Two weeks ago, following the WNBA All-Star break, the Eastern Conference playoff picture seemed pretty predictable:
The Detroit Shock and Indiana Fever, fresh off two of the best first halves in conference history, looked to be locked in a battle for the regular-season title; the Sun, building momentum, were playing the New York Liberty for third; and the Chicago Sky, then losers of five straight, seemed to be playing themselves out of contention. The Washington Mystics, meanwhile, were a dangerous team but probably too outmatched to make a push for a postseason berth.
But this is why they played the second half.
Between injuries, a few unexpected runs and a few more unexpected stumbles, the stretch run for the Eastern Conference playoffs should make for an interesting three weeks.
Detroit, though seemingly comfortable up four games in first place, lost All-Star Game MVP Cheryl Ford for the rest of the regular season to a knee injury and possibly for the playoffs.
Indiana, after losing Tamika Catchings to a foot injury, is suddenly in a free fall, losing six straight after starting the season at 16-4.
Meanwhile, the Sun, as many around the team and league expected, have turned it around and with two straight wins over New York, are still climbing the standings. New York has also lost six straight, despite playing well in many of those games; and the Sky are riding a stretch of four wins in five games and took down Detroit last week.
The Mystics are still in last place but are by no means out of it. At 10-14, they are tied with New York and sit just a game back of Chicago (12-14) for the final playoff spot.
Indiana’s fall from grace may be the most interesting – and surprising – development. Catchings, who partially tore the plantar fascia in her left foot, was a big blow, and, according to Sun Mike Thibault, may force the Fever to find a different identity with her sidelined. She is expected to miss two to three weeks after suffering the injury on July 20. If she stays on schedule, she would return either for the end of the regular season or right before the playoffs, given the Fever make it.
The Sun are currently two games behind Indiana and two games up on Chicago for third. Here are the full standings on WNBA.com.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Sun, Liberty take two
The Sun and Liberty tip off shortly here at Madison Square Garden. Here are some quick notes entering the second of two straight match-ups between the two teams:
(1) Nykesha Sales (mild concussion) isn’t in the Sun’s starting lineup and is listed as questionable on the media game notes. But she was participating in the pre-game shoot around just a few minutes ago, and looks ready to play for the first time in four games.
When Sales came back from her ankle injury a few weeks ago, the supposed plan was to ease her back into her regular minutes. But with two overtime contests in her first three games back out West, she played major minutes (40 the first, 27 the second and 39 the third).
Expect Sun coach Mike Thibault to be a little more cautious this time around, especially with Sales’ replacement in the starting five, Evina Maltsi, playing so well as of late. In his defense, he didn’t really have the choice not to play Sales last time.
Another lineup note: Erika de Souza is making her first career start in place of Margo Dydek. This is solely because of the match-up problems New York center Janel McCarville creates.
(2) One of the hottest players in the league right now, Lindsay Whalen enters tonight eight assists shy of 600 in her career. Katie Douglas, who has already set a new single-season high with 99 dimes, needs one more to give the Sun two players with 100 assists in the same season for the first time in franchise history.
Check the front page of NorwichBulletin.com for updates at halftime (around 5 p.m.) and following the game.
(1) Nykesha Sales (mild concussion) isn’t in the Sun’s starting lineup and is listed as questionable on the media game notes. But she was participating in the pre-game shoot around just a few minutes ago, and looks ready to play for the first time in four games.
When Sales came back from her ankle injury a few weeks ago, the supposed plan was to ease her back into her regular minutes. But with two overtime contests in her first three games back out West, she played major minutes (40 the first, 27 the second and 39 the third).
Expect Sun coach Mike Thibault to be a little more cautious this time around, especially with Sales’ replacement in the starting five, Evina Maltsi, playing so well as of late. In his defense, he didn’t really have the choice not to play Sales last time.
Another lineup note: Erika de Souza is making her first career start in place of Margo Dydek. This is solely because of the match-up problems New York center Janel McCarville creates.
(2) One of the hottest players in the league right now, Lindsay Whalen enters tonight eight assists shy of 600 in her career. Katie Douglas, who has already set a new single-season high with 99 dimes, needs one more to give the Sun two players with 100 assists in the same season for the first time in franchise history.
