::Official San Antonio Silver Stars Thread::

[spurschick]

Silver Stars wrap 3-0 preseason

While ambling the AT&T Center sidelines Tuesday — a little slower on this night, thanks to an offseason Achilles injury — Silver Stars coach Dan Hughes, as has become his custom, thought aloud.
"Put 'em under duress," he said.

Whether they heard or not, the Silver Stars heeded Hughes' instruction.

Forcing Connecticut into 31 turnovers, the Silver Stars swarmed the Sun for an 86-53 preseason victory in front of an announced crowd of 3,296.

The victory improved the Silver Stars' preseason mark to 3-0, and they open their regular season Saturday in Phoenix, which closed last season on a seven-game winning streak.

That fact wasn't lost on Hughes.

"You throw away the score in the preseason," Hughes said. "Today is a good day, but tomorrow has to be just as good. Better."

On Tuesday, at least, the Silver Stars were able to use their athleticism and speed to prey on a Connecticut squad playing on the back end of a back-to-back — a rarity in the preseason.

"That's just good scheduling," Hughes deadpanned.

Against the Silver Stars' heated ball pressure, the Sun threw the ball with stunning regularity to courtside patrons, and the Silver Stars converted those giveaways into 33 points.

Erin Buescher led the Silver Stars with 16 points and spearheaded the team's energized effort on the offensive glass. Buescher has five of the Silver Stars' 19 offensive rebounds.

Becky Hammon added 14 points, while Ruth Riley and Vickie Johnson — the last team members to arrive in camp last week after their offseason overseas duties were completed — combined for 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting. Shanna Crossley came off the bench to score 10.

In a pivotal third quarter — the Sun closed to within 37-31 with 8:45 to play in the period — the Silver Stars used a 20-6 run to unofficially put the game under wraps.

Connecticut attempted only nine field goals in the quarter and hit only four.

The Silver Stars' upgraded offensive output — they scored 86 points or more just six times last year — was evident in the third. With crisp ball movement and spacing, the Silver Stars converted 11 of 17 shots from the field.

"We work hard, very hard on that," Crossley said. "We're trying to read each other. We have penetrators, kicker, shooters — we have the whole deal. We're just trying to figure each other out."

And, ultimately, that's what Hughes wanted to see against Connecticut. Margin of victory aside, how can this team fit together?

"Above all, it's chemistry," Hughes said. "We're still trying to learn that with each other, but I thought we had real valuable moments. We just need time."

The Silver Stars get three days, then they get Phoenix.

[METALMiKE]

:cheer :clap Go Stars Go

[Behrooz24]

Hopefully Beno will get some playing time

[Budkin]

Hopefully Beno will get some playing time

Nice.

[Chris]

Hopefully Beno will get some playing time

ROFLMAO

[CubanMustGo]

Hopefully Beno will get some playing time

No, Phoenix would throw a trap and him and he'd turn the ball over.

[naico]

All kidding aside, the silverstars should have it's best season in (short) franchise history. Some great off season work by the front office. Riley and Hammon bring veteran leadership and Buescher is bound to have a great season. Sophia Young is on her way to being a superstar.

[alamo50]

I was there right behind the Connecticutt bench and I enjoyed the game a lot.
The Silver Stars deserve some respect for what they are doing right here in San Antonio.

I was especialy impressed by Erin Buescher.

[dg7md]

Hopefully Beno will get some playing time

:lmao

[spurschick]

With Marie back and all of the off-season aquisitions, this season is going to rock.

[Obstructed_View]

Did they change coaches since they drafted Sophia Young? The only game I caught her rookie year they were jacking up a lot of crappy shots and not playing defense. Most high school boys teams could have beaten them by 50. If they actually play smart basketball for a change I might watch.

[ShoogarBear]

they open their regular season Saturday in Phoenix,

:lmao :lmao :lmao

You mean the Silver Stars are in Phoenix today?

Hope there's extra security.

[spurschick]

Did they change coaches since they drafted Sophia Young? The only game I caught her rookie year they were jacking up a lot of crappy shots and not playing defense.

Dan Hughes is a good coach. He's just been trying to put the right pieces together. I think they've finally found some good chemistry and leadership.

[spurschick]

Oh, and thanks for pinning the thread. That was a nice surprise. :spin

[Obstructed_View]

Dan Hughes is a good coach. He's just been trying to put the right pieces together. I think they've finally found some good chemistry and leadership.
But if they take terrible shots and turn the ball over it doesn't matter. Sophia is a great post player and if nobody ever gives her the ball she'll score about three points per game.

[mikejones99]

how many of you people are gay or lesbiens? wnba has a few more seasons till extinction.

[PerforatedNeckline]

i went to high school with shanna crosley (used to be shanna zolman). she's a local legend up here in my tiny northern indiana town.

[spurschick]

how many of you people are gay or lesbiens? wnba has a few more seasons till extinction.

David Stern is determined for the WNBA to be a success. He's not going to back away from it as easily as you think.

And you don't have to be gay to like women's basketball. :rolleyes

[spurschick]

Women's Sports Insider: Give the WNBA another shot

In less than a week, the WNBA will tip off its 11th season, after an offseason of change.

Teams were sold. Teams folded. Rules changed, and so did the uniforms.

And maybe we should just look at all of that as simply change – not positive, not negative – just change.

Certainly, recent years haven’t been good for the league in terms of attendance or widespread support. But that has the eyes and ears of the WNBA powers-that-be, and they are doing what they can to generate more interest in the game.

There were tons of energy and hype when the league kicked off in 1997 with its “We got next” advertising campaign, and behind the personalities of people like Sheryl Swoopes, Cynthia Cooper and Lisa Leslie there was definite interest in the games, the teams and the people.

No question, that has waned of late. The games sometimes grew boring – well, you know the argument.

They’re trying to change that though. Rule changes – including going to a 24-second shot clock and four periods instead of two halves – have helped the pace and the scoring output.

Not every team can be Phoenix, but hopefully they’re trying. That’s what will win fans.

And who are the fans? Maybe this summer, we’ll see more families in the arenas, with children – boys and girls alike – wearing players’ jerseys. A league-wide marketing effort has been focused this season towards winning over family audiences and also getting more females in the seats.

So, embrace the change. And if you’re willing, embrace the league again. You gave it a chance 11 years ago, and even if it turned you off, they’re trying to turn you back on.

It just might work.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/wnba/silverstars/stories/mysa051307.webwomensinsider.en.671980ed.html

[spurschick]

Inside the Silver Stars
ESPN.com

What makes you want to watch this team?
New arrival Becky Hammon and her former Liberty teammate Vickie Johnson hope to be a stabilizing force in the backcourt for a Silver Stars team that might be knocking on the door to the playoffs. At center, Ruth Riley brings the experience of two WNBA titles while with Detroit. Another addition to the team this season who could really impact its success is Erin Buescher, who won a WNBA title with Sacramento. It will be intriguing to see how quickly these players all come together in San Antonio. -- ESPN.com's Mechelle Voepel

What's the best-case scenario for the team? Worst-case?
Best of times: The Silver Stars keep building on the youth movement that brought them to the brink of the playoffs last season. Sophia Young keeps up her challenge to Minnesota's Seimone Augustus and Phoenix's Cappie Pondexter for the title of best player in her loaded draft class, matching last season's defensive and rebounding prowess with a consistent 17-18 points a night on the offensive end. Happy to have a championship ring and be out of what appeared to be a bad personal situation in Detroit, Ruth Riley brings experience to the frontcourt and provides an offensive counter to keep defenses from targeting Young with too much pressure. Blessed with the kind of options she didn't have in recent years with the Liberty, Becky Hammon settles into the first year of her 30s by setting a career high in assists and unleashing her outside range and off-the-dribble scoring when needed. Marie Ferdinand-Harris, unencumbered by a need to carry the scoring load, is able to work her way back into the flow after missing last season to have a baby. And with all those parts clicking, Erin Buescher, Helen Darling, Sandora Irvin and even a hopefully healthy Kendra Wecker settle in as effective role players on a deep team.

Worst of times: Riley proves that it wasn't just frustration with her role or with Bill Laimbeer's personality that handcuffed her production in Detroit, leaving the Silver Stars without a proven answer in the middle. Young remains a budding star but doesn't come around quite as much on the offensive end, forcing Hammon to start firing up shots at the same rate she had to in the Big Apple and putting pressure on Ferdinand-Harris to regain her form in a hurry. The defensive intensity doesn't pick up as a result of Buescher's arrival or Ferdinand-Harris' return, and none of the young players, including Irvin, Wecker, Shanna Crossley (née Zolman) and rookie Camille Little, emerges as a reliable reserve, leaving the rotation decidedly thin. All of which results in stagnation and frustration for a team fully poised to take the next step. -- ESPN.com's Graham Hays

Did offseason changes make the team better, the same or worse?
Better. Incredibly better, in fact. The Silver Stars might be the most improved team in the league after several huge offseason moves, highlighted by the draft-day trade for superstar Becky Hammon from the Liberty. San Antonio also added Ruth Riley, a three-time champ (if you include her NCAA title at Notre Dame) and former WNBA Finals MVP, and Erin Buescher, last season's most improved player and one of the league's top reserves in 2006. In addition to Hammon, San Antonio bolstered its backcourt by drafting Helen Darling in the dispersal draft. -- ESPN's Nancy Lieberman

http://sports.espn.go.com/wnba/preview2007/news/story?id=2872016

[spurschick]

And btw, the Silver Stars are playing Phoenix tonight on NBA-TV.

http://www.wnba.com/games/20070519/SANPHO/preview.html

[LEONARD]

Shouldn't this be in "Other Sports"??? Because it's not NBA related...or even b-ball related for that matter... :lol

[angel_luv]

I always make fun of the WNBA which is really not fair since I have never given it a real chance.

I have a few friends who could make it there in the next few years so I guess I ought to quit with the smack talking.
Maybe I will even go to a Stars game this season.

