Tag Archives: Tulsa Shock

WNBA Today, 08/24/2011: Cappie explodes; San Antonio sink; Tulsa toil.

For anyone who missed it, I covered two of Tuesday’s games in yesterday’s column. Now it’s time for the remaining three. Chronologically, Minnesota’s trip to Tulsa came first, but let’s face it, top vs. bottom doesn’t mean a great deal at this point in the season. So we’ll get to that game at the end. First, the two contests that involved teams still fighting it out for playoff positions, and even to make sure they reach the postseason to begin with.

Live on ESPN2 in the US, Cappie Pondexter returned to Phoenix with her New York Liberty squad for the second time since forcing a trade prior to the 2010 season. When she went back last season the teams ended up in a scuffle that led to Pondexter being ejected from the game, so it was an interesting choice for national TV. If you’d had to assign probabilities of a brawl for every game all season, this one might’ve had the highest value on the schedule. Maybe they were working on the age-old maxim of “any publicity is good publicity”, and hoping there might be some extra-curricular activity. The chances of any kind of scuffle decreased a little when news filtered out that Diana Taurasi would miss her second straight game due to back spasms. Apparently she wanted to play, but the Mercury medical staff decided against it. Probably a good idea considering how chippy the game was always likely to become.

After winning four of their last five games, Phoenix had moved 1.5 games clear in second place in the West. However, with a four game road trip coming up, this would’ve been a nice game to win to send them out on their travels on a positive note. For New York, the win Atlanta completed over Chicago just before this game tipped off gave them a little breathing room to make the playoffs, but made their grasp on 3rd place even more tenuous. It’s still a combination of trying to hold Atlanta off while trying to chase down Connecticut for them, just as it’s been for several weeks now. They were helped out a little for this game by the return of backup center Quanitra Hollingsworth, deepening their post rotation and reducing their reliance on recent acquisition Kara Braxton. It was Braxton’s first appearance back in Phoenix since being dumped for pennies on the dollar by the Mercury earlier in the season, due to her attitude and a physical altercation with Olayinka Sanni. Judging from the boos that greeted her when she entered the game, the Mercury fans didn’t exactly welcome her back with open arms. Continue reading →

WNBA Today, 08/22/2011: Sun, Fever, Sparks win; entire league receives a Boost

A triple-game Sunday for the WNBA yesterday, but due to technical issues only two that anyone could watch unless you happened to be in Tulsa. So you’ll have to make do with two typically detailed reviews, and one summary compiled entirely on the basis of play-by-play details and boxscore numbers. I’ll throw in some bitching about LA’s defense and some criticism of how terrible Tulsa are just to make it feel like I watched it.

The first game up yesterday was a rematch of Friday night’s overtime thriller between Atlanta and Connecticut, with the venue switching to the Mohegan Sun. The Dream pulled off a remarkable victory in the previous game, shutting down Tina Charles for the final 25 minutes and forcing the extra period with an unlikely three-pointer from Sancho Lyttle. They received an assist from the Sun themselves when coach Mike Thibault benched starting point guard Renee Montgomery at the end of the third quarter for what he later described as an ‘internal matter’. Which probably means she said something naughty, and he showed her who’s boss. She was back in the lineup for this game, so presumably they’ve put it behind them. That loss was Connecticut’s second in a row, the first time they’ve lost consecutive games since early July, so they were looking to stop the rot before it could gain any more traction. Losing both halves of a back-to-back in overtime can be waved off as bad luck – drop the next one as well and it starts to look like a losing streak.

For Atlanta, that win over the Sun was their 10th in 13 games, a run of results that has completely turned their season around. With everyone bar backup point guard Shalee Lehning finally healthy, they’re looking up and entertaining the possibility of climbing the standings beyond their current fourth. A win here would’ve brought them within 2.5 games of Connecticut and given the Dream a 2-1 advantage in the season series between the two teams. While they still have to hold off Chicago to ensure their playoff spot, second in the East might’ve started to look somewhat plausible. It’s a far cry from the 3-9 record they opened the season with.

The standard starting fives began the game for both teams once again. Immediately, Tina Charles and Erika de Souza picked up their battle under the basket right where they left off on Friday. Continue reading →

WNBA Today, 08/15/2011: Welcome to Big Syl’s World

Well I waited and waited, but it wasn’t to be. Unless some unlikely news is about to slide out beyond the deadline, the final day for WNBA teams to make trades this season passed without even a mild whimper. Not one single move. I’m not remotely surprised, but I am a little disappointed. Trades are fun, and they shake things up. It’s not like there are a plethora of teams who don’t need any help this season. Practically everyone has a hole somewhere, and in most cases more than one. The problem is that we’ve only got twelve teams. It’s hard to make a deal when the trading partners are so limited. Ah well, guess we’ll just have to concentrate on the basketball instead.