Check the front page of NorwichBulletin.com for updates at halftime (around 5 p.m.) and following the game.
Friday, July 27, 2007
A few minutes with Sun GM Chris Sienko
Not to harp on the passed WNBA trade deadline – which, for all intents and purposes, was just another day considering no deals were made – but here is a transcript of a quick interview with Sun general manger Chris Sienko regarding possible moves the team might have made that didn’t make it into Friday’s stories (game story, sidebar):
Norwich Bulletin: Considering the confidence you had a few weeks that this team could turn around its season around, these are pretty much results you expected.
Chris Sienko: It’s exactly what I expected. You have a senior group – there are some rookies who are sprinkled in there – but you have people who know the system and you have to expect things are going to turnaround.
NB: The trade deadline passed on Tuesday (July 24) and obviously no moves were made around the league. But did you and the Sun have any discussions with anyone (about a deal)?
Sienko: We talk to a lot of different teams, but again, what people are offering and what you’re offering and what people want in return are very different. And then you have teams who think they’re going to make, teams they don’t think they’re going to make it so the disparity is great.
And there are very few that are out of the playoffs already. So there is very limited chance to do stuff. It’s not (surprising) to not have any trades.
NB: Anything in particular you discussed?
Sienko: We talked to some teams about stuff that we wanted to do but we had no takers.
NB: It’s hard (to trade) anyway now, with the salary caps the way they are around the league.
Sienko: But that’s not really that big of an issue. You can either cut a player or you can trade a couple for a certain amount of players. You can give two $30,000 players for a $60,000 player so there are always ways to make it work.
NB: Even though you didn’t make any trades, the play of Evina (Maltsi) lately, considering she was as an in-season signing, must seem like a trade in itself.
Sienko: She’s fantastic. People aren’t expecting her ability but we know what it is. But to have a 28-year-old rookie is always a big plus because she has played so well overseas. So to come here and she started to get into the program, it’s going to take time for things to gel.
Norwich Bulletin: Considering the confidence you had a few weeks that this team could turn around its season around, these are pretty much results you expected.
Chris Sienko: It’s exactly what I expected. You have a senior group – there are some rookies who are sprinkled in there – but you have people who know the system and you have to expect things are going to turnaround.
NB: The trade deadline passed on Tuesday (July 24) and obviously no moves were made around the league. But did you and the Sun have any discussions with anyone (about a deal)?
Sienko: We talk to a lot of different teams, but again, what people are offering and what you’re offering and what people want in return are very different. And then you have teams who think they’re going to make, teams they don’t think they’re going to make it so the disparity is great.
And there are very few that are out of the playoffs already. So there is very limited chance to do stuff. It’s not (surprising) to not have any trades.
NB: Anything in particular you discussed?
Sienko: We talked to some teams about stuff that we wanted to do but we had no takers.
NB: It’s hard (to trade) anyway now, with the salary caps the way they are around the league.
Sienko: But that’s not really that big of an issue. You can either cut a player or you can trade a couple for a certain amount of players. You can give two $30,000 players for a $60,000 player so there are always ways to make it work.
NB: Even though you didn’t make any trades, the play of Evina (Maltsi) lately, considering she was as an in-season signing, must seem like a trade in itself.
Sienko: She’s fantastic. People aren’t expecting her ability but we know what it is. But to have a 28-year-old rookie is always a big plus because she has played so well overseas. So to come here and she started to get into the program, it’s going to take time for things to gel.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Sun host New York tonight
The Sun and Liberty renew their rivalry at 7 p.m. tonight. As expected, Nykesha Sales is out of the starting lineup as she still recovers from a mild concussion. Here are the full starting fives for both teams:
Connecticut Sun (12-12):
Forward – Asjha Jones
Forward – Evina Maltsi
Center – Margo Dydek
Guard – Katie Douglas
Guard – Lindsay Whalen
New York Liberty (10-12):
Forward –Shameka Christon
Forward – Catherine Kraayeveld
Center – Janel McCarville
Guard – Loree Moore
Guard – Erin Thorn
Some notes:
(1) The Sun jumped out to 17-0 lead on the Liberty last time at Mohegan Sun Arena, but New York switched to a zone defense and the Sun, then struggling to hit shots from the outside, made just eight of 24 3-pointers. Connecticut also made what was then a season-high 23 turnovers.