[KEDA]

I will keep an open mind to this season, I have never watched a game in my life, so I cant talk shit.

Go Stars Go?

[FromWayDowntown]

I've been to several games and have enjoyed them. I hope the Silver Stars do well and that they're able to win over fans. I realize it's not the NBA or D-1 men's hoops, but the women play hard. It reminds me a bit of watching minor league baseball -- there's a lot of fun stuff going on for the fans and the game is just part of the show. The on-court game is different than its major league counterpart, but that doesn't mean it's a bad game, IMO.

[T Park]

Well their first outing against Phoenix wasn't good.

But getting to drool at Becky Hammon all night was sweet....

[flipcritic]

Everytime I think of the WNBA, I recall the time Rick Reilly tried out for it. Classic.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/inside_game/magazine/life_of_reilly/news/2000/04/18/life_of_reilly/

Someday somebody may whisper in your ear, "Hey, buddy, how'd you like to spend an entire day rubbing bodies with 107 fit, glistening young women?" Resist! If you don't, you'll end up like me, a semifunctioning blood clot, a man with more scratch marks than Ricky Martin, a boy toy used and discarded by ruthless females.

That isn't what I expected when I agreed to be the only man to compete in last week's WNBA predraft camp in Chicago. What I expected was a) a good roomie; b) some partial nudity; and c) to have my way with these girls, basketball-wise.

See, I had never attended, watched or given two bobby pins about a WNBA game. I figured it was women in comfortable heels shooting two-hand set shots and running to the bench to check their Maybelline.

Right away there were signs that maybe I was wrong. For example, at the player physicals the day before the camp, Dr. John Heffrin shook my hand and said, "We're going to have the defibrillator at the gym, just in case." He wasn't smiling.

Then, in my complimentary WNBA player's bag -- which included, yes, sports bras -- some wise gal had slipped in a listing of Chicago funeral homes. Then I got a look at the schedule for the next day: 9:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m., half-court games; 2-8 p.m., full-court games. And I thought, 8:03, defibrillator.

Now, I may not be Billy Blanks, but I'm not Tyra Banks, either. I'm 6'1", 180 pounds, sturdy in a 42 year-old kind of way. But when I went to my power-forward spot and a woman named Frankie Boyd, 6'4" and 180 pounds, senior, Ole Miss, got the ball in the post, yo-yoed it, slammed her butt into my intestines and her elbow into my teeth (sending me skidding back on my shorts), and laid in the uncontested bunny, I wished very much that I had stayed home and rotated the tires.

Why must women be so violent? They grabbed me. They shoved me. They pinched me. They held their ground. They were huge. At one point I was guarding 6'4", 250-pound UCLA center Janae Hubbard, a woman who on the court didn't seem to care in the least about Maybelline. I came out, and my coach, Greg Williams, an assistant with the Detroit Shock, said, "Son, you couldn't play dead in a cowboy movie."

I tightened my sports bra. I bruised, pinched and elbowed the women back. For me, chivalry was dead. In one skirmish with Boyd, I held her, she slapped my hands away, she hooked her arm around my back, I grunted, we leaned hard into each other, both bathed in sweat, thus re-creating most of my high school dates.

I started making shots. A baby hook. A three-pointer. A thumping putback. I returned to the bench. "I bet you scored 10 points out there," Williams said, "and gave up 20."

But you don't understand! I had to guard 6'8" Rhonda Smith, who had fingernails like RuPaul! I had to stay with Michelle (Spinderella) Marciniak, the 1996 Final Four MVP! I had to stop women who would humiliate the tall white geeks at the end of every NBA bench. "Did you play basketball when you were young?" a well-meaning teammate asked me on the sideline. Uh, ouch. Oh, yes, I wanted to say. I was in charge of getting the ball out of the peach basket.

Then came the full-court games. Refs. Stat crews. At one point, gassed, I looked over to Williams and pulled on my shirt, the universal sign that a player needs to come out. Williams just looked blankly at me. I did it the next time down. Nothing. A third. Zilch. I grew woozy. There was a timeout. "Didn't you [pant] see me [gulp] tug on my [spit] shirt?"
I asked.

"Oh," Williams said. "I thought your jersey was sticky."

God, it was fun. My teammates took me in, slapping me on the rear and never laughing at my air balls. I love the WNBA now. There's more teamwork than in the NBA, better fundamentals and far fewer paternity suits. I have a new definition of femininity. What I look for now in a beautiful woman is big hands, scabby knees and a nice box-out butt.

As I was leaving, I saw Nancy Lieberman-Cline, one of the greatest woman basketball players ever, who's now G.M. and coach of the Shock. I asked her what she thought of my game. "I honestly think," she said, "you'd be a very good fifth-round pick."

That soothed my aching pride until that night, in the tub, I read something that sort of took the glow off: Tuesday's draft has only four rounds.

[mikejones99]

Nobody will pay real cash to see womens sports. Hot naked women are the only ones people pay cash to see, thus all the empty stands and the lowest ratings in sports. Spurstalk posters could outplay most of them girls.

[spurschick]

The Silver Stars beat the Connecticut Sun tonight in the home opener. They played great in the first half, pulled a "Spurs" in the 3rd quarter and were able to hold on to win the game. Erin Buescher is fearless.

[EvenFlow]

I'll be going to Friday's game against the Storm. Looking forward to it.

[KEDA]

Just for the record, I went to the game last night and I was pleasantly surprised on how the WNBA works. It was a lot better then I thought. It actually appears that we have a pretty competitive ball club. I will most certainly attend a few more games this year.

[spurschick]

WNBA opens with new faces atop two franchises, familiar challenge at gate
By JOHN LOMBARDO, Sports Business Journal

The WNBA opens its 11th season with two new team owners, one less charter franchise and a challenge to rebound from an all-time low average attendance last year.

Most notable for the new season, which tips off Saturday, is the continued trend toward private ownership that this year brings new groups in Los Angeles and Houston, increasing the number of privately owned franchises in the 13-team league to five.

In Los Angeles, Lakers owner Jerry Buss sold the Sparks to an investment group led by Katherine Goodman and Carla Christofferson. Goodman is a former Hollywood executive; Christofferson is an entertainment attorney.

Houston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander this winter sold the Comets to furniture mogul Hilton Koch reportedly for $10 million, though neither side revealed the specific sale price.

The Sparks and Comets join the Connecticut Sun, Chicago Sky and Washington Mystics as the WNBA’s privately held franchises.

While these new owners are in, out for 2007 is one of the WNBA’s charter teams: the Charlotte Sting, which ceased operations in January. The league could not find a suitable buyer for the franchise, formerly owned by Bobcats owner Bob Johnson. Still, the league expects to expand in 2008; groups in Denver and Atlanta are expressing interest.

WNBA President Donna Orender said that even with one less franchise this year, she expects an increase in average attendance after watching last season’s regular-season average fall 8.6 percent from 2005, to an average of 7,479 fans per game, the lowest in the league’s history.

“Attendance will be up,” said Orender, starting her third season as league president. “Overall, we are doing a great job of featuring great basketball. We have committed ownership groups all the way around that are committed to their teams and their communities.”

With the shift toward independent ownership, teams are increasing front office staffs, and their local sales efforts are being bolstered by the NBA’s team marketing and business operations department.

“Everything is being done on a local level with the league sharing best practices with us,” said Margaret Stender, president of the Chicago Sky, which begins its second WNBA season after ranking last in average attendance last year. “Our front office has increased from 19 to 29, and we’ve doubled our sales staff to eight employees. We are now very aggressive about group sales and we weren’t last year, which was a rookie mistake.”

The WNBA is also rolling out two advertising campaigns to help drive fan interest.

The first campaign, “Dads and Daughters,” began airing in February with spots featuring Chauncey Billups of the Detroit Pistons and Ray Allen of the Seattle SuperSonics and their daughters extolling the virtues of the WNBA.

This week, the WNBA will unveil its seasonlong campaign with the tag line “Journeys,” featuring players explaining how they made it to the WNBA. “The biggest challenge for us is to make sure that people are aware that there is a fantastic product called the WNBA,” Orender said.

The league’s 2007 regular-season television schedule calls for 16 games on ESPN2 and five games on ABC. Last year, the WNBA generated a 0.2 average rating (204,269 households) for 13 games on ESPN2 compared with a 0.3 rating (218,518 households) during the 2005 season. Regular-season ratings on ABC were flat with 2005, with a 0.7 average for six games.

ESPN2 will air five doubleheaders on Tuesday nights. One programming shift moves the WNBA All-Star Game off ESPN during the middle of the week to a weekend slot on ABC this year.

“Interest in women’s college basketball is getting bigger, and [the WNBA’s] demographics are growing, but the tough thing is that the league kicks off now at the end of the NBA season and runs through the summer, which is the lowest time for ratings,” said Larry Novenstern, executive vice president of national electronic media for Optimedia. “That can be tough, but you can turn that around and say they have an opportunity because there is also less original programming during the summer.”

The WNBA also will air 70 games on NBA TV, up from 50 last season.

“There will be more broadcast hours this year than in other years,” Orender said.

On the sponsorship side, the WNBA hasn’t added any leaguewide sponsors in the offseason, though Orender said deals are pending. Last year, the league added Ocean Spray’s Craisins brand and Discover as league partners, and the strategy is to find sponsors independent of the NBA’s corporate business, as deals were leveraged in the past to include the WNBA. Ten of the WNBA’s 20 total partnerships overlap with the NBA.

Locally, team partnership revenue is up 10 percent, and the average number of team sponsorships has grown to 32 from 30.

“You have to have a national footprint, you have to have scale and you have to have growth to attract partners,” said Gary Stevenson, president of OnSport and a former NBA executive who was involved with the launch of the WNBA. “Participation rates [in women’s basketball] are huge and continue to grow. My view is that the WNBA is viewed a bit unfairly. It’s still a young league, and if you look at the impact it has had on women’s sports and basketball, you would deem it a huge success.”

