Hold the Presses - Liberty Win

And so it was…

LIBERTY 76, SUN 73

It seemed like this was going to be a game that would be unforgettable, but NOT in the good way. Connecticut came out of the locker room like a team that needed a win, and for the first 360 seconds, it was all them. The Sun went on a 17-0 tear to start the game, seeming to make every shot and steal every pass from New York. Every bounce, dribble, and block went their way. The Liberty, meanwhile, missed their first seven shots and played like they hadn't been on the court in a four days... oh, wait. They hadn't.

The new Assistant Coach

The Connecticut fans were into it, their mascot was bumping up and down, and Saint Patty looked like she was about to rip someone's head off and eat it to satiate her demon-like hunger. But someone was looking out for us in Asgard, that day. It took seven minutes, but finally, our prayers to the heaven were answered with Thunder.

And thus, Thor descended…

Awoken by the prayers and sent down from Valhalla by her father, Odin, Thor began cleaning up. Christon scored 22 points, knocking in three 3-pters and put the Liberty within 7 by the half.

Wake up, mine warriors! To Battle!... literally...

Ashley Battle added another 18 points, and the Liberty began to play like a team again. It was not all fun and games; aside from Christon and Battle, the Liberty did not play individually well at all. Dutch was nearly absent from the game, the Middle-Man once again only turned up ion the second half, and Loree Moore?

Well, the less said, the better…

However, the game, once in the Liberty's possesion, was in hand after that. Basket after basket after basket, pass after pass, time after time. The Libs were 50 percent from the field after that atrocious start, while scoring almost 40 percent of their three-pointers and picking up on the Sun's 23 turnovers. The Liberty weren't great last night, and we really need to stop spotting our opponents a mess of points in the opening minutes, but they did what they could and didn't look back. And that was the game.

Mark it in the record books.

Once again, Connecticut's Sales, Douglas, and Jones…

… led the Sun with 17, 17, and 14 points each. Whalen added 9, but the Sun just couldn’t keep up their usual form after the first quarter. The looked sloppy, especially in the 2nd quarter, when all they had to do was keep the Liberty in check and go into the locker room with their heads held high. To put it another way, the Liberty went on a 76-56 tear after that first Sun drubbing to win the game. Like I said, the Liberty need to fumble through the dark a bit to find out how to beat and opponent, but once they do…

Ride the wave, baby…

GAME NOTES

• Erin Thorn continues her slide. 6 points, with only three assists. Thankfully, Coyle replaced her before major damage could occur.
• Thor is hot right now. Keep all flamables away from her.
• Davenport continues to excel at points and be out of position at others.
• Barbara Ann led the team with rebounds (9, on a 2-7 split). She only played for 20 minutes, too.
• Short game, under an hour and 50 minutes (less than that, actually, due to a time-clock error).
• Connecticut's fifth loss in a row. Now 4-7 after starting out 4-2. Next stop for them? Indiana. Uh-oh...

In other news, Princess Peach was traded to L.A. for Lisa Willis.
http://www.wnba.com/liberty/news/baker_willis_trade_070620.html

The Mario Bros. are upset that they have to uproot their family again…

I’m a bit disheartened by this trade. Baker, while showing signs of promise, never got any time with the Libs this season, appearing in only 3 games with 4.6 minutes per game and 1.7 points on average.

Too young! Too young! It's just not right!

Willis, on the other hand, has had plenty of opportunity to show her stuff for the Sparks this season. While not starting, she’s come off the bench on eight different occasions to score a grand total of 18 points while averaging 9.6 minutes a game. Take a look at this line from her game against the Lynx. THE LYNX, mind you…

Jun 16
19 min, 0 - 3 FG, 0 - 2 3Pters, 2 rebounds, 0 points.

I think we could have pulled a draft pick out of this, too. If Coyle wants to stick to eight regulars, I am not going to fault her, but if we trade away a possible talent without some just compensation, it’s a bad sign of things to come. Willis won't even PLAY. This adds NOTHING to our reserve corps.

Welcome to New York. Your spot's on the end of the bench.

Next game?

Black Friday

Tomorrow
The Garden
730
Diapers to be handed out at the Gate

Yeah, it’s going to rock that much. See you in the stands.

AROUND THE LEAGUE…

Silver Stars 80, Lynx 73
Comets 74, Sparks 64
Mystics 106, Mercury 101
Shock 87, Storm 71

Augustus has too much talent to be on the Lynx. 27 points, hell of a defensive game, great shooting percentage from the field, and still Minnesota can’t muster up enough energy. The Silver Stars played well (Sophia Young led the team with 24 points), but can’t seem to draw a crowd. 4,070 tickets sold. Yikes….

Boo yah! I knew the Comets would break out of their funk sometime. Against the Sparks, too. Not a powerhouse, by any stretch, but definitely not the Lynx. Tina Thompson (21) and Michelle Snow (20) pulled the rest of the team, kicking and screaming, to increase their record to 1-10. Woot!

See, Phoenix? THIS is what can happen if you insist on out-powering your opponents! You lose to the WASHINGTON MYSTICS in the highest scoring game in WNBA history.

Official Mystics Merchandise available now!

It wasn’t exactly a joke of a game, but come on. Play some defense, the both of you, or someone is going get hurt! What do you think this is? The AFL?

The Des Moines Crop-dusters beat the Toledo Hootenannies 87-74 to… oh, who cares…

The Shock win. Big surprise. And there was much rejoicing...

And thus, maintain their dominance. Katie Smith? 23. Deanna Nolan? 18. Lauren Jackson? Held to 11. The Detroit are so good, it’s sick. They’re the team...

…that is definitely more than the sum of their parts.


No games today, however. So I get a brief respite from my duties of pretending that I know square one about basketball. I’ve got plenty of heart, though, so give me a break.

There’s a nice article up about Fran Harris on WNBA.com. Not just the usual drivel, but some pretty interesting comments as well. I thought basketball was the bane of my existence back then (my high school’s hockey budget was a quarter of the basketball programs, despite having more players), so this didn’t exactly ring my bell, but I know a few of you out there were fans way back then…

It seems so long ago now…

And yeah, I misspelled Shay Doron’s name in the last post (Doron as in “Morons won’t play the gal”). To be fair, I’m not the only one, and I did confuse her spelling with a former Pittsburgh Penguin…

Ian Moran. I played against him once. He had a broken ankle, and he still was the best player I ever had the good fortune of being on the same ice sheet with.

Sorry about this being an hour late. I had a LONG meeting this morning and got tied up. Essay up in the afternoon. It’s going to be a short one today, so don’t get overly excited.

Yeah, yeah… whatever.

See ya, Space Cowboy…