But the Sun have vastly improved in that department. In the first four games of their homestand, they’ve committed nine, 10, 14 and 10, respectively, for an average of 10.8 per game. Not bad.
Check the home page of NorwichBulletin.com for updates at halftime (around 8 p.m.) and following the game.
Connecticut Sun (12-12):
Forward – Asjha Jones
Forward – Evina Maltsi
Center – Margo Dydek
Guard – Katie Douglas
Guard – Lindsay Whalen
New York Liberty (10-12):
Forward –Shameka Christon
Forward – Catherine Kraayeveld
Center – Janel McCarville
Guard – Loree Moore
Guard – Erin Thorn
Some notes:
(1) The Sun jumped out to 17-0 lead on the Liberty last time at Mohegan Sun Arena, but New York switched to a zone defense and the Sun, then struggling to hit shots from the outside, made just eight of 24 3-pointers. Connecticut also made what was then a season-high 23 turnovers.
But the Sun have vastly improved in that department. In the first four games of their homestand, they’ve committed nine, 10, 14 and 10, respectively, for an average of 10.8 per game. Not bad.
Check the home page of NorwichBulletin.com for updates at halftime (around 8 p.m.) and following the game.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
A story and a note
Here’s a copy of the notebook that ran in the first edition of Wednesday’s Bulletin. Many of you probably didn’t get a chance to see it, so here it is:
By MATT STOUT
Norwich Bulletin
MOHEGAN -- Back in 2004, when the Detroit Shock were defending their first WNBA title, they didn’t quite realize how hard it would be.
They watched the finals on television that year.
Three years -- and one more championship -- later, the Shock entered Tuesday’s night showdown with the Connecticut Sun as they have most games this season: focused, intense and, most importantly, well aware of what it takes to accomplish the one goal to elude them.
That is, winning two straight WNBA titles.
“In 2004, we were real young,” said Detroit coach Bill Laimbeer. “We were a bunch of babies and we didn’t realize how hard we had to play to defend the championship and we got caught up in some problems. We don’t have that right now.”
Detroit’s 15-5 start stands as one of the best in league history -- only this year’s Fever team’s 16-4 mark, an Eastern Conference record, was better through 20 games -- and it included some dandies.
The Shock scored a league-record 72 second-half points in a 111-82 win over Phoenix on July 8, the first victory in their six-game win streak entering Tuesday. Less than three weeks later, they held Washington to 13 first-half points, the third fewest in WNBA history.
Then of course, there’s the Shock 89-80 win over Indiana last Friday – a victory that, with Indiana’s loss the next night to Chicago, moved them into first.
A big part of their success has been UConn grad Swin Cash, who after injuring her knee at the end of the 2004 season, has seemed to regain that edge she had prior to going down, when she averaged more than 16 points per game for two straight seasons.
The forward is averaging 11.9 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, and has played a big role in place of Cheryl Ford, who sat out Tuesday for the second straight game with a sprained knee – the same injury that kept her sidelined for a handful of games earlier in the year.
“She wills herself to work hard,” Laimbeer said of Cash. “She goes out and gets out there after rebounds. If you play hard in this league, you’re going to get results. And with Cheryl being out, we needed her rebounding more this year.”
A quick note:
The WNBA trade deadline passed Tuesday rather quietly. Actually, it passed very quietly -- no trades were made anywhere in the league. It was expected, though -- current salary caps around the league make it harder to deal than in the past. As of a couple weeks ago, with the Sun struggling, there was a chance they could have pushed for a trade, but with the team’s improved play and the emergence of Evina Maltsi (an early-season signing) there really was no need.
By MATT STOUT
Norwich Bulletin
MOHEGAN -- Back in 2004, when the Detroit Shock were defending their first WNBA title, they didn’t quite realize how hard it would be.
They watched the finals on television that year.