[KEDA]

Silver Stars GTG????

[dknights411]

Nobody will pay real cash to see womens sports. Hot naked women are the only ones people pay cash to see, thus all the empty stands and the lowest ratings in sports. Spurstalk posters could outplay most of them girls.

You wanna take them on?

[spurschick]

Post-game interviews with Coach Hughes, Becky Hammon and Erin Beuscher.

http://www.wnba.com/silverstars/courtside/070523.html

[spurschick]

Basketball: Silver Stars hold off Storm for second-straight victory at AT&T Center
Natalie England - Express-News

Silver Stars coach Dan Hughes likes defense. Remember that when he was in Cleveland, his teams set some defensive statistics that still rank among the league's best.

So, it's natural that when Hughes talks about his Silver Stars' speed and athleticism, it's in conjunction with how that fuels the defense.

But on Friday against Seattle, the Silver Stars turned those defensive assets into a fun-and-gun offense — and Hughes didn't seem to mind.

Behind 25 fast-break points and 40 points in the paint, the Silver Stars ran away with an 82-71 victory over the Storm in front of 5,806 at the AT&T Center.

"Our mobility, it's a real part of who we are, and it's something that people have to deal with," Hughes said. "It allows us to play in transition. That's a facet we've got."

The Silver Stars also have a bevy of players willing to score — and from a variety of spots.

With a wicked combination of layups and timely 3-pointers, Becky Hammon led the way with 21 points. Erin Buescher added 18 and also had a career-high five steals. More than once, she was on the finishing end of one of her own takeaways.

Shanna Crossley knocked down 4 of 10 3-pointers for 14 points.

Vickie Johnson earned a double-double with 10 points and a career-high 10 assists.

The Silver Stars matched a franchise record with 26 assists on 33 field goals, and shot 46 percent from the field.

"It was an easy 10 assists for me," said Johnson, who also had three steals. "Everybody was shooting the ball so well."

The Silver Stars also are carving out another characteristic — when teams push them, they now have the ability to push back.

After trailing by as many as 15, the Storm cut their deficit to 57-51 on a Lauren Jackson three-point play at the 3:13 mark of the third quarter.

But the Silver Stars responded with the same kind of charge they made on Wednesday when Connecticut shrunk a deficit from 25 to four points. They closed the quarter with 10 unanswered points and took a 67-51 lead.

Crossley scored the final eight of those on a pair of 3-pointers and a fast-break bucket. Buescher, who poked away two steals during that span, had the other basket.

And after Seattle opened the fourth with an 8-0 run to trim its deficit to eight, the Silver Stars found an answer.

Ruth Riley converted a Seattle turnover with a 16-foot jumper, and Hammon threw down her final 3-pointer of the game following an offensive rebound by Johnson to put the Silver Stars comfortably out front by 11 with 5:36 remaining.

"They are really turning some heads right now," Storm coach Anne Donovan said of the Silver Stars.

Janell Burse led Seattle with 19 points, but the Storm's offensive flow was often interrupted with their 19 turnovers, which led to 29 points for the Silver Stars.

"We feed off our defense," Johnson said.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/wnba/silverstars/stories/MYSA052607.01C.BKLstars.seattle.3a8aaff.html

[angel_luv]

A customer at the mall and I today were talking about the Silver Stars. She said they look like a good team this year.
We should all go to a game together.

[spurschick]

Stars Dial in Long Distance to Top Comets

HOUSTON(AP) - Becky Hammon scored 26 points, leading the San Antonio Silver Stars to a 82-71 win over the Houston Comets on Tuesday night.

The loss marks the first time in franchise history the Comets have started 0-3.

San Antonio (3-1) recovered from a 13-point first quarter deficit by outscoring the Comets 29-9 the rest of the first half. Hammon had 13 points in the first half, including eight points in a 13-0 run to end the half as the Silver Stars took a 35-28 lead.

The Silver Stars increased their lead to 58-44 with 1:42 left in the third quarter on Sophia Young's layup. Houston (0-3) closed within seven points several times in the fourth quarter, but got no closer.

Hammon was 6-of-9 from behind the arc to lead San Antonio, which hit a franchise-record 13 three-pointers. Young added 16 points, and reserve Erin Buescher netted 11 points.

Michelle Snow led the Comets with 20 points and 12 rebounds, her second straight double-double. Tina Thompson added 18 points, and Hamchetou Maiga-Ba had 12 points. Sheryl Swoopes only scored six points and didn't hit a field goal until there was 5:42 left in the game.

Houston was 9-of-12 in the first quarter, then shot 9-of-33 in the second and third quarters combined.

[KidCongo]

I'm going for storm in this don't really follow WNBA. Going for Seattle because of homegrown Lauren Jackson. Lets hope she leads Australia to Olympic glory in Beijing..

[MajorMike]

I actually flipped on and off the game last night. The run was very nice.

I may start watching the Stars... they are more exciting than atm even.

[shelshor]

Thursday's game against Phoenix should be a good guage of how much better they are this year

[jman3000]

a female friend of mine invited me to go with her to a silver stars game... i'm still debating on whether ill lose man points or not.

[spurschick]

Mercury Roll Past Silver Stars

SAN ANTONIO, May 31 (AP) -- Diana Taurasi, who was ejected for the first time in her career in Phoenix's previous game, scored 21 points Thursday night to lead the Mercury to a 97-85 victory over the San Antonio Silver Stars.

Taurasi, who was called for a flagrant foul and given two technicals in the second quarter of the Mercury's 76-75 victory over Sacramento on Tuesday, finished with five rebounds and six assists. She had 18 points in the second half.

Tangela Smith added 22 points, 14 in the first half, on 9-of-12 shooting for the Mercury, while Cappie Pondexter had 19, Penny Taylor 13 and Kelly Miller 10. The Mercury (4-1) tied the franchise record for best five-game start and picked up their first road win of the season.

Phoenix, which led 44-31 at halftime, was perfect from the free throw line, going 18-for-18.

The Silver Stars (3-2), whose other loss was to the Mercury 81-72 in the season opener on May 19 in Phoenix, were led by Becky Hammon's 25 points. She was 4-of-11 from the 3-point line. Hammon has led the Silver Stars in scoring in every game.

Sophia Young had 22 points for San Antonio and Marie Ferdinand-Harris added 10.

The Silver Stars cut the lead to nine points on a layup by Young with 2:19 left in the third quarter, but it was as close as they would get.

[spurschick]

a female friend of mine invited me to go with her to a silver stars game... i'm still debating on whether ill lose man points or not.

Well, if you're not man enough, then I guess you shouldn't go.

[KEDA]

If I ever get invited to go back to a Silver Stars game I will go, I had fun that night, and didn't lose any man points, although I did lose some french fries!

[spurschick]

Richard Oliver: Second-fiddle status to Spurs wearing on Silver Stars
Web Posted: 06/02/2007 08:14 PM CDT
San Antonio Express-News

Less than 24 hours earlier, the Spurs had captured another Western Conference title at the AT&T Center, sending a sellout crowd of 19,000 fans into a rapturous frenzy.

But those cheers had long since died away as Sophia Young sat on a chair before her locker in the bowels of the same arena.

Still in her Silver Stars uniform, ham-sized bags of ice strapped to both knees, the 6-foot-1 power forward looked as if she'd bled more than sweat on the court during 32 minutes of hard toil against Phoenix.

Her 39th WNBA game had played out as a miserable 97-85 Silver Stars loss punctuated by 13-straight missed shots, including five blown layups, to start the second quarter, head coach Dan Hughes' first technical of the season and Mercury star Diana Taurasi's celebratory taunts in the closing moments.

That Young had collected 22 points, one off her career best, to go with a team-high seven rebounds and three assists didn't soothe her exasperation.

"We go out there," the former Baylor standout said wearily, "and play with heart as much as the Spurs do."

And they do.

Which makes what is happening all the more maddening for the women playing the games.

The Spurs' continued success, which will spill again into most of the opening two months of the Silver Stars' schedule, has further dwarfed the franchise's impact on a community that has yet to embrace it with even a semblance of the zeal accorded the men.

For Young and her teammates, last week provided a particularly stark reminder.

Hours after the Spurs routed the Utah Jazz in Game 5 of their series, positioning the NBA club for its fourth league title, the city's WNBA entry took the court to find that the fever gripping fans Wednesday night apparently had left them recovering on their couches Thursday.

Only days after Robert Horry hip-checked Steve Nash into the scorer's table at the AT&T Center, inflaming the San Antonio-Phoenix series into a must-see conflagration of emotion in the NBA playoffs, the cities faced off again in another important Western Conference match.

This time, with WNBA supremacy at stake, the Silver Stars' Becky Hammon found herself hip-to-hip against the Mercury's Cappie Pondexter, but in a showdown so lightly regarded that the squeaking of their sneakers was drowned out only by the obligatory arena rock and announcer exhortations.

The Silver Stars, who had come in 3-1 and optimistic because of Hughes' aggressive roster makeover, missed 18 shots in the first quarter and 31 through the first 16 minutes en route to trailing badly at the half.

Yet, in an explosive third quarter, the teams combined for 69 points on 24-of-37 shooting, with Taurasi and Pondexter teaming for 20 points and Hammon and Jones for 17.

It was a 10-minute stretch that showcased what the league can be when the product works as assembled.

"It's a lot to get excited about," Hammon, the guard who has become the marketable face of the Silver Stars, said later. "We're just looking to make a push."

San Antonio isn't alone. The 13-team WNBA, still subsidized by $12 million from the NBA annually, made a dubious claim of an average attendance of 7,500 last year, but the team in Charlotte folded, and the league's championship game had to be shifted to another Detroit arena because of a Mariah Carey concert.

On Thursday night, even with San Antonio impassioned for pro basketball by another Spurs conference crown, the Silver Stars announced an attendance of 5,247 — likely twice the number actually on hand.

