite 2 Jorge 0 Mpaka 0 Tomas 0 Filipe 0 Afonso DNP

Group B:

Mennatalla Awada and Egypt beat Guinea 109-78 as the veteran presence of Nadia Peruch Niang could not help her team get closer.  Nigeria had a fast start against the Democratic Republic of Congo, building that lead in the second half to win 84-47.  Astou Traore and Senegal took a big lead on Mozambique into halftime, but then had to hold on in the second half to win 76-67.

Egypt vs. Guinea 109-78 EGY Awad 20/7r Abdelgawad 15 Youssef 13 Osama 12 Elshaarawy 10 Bakr 10 Sherif 9/6r Deghady 7/6a Abdelalim 5/10r Abdelfattah 5 Helwa 3/9r GUI Peruch Niang 20/6r/6a Mbaye 15 Bah 12/7r S. Keita 10/14r A. Keita 10 Mara 9 Sylla 2 Berete 0 Bangoura 0 Sacko 0 Soumah 0

Nigeria vs. Democratic Republic of Congo 84-47 NGR Nyingifa 13 Atosu 12 Akashili 11 Mohammed 9/6r Akhator 7/9r Kalu 7 Ogoke 7 Elonu 6 Madu 5 Okoye 3 Udeaja 2 Nwaigwe 2 COD Mokango Modiri 10/8r Mambengya Teba 8 Mukoso Nyoka 7 Kapinga Kalombo 6 Ngusu Mafuta 5 Bombolo Balongya 4 Muganza Nyota 2 Kabobo Haongi 2 Mbiya Tshiyoyo 2 Ngoyisa 1 Mfutila Makiese 0 Bilonda Ntumba 0

Senegal vs. Mozambique 76-67 SEN As. Traore 29/6r Ay. Traore 15 Sy Diop 11/6r Thiam 10 Diouf 8 Sarr 2 Daou 1 Sidibe 0 Sene 0 Dieng 0 Fall DNP Sy DNP MOZ Cossa 16 Dongue 14/11r Mafanela 10 Seda 8 Muianga 6 Pinto 3 Pereira 3 Ventura 3 Massingue 2 Mucubaquine 2 Halar 0 Lhavanguane DNP

Afrobasket Day 1 August 18th

by Leave a Comment

August 18, 2017

Only two spots remain in next year’s World Championship.  They will be determined over the course of the next ten days in Bamako as Mali hosts Afrobasket.  The twelve teams are divided into two groups with the top four teams advancing from round robin play to the quarterfinals.  Teams will need to reach the final to qualify for next summer.

Group A:

The first game in the group saw the Ivory Coast run past Abiti Kossi and the Central African Republic 104-57.  Angola was able to bring Italee Lucas on board as a naturalized player after years of excellent play from her in the domestic league and she led the way in a 78-56 win over Cameroon.  The hosts played the next game, beating Tunisia 86-48.

Ivory Coast vs. Central African Republic 104-57 CIV Ab. Kone 18 Cisse 17/6r Diaby 15 M. Kouyate 14/8r Fofana 12/8r Bognini 7 Kouakou 6 K. Kouate 6 N’Goran 4 Djedjemel 3 Aw. Kone 2 CAF Kossi Imbangueret II 22/12r Kalene 11 Eyene 6 Guegbelet 5/8r Yagba Kokito 4 Ngbonga 3 Gaombalet 3 Djel 2 M’Baye Ndack 1 Koumba 0 Yamalet 0 Derebona-Ngaisset 0

Angola vs. Cameroon 78-56 ANG Lucas 28/6r Filipe 10 Jorge 10 Mpaka 8 Matiquite 5 Tomas 4 Miguel 4 Gala 4 Ndoniema 3 Eusebio 2 Goncalves 0 Afonso 0 CMR Weledji 10 Tchasi 9 Lonlack 8 Mfoula 7 Mbiandja 6 Ade 6 Abenkou 5 Ramey 4 Ebogo Fabo 1 Ghane Yenou 0 Assena 0 Mba Minna 0

Mali vs. Tunisia 86-48 Stats Not Available

Group B:

The day started and ended in this group.  Senegal wasted no time as Astou Traore helped them dominate Guinea 105-39.  Egypt had to deal with a late absence, but Soraia Deghady picked up the slack to help them beat the Democratic Republic of Congo 99-72.  Nigeria is the only team with an active WNBA player in the tournament and they closed the day with an 80-69 win over Mozambique.

Senegal vs. Guinea 105-39 SEN As. Traore 26 Ay. Traore 17 Sy Diop 16 Thiam 13 Sarr 7/7a Sy 7 Fall 6 Sene 6 Daou 3/7r Sidibe 2 Diouf 2/8a Dieng DNP GUI Mbaye 9 Bah 7 A. Keita 6 S. Keita 5 Soumah 4 Berete 4 Mara 3 Sacko 1 Peruch Niang 0 Sylla 0 Bangoura 0

Democratic Republic of Congo vs. Egypt 72-99 COD Muganza Nyota 12/12r Bilonda Ntumba 12 Kabobo Haongi 11/8r Ngusu Mafuta 8/9r Mokango Modiri 8 Kapinga Kalombo 6/6r Mukoso Nyoka 6 Bombolo Balongya 6 Mambenyga Teba 2 Mfutila Makiese 1 Ngyoisa 0 Mbiya Tshiyoyo 0 EGY Deghady 33 Awad 13/6r Sherif 10 Elshaarawy 9/8r Osama 9 Abdelalim 8 Helwa 5/13r Abdelgawad 5 Abdelfattah 3 Youssef 2 Bakr 2

Mozambique vs. Nigeria 69-80 MOZ Dongue 19 Cossa 13/6a Seda 10 Pereira 6 Mafanela 4/6r Mucubaquine 4 Halar 3 Muianga 2/6r Pinto 2 Massingue 2 Lhavanguane 2 Ventura 2 NGR Elonu 17/6r/7a Kalu 16 Akhator 13/6r Ogoke 11 Atosu 7 Madu 6 Okoye 4 Nyingifa 4 Mohammed 2/7r Nwaigwe 0 Akashili 0 Udeaja 0