Three years -- and one more championship -- later, the Shock entered Tuesday’s night showdown with the Connecticut Sun as they have most games this season: focused, intense and, most importantly, well aware of what it takes to accomplish the one goal to elude them.
That is, winning two straight WNBA titles.
“In 2004, we were real young,” said Detroit coach Bill Laimbeer. “We were a bunch of babies and we didn’t realize how hard we had to play to defend the championship and we got caught up in some problems. We don’t have that right now.”
Detroit’s 15-5 start stands as one of the best in league history -- only this year’s Fever team’s 16-4 mark, an Eastern Conference record, was better through 20 games -- and it included some dandies.
The Shock scored a league-record 72 second-half points in a 111-82 win over Phoenix on July 8, the first victory in their six-game win streak entering Tuesday. Less than three weeks later, they held Washington to 13 first-half points, the third fewest in WNBA history.
Then of course, there’s the Shock 89-80 win over Indiana last Friday – a victory that, with Indiana’s loss the next night to Chicago, moved them into first.
A big part of their success has been UConn grad Swin Cash, who after injuring her knee at the end of the 2004 season, has seemed to regain that edge she had prior to going down, when she averaged more than 16 points per game for two straight seasons.
The forward is averaging 11.9 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, and has played a big role in place of Cheryl Ford, who sat out Tuesday for the second straight game with a sprained knee – the same injury that kept her sidelined for a handful of games earlier in the year.
“She wills herself to work hard,” Laimbeer said of Cash. “She goes out and gets out there after rebounds. If you play hard in this league, you’re going to get results. And with Cheryl being out, we needed her rebounding more this year.”
A quick note:
The WNBA trade deadline passed Tuesday rather quietly. Actually, it passed very quietly -- no trades were made anywhere in the league. It was expected, though -- current salary caps around the league make it harder to deal than in the past. As of a couple weeks ago, with the Sun struggling, there was a chance they could have pushed for a trade, but with the team’s improved play and the emergence of Evina Maltsi (an early-season signing) there really was no need.
Sun swept by Shock in regular season series
Despite the Sun’s sometimes patchy play down the stretch, their 92-88 loss to the Detroit Shock – and subsequently, the two teams’ rivalry – lived up to the hype on national television Tuesday. For the fourth time this year – all Shock wins – the game was decided by five or fewer points, and for the most part, it was an exciting, well-played game.
Both teams shot at or around 50 percent, they each got career nights from a player in Deanna Nolan (franchise-record 36 points) and Lindsay Whalen (career-high 33 points) and with the crowd into it, it had a great atmosphere.
The Sun weren’t terrible in the game’s waning moments – they only finished with 10 turnovers and shot 60 percent in the fourth quarter alone. But they didn’t do the things needed to win, more specifically make every possession count and get the key stop.
They had been doing those things (and everything else) throughout their six-game win streak.
“It was a great game for TV,” said Detroit coach Bill Laimbeer. “The Indiana game was played at Indiana (an 89-80 Detroit win) was the same way – both teams making shots, going up and down the floor. It was a high-scoring game and really fun to watch.”
It was actually the highest-scoring game in regulation the Sun have been involved in this season. Here are some other statistical highlights that didn’t make it into today’s stories (game story, notebook):
(1) Jamie Carey played despite being questionable with an ankle injury. She hit a three-pointer, her 20th of the season compared to just four two-point field goals.
(2) The Sun made 36 field goals, topping 30 for the seventh game in a row.
(3) Whalen became the fifth player in franchise history to score 30-plus points and the third this season, following Asjha Jones (31 points on May 31) and Katie Douglas (30 on June 22). Shannon Johnson – who started for the Shock Tuesday – holds the club record for 35 points in a contest, set back in 2002 in a triple-overtime game in Cleveland.
Some more notes:
(1) Evina Maltsi was held to four points in 29 minutes of action Tuesday but grabbed five rebounds in place of Nykesha Sales in the starting lineup. The Greece native has played well when called upon to start, but didn’t quite have her normal stroke Tuesday.