Two games yesterday, but the late tip involved Tulsa so it’s more like one-and-a-half. The game featuring two actual professional basketball teams was in San Antonio, where Chicago were the visitors. After losing four of their last five, and with Atlanta on a hot streak, the Sky had dropped 1.5 games out of the playoff spots in the East. It was starting to look like Pokey Chatman’s first year in charge was going to end exactly the same way as every other Sky season – counting lottery balls. So they had every reason to be up for this game. San Antonio were coming off their most impressive performance since Danielle Adams started missing games with her foot injury, a 13-point win in Connecticut that was significantly more comprehensive than that sounds. With Phoenix and Seattle having lost in previous days, San Antonio had the chance to create a little separation from those two in the Western standings if they could maintain that level of performance. Considering Chicago’s 2-9 road record, they seemed to have every chance.

However, the opening minutes of the game offered a glimpse of how the entire afternoon was going to play out. Sylvia Fowles hit a layup; Sylvia Fowles grabbed a board; Sylvia Fowles grabbed another board; Sylvia Fowles hit another layup – I think you can see the I’m trying to paint here. Continue reading →

WNBA Today, 08/12/2011: Let there be blowouts

You may have heard me talk in the past of the basketball gods. The supernatural beings who rule over out beloved game. Well last night, they were toying with me. After my complaints about all the defensive slugfests we’ve had to sit through in recent weeks, they decided to show me just how tedious an evening of basketball can be – high-scoring or not – when everything’s a blowout. So we had three games, all involved at least a moderate amount of points, and none of them were particularly engaging. Unless you happened to be a fan of one of the winning sides. I give in, oh creatures of unnatural power; give me a 57-56 defensive duel every night if it’s going to come down to the wire. Enough with the games that are over by halftime.

The night got underway in Connecticut, where if you’d had to bet on one team winning in a landslide, it would’ve been the Sun. Their 9-1 home record has been the bedrock of their season, and until recently it was pretty much the only place they could win (Washington doesn’t count). San Antonio came into town having lost four of their last five, including an ass-kicking in Indiana last time out. Without Danielle Adams they’ve struggled to score against good defensive teams, and over the course of the season that group has included the Sun.

But there’s a reason that they play the games. Continue reading →

WNBA Today, 08/10/2011: Everybody plays!

So, six games yesterday in the WNBA, because apparently the league wants to punish me for something I did in a previous life. However, they made the mistake of leaving today free, which means I can spread things out. In this column you get the top teams from either conference, because if you’re in first you earn the right to be discussed first. Plus I threw in the LA-Tulsa game because I figure barely anyone watched it so a recap might be useful. The other three games will be covered tomorrow. The WNBA’s plan to exhaust me by overloading their schedule on certain days is foiled again.

So we start out with Indiana, looking to rebound from their disappointing loss in Chicago on Sunday with a home game against San Antonio. The Fever haven’t had to face a great deal of adversity this season, besides working out what to do when Briann January went down (which was a pretty straightforward decision). Losing one game to the Sky was hardly a disaster, but the manner of the 19-point loss to a team that they’ve dominated in the past necessitated a response. You don’t want games like that to linger. San Antonio have been patchy themselves lately, losing three straight before beating Tulsa by just eight points on Saturday. The recent record would look a lot prettier if they’d had just a little more luck in either of two last-second losses to Minnesota, but their offense has struggled at times since Danielle Adams suffered her foot injury. They’re still battling for wins, but everything becomes more difficult when you lose a key weapon.

The first quarter was dominated by defense. There were several turnovers on either side, but this was less the sloppy giveaways that we’ve seen from teams like Tulsa, LA, Phoenix and Seattle this season, more two hard-nosed defenses fighting each other tooth and nail. These were forced turnovers, not aimless passes sailing over teammates’ heads for no good reason. Continue reading →

WNBA Today, 08/09/2011: Sextuple Tuesday

Yes, six games tonight in the WNBA, as every team in the league takes to the floor. In honour of that (and the fact that there were no games yesterday), WNBAlien brings you some game notes and things to watch out for in all six contests.


Atlanta @ Washington, 7pm ET (ESPN3 in the US, LiveAccess in most other places)

This one could actually be pretty interesting. The Mystics have played some decent stuff lately, finally grabbing their fourth win of the year against New York on Saturday. They also keep claiming that they’re still chasing a playoff spot, and if they honestly believe that then this is one of the games that they have to win – Chicago and Atlanta are the obvious suspects to track down if they were to somehow pull it off.

Crystal Langhorne and Matee Ajavon have been carrying Washington of late, Ajavon especially exploding against New York, but they may struggle against Atlanta’s weapons. The Dream can match up with the Mystics’ speed, although after Armintie Price hurt her ankle in the last game they might be without the most natural option to guard Ajavon. An increasingly healthy Sancho Lyttle could make things difficult for Langhorne inside, but when she’s in the mood Lang can score against anybody. On the opposite side of the ball, Marissa Coleman’s defense may be improved from what it once was, but it’s still hard to see how she’ll keep up with Angel McCoughtry. The Mystics defense will have to be alive and offer Coleman a lot of help to keep McCoughtry quiet.