A wag sitting at courtside chuckled.

"The good thing is, when they do those Sure Shot promotions at these games," he said, "everyone gets a shirt."

Shortly after, Young couldn't find the humor in it. The player, her heart for the sport beating every bit as strong as any Spurs star, shrugged.

"For the general population, the NBA is more popular," she said. "You're just going to get that. It's not anything I can fix. But we're all athletes, we're all positive — and we all love this game."

For another night, at least, that would have to be enough.

[spurschick]

Crossley carries Silver Stars over Storm
The Associated Press-Elaine Thompson

SEATTLE --
Shanna Crossley scored all 14 of her points in the fourth quarter to lead the San Antonio Silver Stars to a 78-68 victory over the Seattle Storm on Saturday night.

Crossley made four 3-pointers in the final quarter to help the Silver Stars (4-2) build a 20-point lead. It was the second victory in eight days for San Antonio over the Storm (2-2).

Lauren Jackson had 20 points and 14 rebounds for the Storm. Iziane Castro Marques added 10 points.

Vickie Johnson and Ruth Riley each had 13 points for San Antonio. Johson also had 10 rebounds.

The Silver Stars led by as many as nine points in the third quarter and led 57-51 after three quarters before blowing the game open in the final quarter.

Crossley, a reserve who averaged 11.4 points per game in the first five, took control in the final quarter. She made a 3-pointer after a steal and hit another one as she fell to the floor with Jackson in her face.

Becky Hammon, who played eight seasons in New York before being traded before this season to San Antonio, had 12 points. Hammon had scored more than 20 points in the previous three games.

The Storm had an eight-day layoff since losing 82-71 at San Antonio on May 25. Sue Bird had seven points, four below her average for the Storm. She was 3 of 12 from the field.

One Storm fan showed his support for Jackson, of Australia, by holding up a 4-foot plastic kangaroo every time Jackson scored.

Riley scored 11 points in the first quarter for the Silver Stars, hitting all four of her shots from the field.

Seattle shot only 38 percent from the field.

[Bear Grylls]

Do people actually go to these games?

[Kamnik]

Hopefully Beno will get some playing time

i laughed out loud at that :lol

[pooh]

They looked good the other night against the Storm.

[shelshor]

http://www.wnba.com/news/playersoftheweek_070604.html

Connecticut’s Asjha Jones and San Antonio’s
Becky Hammon Named WNBA Players of the Week
Posted Jun 4 2007 2:44PM

NEW YORK, June 4, 2007 – Asjha Jones of the Connecticut Sun and Becky Hammon of the San Antonio Silver Stars were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, May 28 through Sunday, June 3.

Jones receives the honor for the first time in her six-year career, after leading the Connecticut Sun to a perfect 2-0 record on the week with an average 27.5 points, 8 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.5 blocks while converting 21-of-33 field goal attempts and 13-of-14 free throws.

With a 31-point performance on May 31 against the Chicago Sky, Jones became the third player in franchise history to score 30+ points and the first since the 2003 season. Twenty-six of her 31 points were scored in the second half of the game, when she was 9-for-14 on field goals, 8-for-8 on free throws, and added six rebounds and three assists as the Sun rallied to take a 102-97 overtime win. Two days later, the Sun defeated the Phoenix Mercury 76-67, behind Jones’s 24 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks, a steal and 10-for-15 shooting.

Hammon led the Silver Stars in scoring in two of three games on the week, and in all but one game this season. She averaged 21 points, five assists, three rebounds and shot 47 percent (24-for-51) from the floor, 44 percent (10-for-23) from beyond the arc and 83 percent (5-for-6) from the free throw line as the Silver Stars posted a 2-1 record on the week. The Silver Stars' overall 4-2 record earns them the top spot in the Western Conference.

On May 29, Hammon tallied 26 points, nine assists, six rebounds and hit 10-for-17 field-goals and 6-for-9 three-pointers in a 82-71 victory over the Houston Comets. Two days later, she scored 25 points against the Phoenix Mercury and recorded her third consecutive game with 20 or more points.

Other candidates for WNBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Detroit’s Swin Cash, Indiana’s Tamika Catchings, New York’s Cathrine Kraayeveld and Sacramento’s Nicole Powell.

The WNBA tipped off its second decade of play on May 19, 2007, featuring comprehensive national television coverage. ESPN2 and ABC will combine to televise up to 36 games nationally during the regular season and playoffs. The second straight year of “WNBA Tuesdays” on ESPN2 includes five doubleheaders and WNBA action on 11 of 14 Tuesday nights in-season. NBA TV will complement ABC and ESPN2's coverage by televising 70 regular-season and up to nine playoff games. The WNBA All-Star Game will be played at Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. on July 15 at 3:30 pm ET with live coverage on ABC.

[dbreiden83080]

Well their first outing against Phoenix wasn't good.

But getting to drool at Becky Hammon all night was sweet....

Yes when the Liberty traded Hammon i was annoyed because she was the only reason i watched she is pretty HOT and a hell of a player.

[KEDA]

Becky Hammon = Player of the Week

nice

[CubanMustGo]

Silver Spurs in first place this "late" in the season is also nice. Keep it up and after the Finals the fans will start showing up. Hard to overcome the team's pitiful history after just a few games.

[zekes]

the silver stars are giving away tickets to the chicago game this saturday 6/9/07. all you have to do is go to their ticketmaster page for the game

http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/0C003E7DEEDEDB27?artistid=864266&majorcatid=10004&minorcatid=7?brand=wnba&CAMEFROM=WNBASILVERSTARS_MKT_PAPERFAST2

and under the "spurs fan appreciation offer" enter "LEAGUE" as the password. i think you may have to pay for the service charges. i just tried it and it gave me section 14 tickets with only a $1.50 convenience charge. pretty sweet deal. too bad dalma is not on the team any more :depressed

San Antonio Silver Stars vs. Chicago Sky
AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX
Sat, Jun 9, 2007 07:00 PM
Your Ticket(s)

Section Row Type Ticket Price Convenience Charge Description
14 5 Spurs Fan Appreciation Ticket Offer US $0.00 US $1.50
PRICE LEVEL 4
CHARTER LEVEL - LOWEST LEVEL OF ARENA

14 5 Spurs Fan Appreciation Ticket Offer US $0.00 US $1.50

14 5 Spurs Fan Appreciation Ticket Offer US $0.00 US $1.50

14 5 Spurs Fan Appreciation Ticket Offer US $0.00 US $1.50




Seats: 15 to 18 |seating chart

[Flea]

Darn, I wish we could go! My neice is having a birthday party so we can't. I have been wanting to take my 13yo to go see one of their games. She played basketball this past year in 7th grade and loved it.

[angel_luv]

I am going to the game- sitting in section 10, row 10... with covenience charge and taxes - total game to $5.53.
I made that in tips the other night.

Going to a WNBA game- definitely "something new" for this week.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Chamique Holdsclaw from the Sparks retired today.

[spurschick]

Wow - she was really good when she first came into the league.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Holdsclaw stuns Sparks by retiring

By BETH HARRIS, AP Sports Writer
June 11, 2007

AP - Jun 11, 9:36 pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Chamique Holdsclaw, a six-time WNBA All-Star who re-signed with the Los Angeles Sparks in February, stunned the team by retiring Monday.

The 29-year-old forward had played in the Sparks' first five games this season, averaging 15.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists.

Holdsclaw did not give a reason for ending her pro basketball career.

"This was not an easy decision," she said in a statement released by the team. "I put a lot of thought into it."

Kathy Goodman said she and Carla Christofferson, the team's new owners, were surprised.

"This is not what we wanted," Goodman told The Associated Press by phone. "She said she'd given it a lot of thought and decided she didn't want to play anymore."

Goodman said Holdsclaw didn't give a reason and the owners didn't ask for one.

"We decided to respect her decision," she said. "I'm not sure how long she had been thinking about it. The first we heard about it was over the weekend. I'm not sure what all led into her decision."

The owners, along with coach Michael Cooper and general manager Penny Toler, tried unsuccessfully to persuade Holdsclaw to stay. She was playing on a one-year contract.

"We're relatively new, so we don't have a long relationship with her," Goodman said.

Before joining the Sparks two years ago, Holdsclaw played seven seasons with the Washington Mystics, who made her the league's top draft pick in 1999. She was the WNBA rookie of the year that season after leading Tennessee to three consecutive NCAA championships and twice winning national player of the year honors.

But the Mystics had only one winning season during Holdsclaw's stint, losing in the Eastern Conference finals in 2002.

She asked to be traded after dealing with depression. Holdsclaw didn't talk publicly about that time, which came after the death of her grandmother who raised her.

She left the Mystics in July 2004 and played basketball in Spain before the Sparks went after her. Holdsclaw later said she was happy to be in Los Angeles, where the laid-back nature of things appealed to her.

She retired without winning a WNBA championship.

"I have a lot of other interests, things I can be as good at as I am in basketball," she told The AP in July 2005, declining to elaborate. "I like to keep things to myself."

Cooper said the team would miss Holdsclaw, adding, "It won't be easy, but we will go on without her and wish her all the best."

The news was a jolt to the Sparks (3-2), who had already lost star center Lisa Leslie to pregnancy this season. Point guard Temeka Johnson has yet to play while recovering from offseason knee surgery. Cooper rejoined the team this season after coaching stints in the NBA and its Development League.

"We have a great team and our goal is still the same, to win a championship," Goodman said. "It'll be little harder."

The Sparks host Houston on Wednesday night.

http://sports.yahoo.com/wnba/news;_ylt=Ata0R3AOfzG_TNn1H97gYhs5nYcB?slug=ap-sparks-holdsclawretires&prov=ap&type=lgns

[EvenFlow]

Wow, it was shocking to here that in the middle of the season.....but maybe this could help the Silver Stars playoff chances. :)

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Sue Bird and Ruth Riley are gonna start for the West All-Stars.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Nevermind, it's not official but they are the current leaders of the all-star voting.