For more on Maltsi, check out her Web site, http://www.evanthia-maltsi.com/, dug up somewhere on the Web by Bulletin senior writer, Brian Girasoli.
(2) For all the talk of Nolan being the league’s most athletic and exciting player, she proved that to be true Tuesday. Just in her elevation on her jump shots you can see how skilled she is, and with her quickness and somewhat lanky frame, she may be the toughest guard to defend in the league.
Of Detroit’s 36 field goals on Tuesday, she had 16 of them – or roughly 45 percent of her team’s made shots – while only having to sink 2-of-4 foul shots.
Both teams shot at or around 50 percent, they each got career nights from a player in Deanna Nolan (franchise-record 36 points) and Lindsay Whalen (career-high 33 points) and with the crowd into it, it had a great atmosphere.
The Sun weren’t terrible in the game’s waning moments – they only finished with 10 turnovers and shot 60 percent in the fourth quarter alone. But they didn’t do the things needed to win, more specifically make every possession count and get the key stop.
They had been doing those things (and everything else) throughout their six-game win streak.
“It was a great game for TV,” said Detroit coach Bill Laimbeer. “The Indiana game was played at Indiana (an 89-80 Detroit win) was the same way – both teams making shots, going up and down the floor. It was a high-scoring game and really fun to watch.”
It was actually the highest-scoring game in regulation the Sun have been involved in this season. Here are some other statistical highlights that didn’t make it into today’s stories (game story, notebook):
(1) Jamie Carey played despite being questionable with an ankle injury. She hit a three-pointer, her 20th of the season compared to just four two-point field goals.
(2) The Sun made 36 field goals, topping 30 for the seventh game in a row.
(3) Whalen became the fifth player in franchise history to score 30-plus points and the third this season, following Asjha Jones (31 points on May 31) and Katie Douglas (30 on June 22). Shannon Johnson – who started for the Shock Tuesday – holds the club record for 35 points in a contest, set back in 2002 in a triple-overtime game in Cleveland.
Some more notes:
(1) Evina Maltsi was held to four points in 29 minutes of action Tuesday but grabbed five rebounds in place of Nykesha Sales in the starting lineup. The Greece native has played well when called upon to start, but didn’t quite have her normal stroke Tuesday.
For more on Maltsi, check out her Web site, http://www.evanthia-maltsi.com/, dug up somewhere on the Web by Bulletin senior writer, Brian Girasoli.
(2) For all the talk of Nolan being the league’s most athletic and exciting player, she proved that to be true Tuesday. Just in her elevation on her jump shots you can see how skilled she is, and with her quickness and somewhat lanky frame, she may be the toughest guard to defend in the league.
Of Detroit’s 36 field goals on Tuesday, she had 16 of them – or roughly 45 percent of her team’s made shots – while only having to sink 2-of-4 foul shots.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
A Huskies update (2nd edition)
Here’s the weekly update on UConn alums around the league, with their season averages in key categories:
Connecticut Sun:
(1) Nykesha Sales (UConn, 1998): 14.1 points, 4.24 rebounds, 3.5 assists per game
Low-down: Already fighting off two nagging ankle injuries, Sales is expected to miss at least tonight’s game against Detroit and perhaps Thursday’s game against New York with a mild concussion she suffered last Friday. As of last year, the Sun’s all-time leading scorer was one of the league’s most durable players. Even when she does return this season, she’ll most likely play limited minutes some nights, depending on how she feels, but she is still a solid contributor on both ends of the floor.
(2) Asjha Jones (2002): 15.9 points, 6.41 rebounds, 46.8 field-goal percentage
Low-down: After already establishing herself as a player to watch this season with her first All-Star selection, Jones made another statement this weekend when she stood toe-to-toe with Seattle’s Lauren Jackson and Houston’s Tina Thompson – and emerged averaging nearly 20 points and six rebounds in the two games.
Detroit Shock:
(1) Swin Cash (2002): 11.9 points, 6.09 rebounds, 2.5 assists
Low-down: With Detroit playing as well as any team in the league – the Sun included – Cash enters tonight’s game in Connecticut having finished an impressive week. In three games, she averaged 13.3 points and 6.3 rebounds. She was especially good in the Shock’s 87-82 win over New York last Wednesday, scoring 19 points and hitting 9-of-11 free throws.
