What an up and down week it has been for us followers of the WNBA rookies from UConn: Sue Bird, Swin Cash, Asjha Jones, and Tamika Williams.
First we have the Seattle Storm playing the supposedly unbeatable LA Sparks--who made the big mistake of arrogantly trying to push Seattle off its own court at shoot-around. This behavior appeared to ignite the emotions of the Seattle players who, come game time, totally amazed everyone by tromping on the LA Sparks and beating them by 19 points, 79-60. It was a thrilling win for Seattle fans, and showed us what we've all been thinking, that this team led by Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson has the potential to be truly great. The fight between Byears and Marciniak was kind of wild, and I have to say that listening to it over the radio, it seemed to me that Marciniak should not have ended up suspended for a game and fined $500. (Byears was suspended for two games and fined $1,000.) I have the feeling that when Seattle goes to LA August 1st, the Storm had better look out, because LA will be out for blood--and as we saw in this game where Seattle won, LA can be a very physical team.
The brilliance shown by the Seattle Storm against LA faded the next day as they faced the Cleveland Rockers. It was like listening to a different team play. I agree with the announcers that this has to do with the Storm being such a young team, and just hope they get into a groove here at some point and play consistently well from game to game. The 62-58 loss was not pretty, and you have to wonder how the schedule, with so many games so close together, affects the playing. But the team is young and will hopefully bounce back after the all-star break. I think too that once they have more maturity it will help them, because it seemed like the Storm coming off such a huge win over LA, came into the Cleveland game without their spirit of team play and instead played mostly as individuals. Once they mature I think they'll be able to handle the big wins better, and realize that each game has to be played as if it were the only game.
The Detroit Shock vs. Minnesota Lynx game was tough for me because I couldn't decide who to root for. Even though I think ex-UConn players Svetlana Abrosimova and Tamika Williams are just terrific players, I ultimately ended up rooting for Detroit with Swin Cash. I can't believe Swin didn't get picked for at least the All-Star reserves! Yes, I know Detroit has only won 3 games this season, their last win coming in this game against the Lynx 72-69, but I think they have tremendous talent. With Swin Cash at Detroit I think this team will have a very different record next year, as new coach Bill Laimbeer gets their act together. By the way, Tamika Williams had 19 points in this game, playing 37 minutes, showing why she is so valuable to the Lynx.
Today I just finished watching the Washington Mystics on NBC, getting beaten by the New York Liberty 67-53. This game was almost painful to watch. First off, there are so few of my favorite teams' games televised that it totally bums me out when I get to see them on TV and they don't win! It was good to see Asjha Jones playing so many minutes, but it was difficult to see her missing shots, making only 2 of 10 attempts. I think I never saw her face look so mad when playing college ball as it did today, over some of the foul calls that went against her. Washington has a good record of 14-6, and they are currently playing without the injured Chamique Holdsclaw, but today they couldn't get the shots to fall. Stacey Dales-Schuman who has played so well as a rookie just couldn't seem to make a shot, ending with only 5 points. I think the Mystics should play Jones more--she is a good solid player, excellent on rebounding and (usually) making shots.
So all in all, it was a roller coaster of a week for my favorite WNBA teams. Hopefully they will all return after the All-Star break refreshed and ready to play.
One final note: the Minnesota Lynx played the Charlotte Sting today and that game just finished up a bit after 8 pm eastern. Even though they led through most of the game and played very well, the Lynx were beaten 63-60. Totally depressing for a fan; can't imagine how bad that feels for the players. Abrosimova had game-high 17 points, yet they still couldn't pull it out in the end.