[spurschick]

Silver Stars Schedule Change

SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Silver Stars June 20 home game against Minnesota has been moved from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. The August 7 home game against Washington has been moved from 7 p.m. to 11:30 a.m., and will serve as “Camp Day,” the team announced today.

The organization originally slated June 20 as a day game to host kids attending summer camps, but because of the NBA Finals schedule, which pencils in game six of the NBA Finals on June 19, the game time has been pushed back. The Washington contest replaces the original Camp Day as the team’s only home day game of the season.

Silver Stars tickets start as low as $9.35. For more information on tickets, call 210.444.5090.

[shelshor]

The other day, there were also big piles of buy 1, get 1 free coupons at the AT&T Center box office; for those on a budget or who have reservations about WNBA games

[spurschick]

http://www.wnba.com/silverstars/news/splash_070616.html

[shelshor]

http://www.wnba.com/silverstars/news/splash_070616.html
And either Erin Buescher or Shanna Crossley for the write in vote

[KEDA]

I like Erin Buescher's hustle, shes like the Manu of the Silver Stars.

And Shanna Crossley isnt afraid to take the shot, she needs to get with Brent Barry and show him something.

[angel_luv]

I like Erin Buescher's hustle, shes like the Manu of the Silver Stars.



Erin seems like a really awesome girl. She spoke at " Faith night" after the game a week ago and was super nice. :)

[CubanMustGo]

Congrats to the Silver Spurs on last night's win against Becky Hammon's old team, the NY Liberty. The Liberty were 6-3 before falling last night.

[thewatcher]

Becky Hammon is pretty hot :drool:

[dbreiden83080]

Becky Hammon is pretty hot :drool:

Sure is we should start a Becky Hammon is HOT thread!!!

[spurschick]

Becky and Chantelle Anderson co-hosted with David Chancellor last night on Charlie & Chance. Chance basically got owned.

[EvenFlow]

San Antonio had an easier than it looked victory over the Minnesota Lynx last night 80-73. They're are now in second place in the Western Conference ( :clap ) and play tommorrow night against the New York Liberty.

One thing I have to say is that Becky Hammon has to be the runner up or the prime candidate for MVP at this point of the season, she's been the best guard in the WNBA.

Also, Erin Bueshcer should be in the all star game so make sure to vote her in if you care.

[spurschick]

Young Leads Stars Over Lynx

The San Antonio Silver Stars ran off to a 22-point lead over the visiting Minnesota Lynx and never looked back, coming away with an 80-73 win here Wednesday night.

San Antonio posted 20-plus points in all but the third quarter, taking a 46-29 lead into the locker room at the break. Second-year forward Sophia Young was on fire for the second straight game, hitting 11 of 16 from the field for 24 points to go with three assists and a team-best four steals.

Young’s hot hand was contagious as Becky Hammon, Erin Buescher and Vickie Johnson joined the act with 18, 13 and 10 points, respectively. Hammon also added six assists and two steals. The Stars shot 46.3 percent from the field and forced 19 Lynx turnovers.

San Antonio guard Helen Darling made her first buckets of the season, coming away with six points on the night, while Seimone Augustus led the Lynx with 27.

San Antonio travels to New York Friday night to take on the Liberty, then heads to Connecticut on Saturday for the back end of a back-to-back.

[johngateswhiteley]

how many of you really watch the Silver Stars (just curious)?

[Chris]

Becky Hammon is nailz.

[spurschick]

Four game winning streak!

Silver Stars Topple Sun

UNCASVILLE, Conn.(AP) - Guard Becky Hammon scored 20 points to lead the San Antonio Silver Spurs past the Connecticut Sun 71-58 on Saturday night.

Forward Sophia Young added 17 points and eight rebounds for San Antonio. Douglas and Lindsay Whalen led the Sun with 15 points each.

Connecticut jumped out an 4-0 lead, but San Antonio quickly matched that and the teams traded baskets for the next seven minutes to end the first quarter tied at 17.

The Silver Stars pulled away in the second quarter with an 8-0 run, holding the Sun without a field goal for more than three minutes.

Strong free throw shooting helped Connecticut battle back over the final five minutes of the first half. The Sun made 7-of-8 in the closing minutes of the second quarter, and a lay-up by Katie Douglas in the final second before the break cut the lead to 39-36.

San Antonio lead the entire third quarter. The Sun appeared on the verge of tying the game after narrowing the gap to 52-50, but a pair of baskets by Hammon within a 14-second span in the final minute of the quarter extended San Antonio's lead to 56-50.

The Silver Stars carried that momentum into the fourth quarter, outscoring the Sun 15-8.

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

Four game winning streak!

Silver Stars Topple Sun

UNCASVILLE, Conn.(AP) - Guard Becky Hammon scored 20 points to lead the San Antonio Silver Spurs past the Connecticut Sun 71-58 on Saturday night.

Forward Sophia Young added 17 points and eight rebounds for San Antonio. Douglas and Lindsay Whalen led the Sun with 15 points each.

Connecticut jumped out an 4-0 lead, but San Antonio quickly matched that and the teams traded baskets for the next seven minutes to end the first quarter tied at 17.

The Silver Stars pulled away in the second quarter with an 8-0 run, holding the Sun without a field goal for more than three minutes.

Strong free throw shooting helped Connecticut battle back over the final five minutes of the first half. The Sun made 7-of-8 in the closing minutes of the second quarter, and a lay-up by Katie Douglas in the final second before the break cut the lead to 39-36.

San Antonio lead the entire third quarter. The Sun appeared on the verge of tying the game after narrowing the gap to 52-50, but a pair of baskets by Hammon within a 14-second span in the final minute of the quarter extended San Antonio's lead to 56-50.

The Silver Stars carried that momentum into the fourth quarter, outscoring the Sun 15-8.

I watched the game off-and-on last night and that second half was more dominating than the score reflects.

Too bad Sacramento won to stay ahead of the Stars in the conference.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Diana Taurasi got suspended 2 games.

[zekes]

www.spurs.com

Spurs and Silver Stars Put the Trophies on Display

Thank you for your continued support of Spurs Sports & Entertainment. In appreciation we would like to extend this special offer to you.

Bring your camera and get your photo with the NBA Championship trophies* at the June 29th Silver Stars game, tickets are only $10** when you enter the promo code "TROPHY". Don't forget to bring your camera for this once in a lifetime experience.

Also stick around for your chance to win Spurs opening night tickets. One lucky person will be selected at random from the the crowd to win TWO tickets.

[shelshor]

Diana Taurasi got suspended 2 games.
It seems the Suns aren't the only basketball team in Phoenix that whines and blames others for blowing a game

Taurasi missed at least 2 last second shots to tie game and took her frustration out on the official.

Frustration grows in Mercury loss to Shock
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/mercury/articles/0622merc-ON.html

Taurasi suspended two games for inappropriate conduct toward officials
http://sports.espn.go.com/wnba/news/story?id=2914508

Taurasi suspended 2 games
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/mercury/articles/0623taurasi-ON.html

Mercury’s Taurasi Suspended 2 Games
http://www.wnba.com/mercury/news/tribune_suspension_070623.html

Taurasi Blows Fuse After Mercury Blow Big Lead
http://www.wnba.com/mercury/news/tribune_070623.html

[spurschick]

Becky gets her SECOND Player of the Week honor

Katie Smith and Becky Hammon Named Eastern
and Western Conference Players of the Week

NEW YORK, June 25, 2007 - Katie Smith of the Detroit Shock and Becky Hammon of the San Antonio Silver Stars were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, June 18 through Sunday, June 24.

Smith averaged 18.5 points, 4.3 assists, 4.3 rebounds, 1.3 steals and shot 41 percent from the field (23-for-56) and 83 percent from the free-throw line (19-for-23) as the Shock posted a 3-1 record in four road games on the week. The team maintains the leagueís best overall record (10-2), the best mark through 12 games in franchise history and the second best start in the history of the league.

On June 18, Smith scored 18 points, grabbed nine rebounds, dished 9 assists, shot 6-of-13 from the field, 3-of-6 from beyond the arc and 3-of-6 from the free throw line, in a 79-73 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks. Two days later on June 20, Smith tallied a game-high 23 points and added four assists, four rebounds and converted 9-of-14 field goals and 3-of-6 three pointers to lead the Shock to an 87-71 win over the Seattle Storm.

Smith currently ranks 17th in the league in scoring (13.8 per game), fifth in assists per game (4.4), 15th in free throw percentage (85 percent) and sixth in three-pointers made (23).

Hammon receives the weekly honor for the second time this season after averaging 19 points and five assists per game as she guided San Antonio to a 3-0 mark on the week, moving the Silver Stars a half game out of first place in the Western Conference.

Hammon, now in her first campaign with San Antonio after eight seasons with New York, made a triumphant return to Madison Square Garden on June 22, leading her squad to its first come-from-behind victory of the season and hitting 6-of-6 free throws down the stretch to help defeat the Liberty, 70-63. Her 19 points marked a game high as she also added six rebounds, four assists, a steal and made 6-of-16 field goals and 2-of-9 three pointers. The next day, on June 23, she had another game high with 20 points, along with five assists, three rebounds, a block and made 8-of-13 field goal attempts, as the Silver Stars defeated the Connecticut Sun, 71-58.

Hammon ranks fifth among league leaders in scoring (18.7 per game), first in assists per game (5.4) and second in free-throw percentage (91.5 percent).

Other candidates for WNBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Indianaís Tamika Catchings, New Yorkís Shameka Christon, Sacramentoís Kara Lawson and Washingtonís Alana Beard.

[T Park]

A total hottie, AND, a good player.

Good lord....


Are the Silver Stars EVER on cable TV, like Fox Sports?

[shelshor]

A total hottie, AND, a good player.

Good lord....