Indiana Fever:
(1) Ann Strother (2006): 0.5 points, 0.33 rebounds (in six games played)
Low-down: Strother didn’t see any time in the last three games for the Fever, who, without Tamika Catchings (foot), are struggling with losses in their last two games.
New York Liberty:
(1) Ashley Battle (2005): 8.3 points, 4.09 rebounds, 1.00 steal
Low-down: Battle continues to be a spark plug off the Liberty bench. Though New York is struggling with losses in its last four games, Battle scored in double figures twice in her last three games, and led her team with 17 points in 28 minutes in an 87-82 loss last Wednesday.
Phoenix Mercury:
(1) Diana Taurasi (2004): 18 points, 4.29 rebounds, 4.3 assists
Low-down: It was a quiet week for Taurasi – at least in her terms – as she averaged 13.3 points in three games and was limited to nine points on 2-of-10 shooting inn 87-77 loss to the struggling Los Angeles Sparks last Friday. She also didn’t get to the free throw line like she’s used to, making 8-of-10 free throws in the three contests. She leads the Mercury with 123 free-throw attempts.
(2) Kelly Schumacher (2001): 4.7 points, 4.39 rebounds, 46.3 field-goal percentage
Low-down: Schumacher continued to see her regular minutes this past week, playing just over 13 in three games. The center scored eight points in 16 minutes on Sunday, but still hasn’t reached double figures in scoring since scoring 10 on June 22, a span of nine games.
Seattle Storm:
(1) Sue Bird (2002): 9.8 points, 4.8 assists, 1.61 steals
Low-down: Bird returned last Friday from arthroscopic knee surgery to score seven points in a loss to the Sun. She followed that up with a three-point performance in a 77-75 win in New York, but they were crucial -points – Bird hit a 3-pointer with 10 seconds remaining to lift Seattle to the win. She also dished out five assists in the victory.
Los Angeles Sparks:
(1) Jessica Moore (2005): 3.4 points, 2.52 rebounds, 35.5 field-goal percentage
Low-down: Moore played a key role in the Sparks’ upset win over Phoenix last Friday – Los Angeles’ first in eight games – by scoring 10 points in 16 minutes. It was Moore’s ninth start of the season.
Houston Comets:
(1) Barbara Turner (2006): 5.1 points, 1.93 rebounds, 42.4 field-goal percentage
Low-down: As touched upon in Monday’s notebook, Turner played 27 minutes in a loss to the Sun Sunday, scoring a career-high 15 points and grabbing four rebounds. She’d only played 23 minutes in six July games entering the contest, but played big for Houston, as several of her friends and family watched from the stands.
Minnesota Lynx:
(1) Svetlana Abrosimova (2001): 7.9 points, 4.38 rebounds, 2.1 assists
Low-down: Though the last-place Lynx are struggling with nine straight loss – all in July – Abrosimova has played big, scoring in double figures in four of her last five games and registering 20 points twice in that span. She’s hit 12 of her last 17 3-pointers (70.5 percent).
(2) Tamika Raymond (2002): 1.2 points, 1.3 (through 11 games)
Low-down: Raymond has continued to see very little time, despite the Lynx’s recent struggles. She’s played a total of 14 minutes in her last three games, taking just one shot and scoring zero points. As for the rest of her Minnesota team, here’s a good glimpse into the club’s struggles as a whole, courtesy of the Star Tribune.
Connecticut Sun:
(1) Nykesha Sales (UConn, 1998): 14.1 points, 4.24 rebounds, 3.5 assists per game
Low-down: Already fighting off two nagging ankle injuries, Sales is expected to miss at least tonight’s game against Detroit and perhaps Thursday’s game against New York with a mild concussion she suffered last Friday. As of last year, the Sun’s all-time leading scorer was one of the league’s most durable players. Even when she does return this season, she’ll most likely play limited minutes some nights, depending on how she feels, but she is still a solid contributor on both ends of the floor.
