Izi Castro Marques

Izi Castro Marques
Personal information
Born (1982-03-13) March 13, 1982
São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil
Nationality Brazilan
Listed height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Listed weight 140 lb (64 kg)
Career information
Playing career 2002–present
Position Shooting guard / Small forward
Career history
2002 Miami Sol
2003 Phoenix Mercury
2005–2007 Seattle Storm
2008–2011 Atlanta Dream
2012 Washington Mystics
2013 Connecticut Sun
Stats at WNBA.com

Iziane "Izi" Castro Marques (born March 13, 1982 in São Luís, Maranhão) is a Brazilian professional basketball player. The six-foot forward is a mainstay of the Brazil women's national basketball team, and a shooting guard/small forward on the Connecticut Sun of the WNBA.

The undrafted Castro Marques was signed by the Miami Sol as a free agent out of Florida International University, becoming the youngest player in the WNBA (21 years, 1 month, 12 days) at the time she joined the Sol. The next year she went to the Phoenix Mercury. In 2005, she joined the Storm, starting for the first time in her career. In the early part of the 2006 season, her erratic play got her benched in favor of rookie Barbara Turner, but Castro Marques came back strong after eight games in reserve, and never relinquished the starting job during that season.

On February 6, 2008, Castro Marques was traded by Seattle to the Atlanta Dream along with the Storm's first round pick in exchange for Roneeka Hodges and the fourth overall pick in the 2008 draft.[1] During the 2008-09 WNBA off-season, she played for Villeneuve d'Ascq in France.[2]

In 2009, Iziane Castro Marques signed a contract with Wisła Can Pack Kraków, of Poland.

In 2011/2012, Iziane started a team of the Brazilian league on her hometown, São Luis, called Maranhão Basquete.[3]

On June 10, 2013, Iziane signed with the Connecticut Sun. [4]

International competition

Her national team has finished fourth in two consecutive international competitions, the 2004 Summer Olympics and the 2006 FIBA World Championship for Women, which Brazil hosted. Star of the squad, she was not included in the roster for the 2008 Summer Olympics due to her refusal to enter a quarterfinal game in overtime after a verbal altercation with her coach during the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Women 2008 in Spain.[5] During preparation for the 2012 Summer Olympics, Izi was again cut from the Olympic team due to "an act of indiscipline",[6] namely bringing her boyfriend to concentration.[7]

She was a member of the team which competed for Brazil at the 2011 Pan American Games, winning a bronze medal.[8]

References

External links

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