Are the Silver Stars EVER on cable TV, like Fox Sports?

from: http://www.wnba.com/silverstars/schedule/

July
Sun 1 @ Detroit 5:00pm NBA TV
Sun 22 @ Chicago 5:00pm NBA TV
Sun 29 @ Seattle 8:00pm NBA TV
Tue 31 Detroit 7:00pm ESPN 2
August
Sat 4 Los Angeles 7:00pm NBA TV
Wed 15 @ Sacramento 9:00pm NBA TV

[td4mvp21]

A total hottie, AND, a good player.


:tu

[FromWayDowntown]

Good win today at Detroit.

[bigdog]

I watched this whole game today on NBA TV, and was very impresed by their play. Without their 2 best players, they stayed in the game, and out hustled and outplayed Detroit despite shooting horribly. Good job!

[FromWayDowntown]

Without their 2 best players. . . .

I'm not sure that anyone really thinks that Ruth Riley is one of their 2 best players.

[spurschick]

I'm not sure that anyone really thinks that Ruth Riley is one of their 2 best players.

She is the force in the middle they've been without for a long time, so I definitely think she was a great addition. Erin Buescher is amazing. She never loses her energy on the court.

[FromWayDowntown]

She is the force in the middle they've been without for a long time, so I definitely think she was a great addition. Erin Buescher is amazing. She never loses her energy on the court.

I think all of that can be true, but I don't think Ruth Riley is the Silver Stars' second best player. I'm sure that she isn't better than Sophia Young. . . .

Ultimately, I don't really care to rank the players. I'm just glad to see that the Silver Stars are a much better team than they've been in years past and that they have a chance to make some noise. I think that if they do well, they'll build more excitement for their games in San Antonio and help people to realize that its an affordable and fun entertainment option during the summer time.

[spurschick]

It will definitely be fun to be in the playoffs. :spin

[Kori Ellis]

My interview with coach Hughes

http://sanantonio.about.com/od/professionalsports/a/danhughes.htm

[spurschick]

Nice interview. I'm really glad that the local sports media have been paying a little closer attention this year. I've heard Silver Stars scores on 1200 in the morning and Becky and Chantelle co-hosted Charlie and Chance with Chance a few weeks ago. Now if only we could see some highlights on the local news broadcasts... :hat

[spurschick]

Becky Hammon announced as All-Star Starter

NEW YORK, July 3, 2007 - The starting lineups for the 2007 WNBA All-Star Game have been selected by the fans, it was announced today by the WNBA. The All-Star Game will be held on Sunday, July 15 at Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. and will be televised nationally on ABC at 3:30 p.m. ET.

...

Two players - Anna DeForge and Kara Braxton - join the lineup as first time All-Stars. San Antonio's Becky Hammon, who was traded from the New York Liberty to the Silver Stars prior to the 2007 season, becomes just the second player in WNBA history to be voted as a starter for both the East and the West squads during her career. Dawn Staley became the first to accomplish this feat last season.

http://www.wnba.com/allstar2007/news/as07_starters_070703.html

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

What about Ruth? :pctoss

[EvenFlow]

Hopefully Erin Buescher gets in.

[spurschick]

What about Ruth? :pctoss

She could still make it as a reserve. Reserves will be announced on Monday.

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/wnba/silverstars/stories/MYSA070707.01C.BKLstars.buescher.346b56c.html

Silver Stars standout Buescher does a little bit of everything, on and off the court

Web Posted: 07/06/2007 10:23 PM CDT

Natalie England
Express-News

Silver Stars forward Erin Buescher can easily tick off a list of her hobbies. Surfing, mountain biking, camping — and that's just naming a few.

Basketball is right there in line with those other activities.

"I'm not a basketball junkie," Buescher said. "There are a whole lot of things that I love, so many other things that I want to be doing."

Buescher is up front about this: She isn't a gym rat.

Steve Nash probably can't understand that, but Robert Frost would be proud — Buescher has carved out a career by turning one of her many avocations into her vocation.

And she's proof that it pays off to love what you do. Last season, Buescher was named the WNBA's most improved player, averaging 9.7 points and 3.9 rebounds to help Sacramento to the league finals. Now with the Silver Stars, who host Seattle tonight, Buescher is picking up where she left off.

Buescher leads the team in rebounding with 6.4 per game and is third on the team in scoring at 11.0 points.

Behind the scenes, the Silver Stars refer to Buescher as their version of Manu Ginobili, a player who can punish teams with a variety of tools. Buescher plays fierce defense, is relentless on the glass and, though she can routinely school defenders to the basket with spin-moves and ball-fakes, she has enough range to step out and make 3-pointers.

In the past three games with leading scorer Becky Hammon slowed by right foot sprain, Buescher has also shouldered more of a scoring load. She's averaging 18.7 points as the Silver Stars have gone 2-1 in that span, and she scored 23 points to go along with a career-high 16 rebounds in a critical road victory against Detroit.

"I love competition, and that helps," Buescher said. "Yes, there are other things in my life that I enjoy just as much, but (when on the court) I go hard — it's my job."

Silver Stars coach and general manager Dan Hughes was struck last season by the job Buescher did to lift Sacramento, which was without forward DeMya Walker because of pregnancy.

Buescher has played the small forward position since her college days, but learned to play consistently in the low post last season in Walker's absence.

"I just noticed her presence," Hughes said. "She has the ability to do all the little things, and really make them matter."

In the offseason, the Silver Stars targeted Buescher, who was a restricted free agent with Sacramento. But Hughes wasn't hopeful he'd lure Buescher away from California — she is close to her family and was raised just a short drive from Sacramento in the San Francisco Bay area.

But Hughes made an offer, and Buescher accepted.

"It says a lot about the place for me to leave that and my family," Buescher said. "It was a great two years (with Sacramento), but I was excited about the opportunity here. I knew it was a bunch of people who would work hard, and they're good people.

"If a door opens, I'll go through it."

As for the next door, Buescher has no idea. Seven years ago, she thought she would be a professional surfer right now.

"I can't believe I'm still playing," said the 28-year-old, who was drafted by Minnesota in 2001. "I want balance in my life and perspective. I think that makes (basketball) easier for me, because I know it's not everything."

[spurschick]

Basketball: Buescher bails out Silver Stars

Web Posted: 07/07/2007 11:46 PM CDT
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/wnba/silverstars/stories/MYSA070807.04C.BKLstars.seattle.34ef493.html

The legend of Erin Buescher continues to grow.

The Silver Stars look to Buescher for offensive rebounds. Or steals. Or, on Saturday night, late-game moxie.

With Seattle in striking distance after all but erasing a 23-point second-half deficit, Buescher hit a 3-pointer as the shot-clock buzzer sounded to give the Silver Stars an eight-point edge and some breathing room in the final two minutes of the game.

The Silver Stars needed it — and Buescher's career-high 27 points to go along with six rebounds and five steals — to outlast the late-surging Storm 80-73 in front of an announced 7,510 at the AT&T Center.

Buescher is averaging 23 points during the Silver Stars' three-game winning streak and is third on the team in scoring for the season at 11.9 points per contest. Buescher's scoring average has never been in double digits for a season, and before last year — when she averaged 9.7 a game to be named the league's most improved player — she had never fared better than 5.7.

"I don't know if I've seen as good of a quality player in this league as her," said Silver Stars assistant coach Brian Agler, who continues to direct the team in place of injured head coach Dan Hughes. "I'm so happy she is being rewarded now, and our team is benefiting. She's a big part of our success, and she has the respect of the entire locker room."

When asked about her recent hot streak — which has some speculating about an All-Star nod from league coaches on Monday — Buescher replies with trademark humility.

She ticks off the accomplishments of other players — like center Ruth Riley plugging the middle, Sophia Young drawing double-teams that open up scoring opportunities for others and Camille Little coming off the bench and snatching rebound after rebound.

"We have so many weapons, so many ways," Buescher said. "I think that's what true basketball is."

Young and Helen Darling, who started her third game in a row for the injured Becky Hammon, each scored 11 points. Vickie Johnson finished with 10.

"It was a total team effort," Buescher said.

After attempting just 20 shots in the entire first half, Seattle hit 8 of 19 shots in the third quarter and outscored the Silver Stars 24-16 to trim its deficit to just nine points entering the final period.

Lauren Jackson, who finished with 15 points, hit a 19-foot jumper and then forced a turnover, which led to a layup by Tanisha Wright that pulled Seattle to 70-65 with 2:37 to play.

On the next possession, Buescher got the ball at the top of the key and released a shot in front of an outstretched Jackson. It hit the front of the rim, and got a shooter's roll to fall through the net.

Buescher reacted with a spinning fist pump at center court, as the fans treated her to a symphony of screams and cheers.

"She's a dream-type player," Agler said.

Notebook: Hughes said Hammon could have played against Seattle, but the coaching staff decided to give her more time to recover from her sprained right foot. The Silver Stars don't play again until Wednesday at Phoenix.

"This is an opportunity to let her get fully healed, and get a practice under her belt before playing again," Hughes said.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Buescher is fucking awesome.

[shelshor]

And with yesterdays Sacramento loss, the Silver Stars move into first place in the West by a few points

[shelshor]

http://www.wnba.com/news/playersoftheweek_070709.html

Tamika Catchings and Erin Buescher Named Eastern, Western Conference Players of the Week
Posted Jul 9 2007 5:41PM



Erin Buescher and Tamika Catchings have been named the Western and Eastern Players of the Week.
NEW YORK, July 9, 2007 — Tamika Catchings of the Indiana Fever and Erin Buescher of the San Antonio Silver Stars were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, July 2 through Sunday, July 8.

An 11-time Player of the Week winner, Catchings receives her second honor this season after averaging 16.5 points, nine rebounds, eight assists, 5.5 steals and shooting 42 percent on field goals (10-for-24) and 72 percent on free throws (13-for-18) for the week. Catchings led her team in scoring, rebounds, assists and steals in both contests as the Fever posted a 2-0 record, maintaining the league's best overall record with 13-4.