(2) Asjha Jones (2002): 15.9 points, 6.41 rebounds, 46.8 field-goal percentage
Low-down: After already establishing herself as a player to watch this season with her first All-Star selection, Jones made another statement this weekend when she stood toe-to-toe with Seattle’s Lauren Jackson and Houston’s Tina Thompson – and emerged averaging nearly 20 points and six rebounds in the two games.
Detroit Shock:
(1) Swin Cash (2002): 11.9 points, 6.09 rebounds, 2.5 assists
Low-down: With Detroit playing as well as any team in the league – the Sun included – Cash enters tonight’s game in Connecticut having finished an impressive week. In three games, she averaged 13.3 points and 6.3 rebounds. She was especially good in the Shock’s 87-82 win over New York last Wednesday, scoring 19 points and hitting 9-of-11 free throws.
Indiana Fever:
(1) Ann Strother (2006): 0.5 points, 0.33 rebounds (in six games played)
Low-down: Strother didn’t see any time in the last three games for the Fever, who, without Tamika Catchings (foot), are struggling with losses in their last two games.
New York Liberty:
(1) Ashley Battle (2005): 8.3 points, 4.09 rebounds, 1.00 steal
Low-down: Battle continues to be a spark plug off the Liberty bench. Though New York is struggling with losses in its last four games, Battle scored in double figures twice in her last three games, and led her team with 17 points in 28 minutes in an 87-82 loss last Wednesday.
Phoenix Mercury:
(1) Diana Taurasi (2004): 18 points, 4.29 rebounds, 4.3 assists
Low-down: It was a quiet week for Taurasi – at least in her terms – as she averaged 13.3 points in three games and was limited to nine points on 2-of-10 shooting inn 87-77 loss to the struggling Los Angeles Sparks last Friday. She also didn’t get to the free throw line like she’s used to, making 8-of-10 free throws in the three contests. She leads the Mercury with 123 free-throw attempts.
(2) Kelly Schumacher (2001): 4.7 points, 4.39 rebounds, 46.3 field-goal percentage
Low-down: Schumacher continued to see her regular minutes this past week, playing just over 13 in three games. The center scored eight points in 16 minutes on Sunday, but still hasn’t reached double figures in scoring since scoring 10 on June 22, a span of nine games.
Seattle Storm:
(1) Sue Bird (2002): 9.8 points, 4.8 assists, 1.61 steals
Low-down: Bird returned last Friday from arthroscopic knee surgery to score seven points in a loss to the Sun. She followed that up with a three-point performance in a 77-75 win in New York, but they were crucial -points – Bird hit a 3-pointer with 10 seconds remaining to lift Seattle to the win. She also dished out five assists in the victory.
Los Angeles Sparks:
(1) Jessica Moore (2005): 3.4 points, 2.52 rebounds, 35.5 field-goal percentage
Low-down: Moore played a key role in the Sparks’ upset win over Phoenix last Friday – Los Angeles’ first in eight games – by scoring 10 points in 16 minutes. It was Moore’s ninth start of the season.
Houston Comets:
(1) Barbara Turner (2006): 5.1 points, 1.93 rebounds, 42.4 field-goal percentage
Low-down: As touched upon in Monday’s notebook, Turner played 27 minutes in a loss to the Sun Sunday, scoring a career-high 15 points and grabbing four rebounds. She’d only played 23 minutes in six July games entering the contest, but played big for Houston, as several of her friends and family watched from the stands.
Minnesota Lynx:
(1) Svetlana Abrosimova (2001): 7.9 points, 4.38 rebounds, 2.1 assists
Low-down: Though the last-place Lynx are struggling with nine straight loss – all in July – Abrosimova has played big, scoring in double figures in four of her last five games and registering 20 points twice in that span. She’s hit 12 of her last 17 3-pointers (70.5 percent).
(2) Tamika Raymond (2002): 1.2 points, 1.3 (through 11 games)
Low-down: Raymond has continued to see very little time, despite the Lynx’s recent struggles. She’s played a total of 14 minutes in her last three games, taking just one shot and scoring zero points. As for the rest of her Minnesota team, here’s a good glimpse into the club’s struggles as a whole, courtesy of the Star Tribune.
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