After two disappointing losses, Atlanta creamed Seattle on Sunday afternoon, and will be looking to carry that momentum on into this game. Continue reading →

WNBA Today, 08/07/2011: It’s a Kind of Magic

Two games in the WNBA on Saturday, one East, one West, and each featuring the worst team in the respective conference. So it was another night of blowouts and garbage time, right? Not so fast.

The Washington Mystics have been playing slightly better basketball lately. They’d lost nine of their last ten and sported a hideous 3-14 overall record coming into this game, but they keep coming close. In fact, their last four games were lost by seven, six, four and two points, in that order. Keep up the pattern, and barring an even more excruciating one-point loss, they had to finally win this one. New York broke their own pattern on Thursday, finally winning two games in a row for the first time in weeks. But they managed it by beating Chicago in one of the more hideous games the WNBA has seen in recent times, so we’re trying to forget that one.

Recent Liberty addition Kara Braxton was yet to join the team, although Sidney Spencer has already made her way to Phoenix, so New York were down to ten for this game. Washington’s injury issues are still the same – no Beard, no Currie. The first quarter set the scene for most of what was to follow – in other words, it belonged to Matee Ajavon. Continue reading →

WNBA Today, 08/06/2011: Is it a Bird? Is it a plane? Right the first time.

Regular WNBAlien readers may have noticed that unless there’s a compelling reason not to, I typically look at the games in chronological order. Well, when the opening contest is Tulsa being stuffed for the 527th time this season, it gets relegated to footnote status. There was one game last night worth talking about, and it was Connecticut’s trip up to the Pacific Northwest to face Seattle. So we’re going to start there.

Both teams went with the starting fives that have served them well lately, producing four wins in the last five for Seattle, and seven out of eight for Connecticut. The Sun have even rectified their appalling road form of late, winning their last three outside the Mohegan Sun after starting the year 1-5 away from home. This was an intriguing encounter even for those who aren’t fans of the University of Connecticut, who seem to provide most of the players on display.

The first 15 minutes of the game were all Seattle. Continue reading →

WNBA Today, 07/31/2011: Are they still zebras if they don’t wear stripes?

Don’t you hate when it’s impossible to discuss a basketball game without talking about the officials? I try to leave them alone whenever possible, because I fully accept that it’s a damn hard job, and that even when you do it well no one gives you any credit. Refereeing any basketball game is difficult; officiating at the professional level is exponentially harder because of the increase in speed and physicality. But I’m sorry, you just can’t fully discuss Saturday’s games without mentioning the zebras (I know they don’t wear stripes in this league. Tough. I like the nickname). Well you can’t fully discuss two of the games, anyway. As ever, Tulsa contests could be refereed by Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and the Little Mermaid without much difference to the outcome.

The first game of the night was in New York, where Phoenix were the visitors. We probably could’ve guessed that this would be a tough game to marshal. After forcing a trade to New York prior to the 2010 season, Cappie Pondexter’s matchups with her former team have been a little spicy to say the least. She was thrown out of the first encounter last season for her part in a fracas, and then channelled her energy more positively to shoot the Merc off the floor in the second meeting. Beyond the history with Pondexter, Mercury games frequently end up chippy. Diana Taurasi and head coach Corey Gaines both bitch about every call, and Taurasi constantly creates contact at both ends of the floor. It can’t be fun for the refs. Continue reading →

WNBA Today, 07/29/2011: Ever decreasing circles, WNBA-style

Five games yesterday in the WNBA, and there were fewer points scored in each contest as we went along. It’s a good thing there weren’t any more games or we might’ve ended up with a soccer score. With so many games I’ll be keeping it reasonably brief today – or at least brief by my standards – so let’s get underway. (Editor’s note (yes that’s me as well, humour me): I intended to keep it brief. Level of success is questionable.)

Camp day for San Antonio meant Phoenix were tipping off at 9.30am as far as their fans back home were concerned. Players don’t tend to enjoy these extremely early starts either. The Mercury at least had the benefit of facing the Silver Stars without Danielle Adams, who was in a walking boot and using a crutch after her right toe injury suffered in the Tuesday’s game. Considering she put up 16 and 22 points in the two previous games between these sides this season, that should’ve been a significant bonus for Phoenix.

The Mercury played the first quarter like they still wanted to be in bed. Too many sloppy turnovers and defense that was leaving perimeter scorers like Becky Hammon far too open. San Antonio happily took advantage, Hammon had 13 by the end of the first and Diana Taurasi capped off a grumpy opening period with her fifth technical foul of the season (remember, numbers seven, nine, eleven etc. carry one-game suspensions). Continue reading →