On July 8, Catchings became the first player in WNBA history to tally at least seven rebounds, assists and steals in a game. She recorded 16 points, 11 assists, seven rebounds, seven steals and a block, while converting 6-of-9 field goals and 4-of-7 free throws in an 86-70 victory over the Chicago Sky. Her sixth double-double ties for second highest in the league this season, with Chicago's Candice Dupree and Sacramento's Rebekkah Brunson, and her 11 assists ties the franchise record and matches the most by any player in the league this season.

Catchings is the only player in the league to be ranked in the top 10 in points (16.6 per game), rebounds (8.9 per game), assists (4.4 per game), steals (3.4 per game) and blocked shots (1.2 per game). Her seven steals against Chicago lifted her career total to 474, moving her to third on the all-time rankings list.

Erin Buescher earns her first weekly award after averaging 23 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.5 steals and three assists while shooting 63 percent (15-for-24), 50 percent from beyond the arc (3-for-6) and 93 percent from the free throw line (13-for-14) as she led the Silver Stars to a 2-0 record on the week.

On July 7, Buescher scored a career-high 27 points and grabbed a career-high tying five steals, along with six rebounds, two assists, and made 9-of-15 field goals, 2-of-3 three pointers and 7-of-8 free throws to lead her team to an 80-73 win over the Seattle Storm.

Buescher currently ranks fifth in the league in steals (2.1 per game), 12th in rebounds (6.4 per game) and 24th in scoring (11.9 points per game).

Other candidates for WNBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Connecticut's Katie Douglas, Detroit's Deanna Nolan, Phoenix's Penny Taylor, Sacramento's Nicole Powell, Seattle's Lauren Jackson and Washington's Alana Beard.

The WNBA tipped off its second decade of play on May 19, 2007, featuring comprehensive national television coverage. ESPN2 and ABC will combine to televise up to 36 games nationally during the regular season and playoffs. The second straight year of "WNBA Tuesdays" on ESPN2 includes five doubleheaders and WNBA action on 11 of 14 Tuesday nights in-season. NBA TV will complement ABC and ESPN2's coverage by televising 70 regular-season and up to nine playoff games. The WNBA All-Star Game will be played at Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. on July 15 at 3:30 pm ET with live coverage on ABC.

[shelshor]

No Riley, No Buescher for All-Star reserves

http://www.wnba.com/allstar2007/news/reserves_070709.html

Eastern Conference Reserves:
Katie Douglas Connecticut Sun Guard
Alana Beard Washington Mystics Guard
Tammy Sutton-Brown Indiana Fever Center
Candice Dupree Chicago Sky Forward
DeLisha Milton-Jones Washington Mystics Forward
Asjha Jones Connecticut Sun Forward

Western Conference Reserves:
Seimone Augustus Minnesota Lynx Guard
Cappie Pondexter Phoenix Mercury Guard
Taj McWilliams-Franklin L.A. Sparks Center
Tina Thompson Houston Comets Forward
Rebekkah Brunson Sacramento Monarchs Forward
Penny Taylor Phoenix Mercury Forward

[shelshor]

And extend their lead in the division to 1/2 game

http://sports.yahoo.com/wnba/recap?gid=20070711006&prov=ap

San Antonio 87, Phoenix 77

AP - Jul 11, 5:39 pm EDT

PHOENIX (AP) -- Becky Hammon scored 10 of her 18 points in the fourth quarter in her return from a sprained foot, lifting the San Antonio Silver Stars past the Phoenix Mercury 87-77 on Wednesday.

Sophia Young scored 26 points and had 12 rebounds to lead the Silver Stars (12-6), who have won four straight and eight of 10 after starting the season 4-4.

Diana Taurasi had 27 points and nine rebounds for Phoenix (11-9), losers of two straight after winning four in a row. Penny Taylor added 19 points and 11 rebounds.

Hammon hit a pair of 3-pointers and had eight points in a 10-2 run early in the fourth quarter after Phoenix pulled to 63-59 with 8:53 remaining.

Hammon, who missed three games, entered as the league's fourth leading scorer at 19.1 points per game and leads the league with 5.4 assists.

Camille Little added 12 points and six rebounds for the Silver Stars, who shot 49 percent from the field. Phoenix shot 37 percent and only 4-of-21 from beyond the arc.

Young's jumper gave San Antonio a 23-22 lead with 7:32 left in the second quarter, and the Silver Stars never trailed again.

Tangela Smith added 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Mercury.

Erin Buescher, who had filled in for Hammon, injured her left knee in the first minute and did not return.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

:pctoss She was named player of the week too.

[phyzik]

Even in WNBA we own Phoenix.

http://www.wnba.com/games/20070711/SANPHO/recap.html

PHOENIX, July 11, 2007 (AP) -- Becky Hammon scored 10 of her 18 points in the fourth quarter in her return from a sprained foot, lifting the San Antonio Silver Stars past the Phoenix Mercury 87-77 on Wednesday.

Sophia Young scored 26 points and had 12 rebounds to lead the Silver Stars (12-6), who have won four straight and eight of 10 after starting the season 4-4.

Diana Taurasi had 27 points and nine rebounds for Phoenix (11-9), losers of two straight after winning four in a row. Penny Taylor added 19 points and 11 rebounds.

Hammon hit a pair of 3-pointers and had eight points in a 10-2 run early in the fourth quarter after Phoenix pulled to 63-59 with 8:53 remaining.

Hammon, who missed three games, entered as the league's fourth leading scorer at 19.1 points per game and leads the league with 5.4 assists.

Camille Little added 12 points and six rebounds for the Silver Stars, who shot 49 percent from the field. Phoenix shot 37 percent and only 4-of-21 from beyond the arc.

Young's jumper gave San Antonio a 23-22 lead with 7:32 left in the second quarter, and the Silver Stars never trailed again.

Tangela Smith added 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Mercury.

Erin Buescher, who had filled in for Hammon, injured her left knee in the first minute and did not return.

:stirpot:

[T Park]

becky hammon

great player

HOOOOOTTTTTTTT woman

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Lindsey Harding from the Lynx is out for the season.

[CubanMustGo]

So is Buescher, dammit:
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/stories/MYSA071207.WEBbuescherout.en.6b86cb08.html

Silver Stars' Buescher to miss rest of season

Team's third-leading scorer tears ACL in left knee

Web Posted: 07/12/2007 05:21 PM CDT

Natalie England
Express-News staff writer

Silver Stars forward Erin Buescher will miss the remainder of the season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee less than a minute into the team’s victory in Phoenix on Wednesday.

She will undergo surgery to repair the injury within the next two weeks.

Buescher had just been named the Western Conference player of the week, after averaging 23 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.5 steals to lead the Silver Stars in victories over Detroit, Washington and Seattle.

For the season, Buescher was third on the team in scoring at 11.9 points a game, and was leading the Silver Stars with 6.4 rebounds per game. Buescher, who was the WNBA most improved player last season, has never before ended a season averaging in double-digit scoring.

“All of us felt like Erin was playing the best basketball of her life,” Silver Stars coach Dan Hughes said. “She is a great teammate, and she will continue to be helpful to us. But, obviously, we feel bad.”

Buescher has never missed time for a significant injury in her previous four seasons in the league, or in her college career.

“I really feel that when I play well it’s a gift from the Lord,” Buescher said. “And what He gives, He takes away. Is this difficult, frustrating? Extremely. But deep down I really feel this is His plan, and there’s another stage for me.”

Buescher had started the past 10 games for the Silver Stars and will likely be replaced in the starting lineup with rookie Camille Little, who is averaging 3.6 points and 3.7 points in a reserve role.

“We’re very fortunate to have a developing rookie in Camille,” Hughes said. “We’ve really enjoyed being able to (play) big with Erin, and having Camille allows us to stay big.”

Unlike in previous seasons when struck with season-ending injuries, the Silver Stars also have options off the bench. Forward Kendra Wecker and center Sandora Irvin have seen little playing time so far this season, but will likely be called upon now.

Hughes said he will lean on point guard Helen Darling as well. Darling has started the previous four games while Becky Hammon has nursed a sprained right foot, and she has logged 27 assists to just six turnovers in that span.

“Helen has really stepped forward for us,” Hughes said. “And I have faith in Kendra. I have faith in Marie (Ferdinand-Harris), and Sandora gives us really good moments.

“Good teams find ways to take situations like this and turn them into opportunities.”

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

:pctoss Son of a bitch!

[spurschick]

That really sucks! The rest of the team will need to step up.

[angel_luv]

No!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Erin is my favorite player on the team.

I will pray for her. Get well soon, Erin!

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

Congrats to Becky Hammon for winning one of the skills competitions at the ASG.

[shelshor]

http://sports.yahoo.com/wnba/recap;_ylt=AicFFfZadg1Fk5GhowzMLh52vrYF?gid=200707 17004

San Antonio 63, Los Angeles 61
July 18, 2007

AP - Jul 18, 1:03 am EDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Becky Hammon scored 25 points and Sophia Young added 17 to lead the San Antonio Silver Stars to a 63-61 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks on Tuesday night.

San Antonio (13-6) has won five straight and nine of its last 11. The first-place Silver Stars extended their lead in the Western Conference to 1 1/2 games over Sacramento and 6 1/2 over Los Angeles.

Taj Williams-Franklin scored 14 points for the Sparks (7-13), who have dropped a franchise-record seven consecutive games, and have lost eight of 12 at home.

With the game tied at 61, Hammon made a perfect pass to Young, who layed it in the for the winner with 17.8 seconds left. Hammon made 10 of 15 shots and added six assists. Young made seven of 14 shots.

The Sparks went on a 10-0 run to start the fourth quarter and took a 52-50 lead on a basket by Muriel Page.

Hammon put the Silver Stars ahead 58-56 with 2:21 left on a jumper, and then gave San Antonio the lead again on a 3-pointer with 1:26 remaining.

Sidney Spencer and Sherill Baker each scored 10 points for the Sparks, and Thomas added 10 rebounds. Spencer missed a jumper at the buzzer that would have tied it.

[CubanMustGo]

Silver Stars pick up where they left off, extend lead to 2 1/2 games:

http://www.wnba.com/games/20070720/SACSAN/recap.html

SAN ANTONIO, July 20, 2007 (AP) -- Becky Hammon had 18 points, and every Silver Stars starter scored in double figures Friday night in San Antonio's 81-71 victory over the Sacramento Monarchs.

The Silver Stars (14-6) won their sixth straight and have surpassed their victory total of last season with 14 games left. San Antonio is 2 1/2 games ahead of the Monarchs (12-9) for the lead in the Western Conference.

The Monarchs, led by 16 points from Kara Lawson, have lost three straight. Ticha Penicheiro added 11.

San Antonio, which led by as many as 12 in the fourth quarter, got 15 points from Sophia Young, 12 from Vickie Johnson, 11 from Ruth Riley and 10 from Helen Darling.

Sacramento led 41-40 after shooting 50 percent from the floor in the first half, but the Monarchs were 3-for-11 in the third quarter. The Silver Stars took a 12-point lead when Hammon connected on a 3-pointer with 42 seconds left in the quarter.

The Monarchs cut it to 71-67 on a layup by Nicole Powell with 2:45 remaining in the game. But Darling and Hammon hit 3-pointers over the next 1:30 to give San Antonio a 77-69 advantage with 1:15 to go.

The Monarchs shot 70 percent from the floor in the first quarter and led 27-17. Yolanda Griffith was 4-for-4 and Lawson was 3-for-3 including a pair of 3-pointers in seven minutes.

But the Silver Stars tied the game on Hammon's fastbreak layup with 1:58 before halftime. The Silver Stars outscored Sacramento 9-0 on the fastbreak.

Tiago Splitter, the Spurs' first-round draft choice this year, watched the game from the first row with general manager R.C. Buford. It's probably the most San Antonio fans will see of him until the 2008-09 season because Splitter remains under contract with Tau Ceramica in Spain.

[ace3g]

have surpassed their victory total of last season with 14 games left.

thats amazing, hopefully they will keep this going into the playoffs and bring SA another Championship,

Becky Hammon has really turned this team around, she should be a Candidate for MVP

[ace3g]

http://www.wnba.com/media/bhammond_070720_625.jpg

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Looks like someone took a shot at her in the jaw.

[T Park]

dayum.

not even tryin and shes still smokin :clap :dizzy :hat

[CubanMustGo]

Stars get a win against the EC's co-leader on the road last night, keep WC lead at two games:

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/wnba/silverstars/stories/MYSA072407.AP.BKLstars.indiana.aa3eea53.html

INDIANAPOLIS - Sophia Young scored 24 points, including four in overtime, to lead the Silver Stars to a 71-63 victory over the short-handed Indiana Fever on Tuesday night.

Becky Hammon added 17 points and Vickie Johnson scored 12 for the Silver Stars (15-7), who snapped a four-game losing streak against Indiana.

"We're such a different team this year from the standpoint of personnel," Silver Stars coach Dan Hughes said. "It's a new situation for us."

Anna DeForge had 15 points and Tammy Sutton-Brown added 12 for the Fever (16-7), who lost a season-high third straight game.

Indiana was playing its second game without All-Star Tamika Catchings, who injured her left foot July 20 against Detroit. She could miss the rest of the regular season.

"You can't make up for a player like Catchings - you just have to fill in the hole she leaves," said Hammon, who scored 15 points in the second half and overtime. "Even without her, they're a quality team." (of course, the Stars are playing short-handed these days too, but no doubt the AP hack that wrote this has no clue about that)

The Silver Stars began overtime with baskets by Young and Ruth Riley to open a 65-61 advantage. Following Tully Bevilaqua's jumper for Indiana, Young shot two free throws and Riley made a jumper to extend the lead to 69-63.

"I thought our team came out aggressive tonight," Young said. "They have some really big, physical post players, and it was just a matter of staying strong in there and working hard."

The Silver Stars took their biggest lead of the fourth quarter at 55-49 on Hammon's jumper with 4:35 remaining, but the Fever regained a 61-59 advantage following Bevilaqua's 3-pointer with 22 seconds left in regulation.

Hammon tied it at 61 with a pair of free throws with 16 seconds left, and Indiana's Tamika Whitmore missed a jumper at the buzzer to force overtime.

"We had our chances, but just didn't take advantage of them," Fever coach Brian Winters said.

The Silver Stars started the third quarter with three straight baskets by Johnson to cut the Fever's 29-22 halftime lead to one point. Minutes later, the Silver Stars took a 34-33 edge following Camille Little's jumper.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/images/2007/0724stars_little490_ap.jpg
(Tom Strickland/AP)
The Silver Stars' Camille Little shoots over Indiana's Tammy Sutton-Brown.

[FromWayDowntown]

Silver Stars magic number to clinch a playoff birth is 2 (I think). They can clinch a playoff birth if they beat Phoenix on Thursday and if LA loses at Houston on Friday. Otherwise, the Silver Stars can clinch a playoff birth if they beat LA at home on Saturday.

In any event, it would appear that we're headed for a second dose of playoff basketball in San Antonio this summer.

[bdubya]

I'd like to take this moment to thank the Silver Stars for their supporting role in making the first basketball game viewed on my new (delivered yesterday) 47" HD screen another victory for Detroit. Thankyouver'much, ladies.

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

It was a tough game last night. The Shock couldn't miss in the first quarter and the Stars couldn't adjust to the defense in the second half.

[FearDaFro]

No Cheryl Ford and we're still steamrolling the WNBA...good work ladies.

[spurschick]

No Cheryl Ford and we're still steamrolling the NBA...good work ladies.

Hell, the way they were shooting last night, they didn't need her. Deanna Nolan and Katie Smith were killing last night.

[shelshor]

Plenette Pierson got a few in too

[FearDaFro]

Hell, the way they were shooting last night, they didn't need her. Deanna Nolan and Katie Smith were killing last night.

Lady Iverson and Kate are nails. I doubt there's ever been a better offensive guard tandem in league history.

The Shock are a bunch of crazy chicks. I don't know if I could have gotten into women's basketball without them.

The way we shoot inconsistently, though, we need Cheryl to go all the way. She's our first, last and only rebounder.

[spurschick]

Kate is one scary looking chick though. Does she fem up off the court at all?

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/wnba/silverstars/stories/MYSA080307.01D.NZ.Metro.en.38ffe66.html

Basketball: Mercury take over top spot in West

Web Posted: 08/03/2007 12:26 AM CDT

Joe Ruiz
Special to the Express-News

On a career night for Shanna Crossley, her final shot fell just short as the Silver Stars dropped out of first place.

The Phoenix Mercury took sole possession of first place in the Western Conference after their 84-79 victory in front of 6,914 at the AT&T Center on Thursday night.

Crossley, who finished with a career-high 21 points on 7 of 15 shooting, came off a Becky Hammon screen with five seconds left and launched her 13th three-pointer of the night and drew iron.

"She's worked really hard on using screens and getting open and what you saw was an example of that," Silver Stars coach Dan Hughes said. "They went to zone a lot and that really opens pockets for her.

"She's evolving as a player and the key for her is finding space. I was glad to see her get that last look of the game."

Five of Crossley's threes came in the first half to give the Silver Stars to a 45-38 lead at the break.

Mercury guard Diana Taurasi led all scorers on the night with 24 points, 19 of which came in a second half when she became physical on both ends of the floor. She picked up four fouls, but her team drew eight from the Silver Stars in the half.

"We worked hard to emphasize not fouling them, we worked hard with the officials to look at a hard play at the basket as not necessarily a foul," Hughes said.

Late in the first and with Hammon on the sidelines in foul trouble, Silver Stars assistant coach Brian Agler urged Sophia Young to continue attacking the basket.

Young finished with 17 points and six rebounds, including three on the offensive end.

Thursday's loss drops the Silver Stars (16-10) to 6-6 on their home floor, an anomaly that Young said the team can't quite figure out.

"It's very disappointing. We play so well on the road and then we come home and have a tough time here; I don't know why," she said. "But give Phoenix credit, they're a tough team that came in here intense, but it got away from us in the third quarter."

Three minutes was all the Mercury needed to change the game's complexion. The Mercury outscored the Silver Stars 24-14 in the third, scoring half of those points off seven Silver Stars turnovers.

With 3:00 left in the third, the Silver Stars led 58-51, but the Mercury started running and freed Taurasi to fire. With 1:21 left in the quarter, Taurasi hit the first of three consecutive shots from behind the 3-point line and led the Mercury on an 11-1 run to close out the quarter.

"Sometimes it takes a quarter to get things going and today it took us a little longer," Taurasi said. "San Antonio is a really good team — it's not like we were playing against some slackers."

A barrage of shots fell for the Mercury as the fourth quarter rolled on — two layups, a short jumper and two threes later and the Mercury led by 12 with six minutes remaining.

"They're so gifted offensively," Hughes said. "I think our ability not to control the basketball in the third quarter gave them a chance to run and gave Taurasi those spot-up threes.

"Had we done a better job of controlling the basketball and controlling the tempo with our offense, I don't know if they get those quick looks."

Both teams had four scorers in double figures. Cappie Pondexter scored 18 for the Mercury and Ruth Riley scored 11 points while grabbing nine rebounds for the Silver Stars.

With the loss, the Silver Stars fell one game behind the Mercury (18-10) for the lead in the West and finish 1-3 in the season series against Phoenix.

[email protected]

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

FUCKING SHIT!

:pctoss :pctoss :pctoss

[John Patrick]

thats a blow..

wonder how many games are left...

[Token Black]

Time to suit up E20?

[spurschick]

There are 8 games left, but the magic number is now 2. Sparks and Comets losses help us out, and they're playing each other tonight.

[angel_luv]

There are 8 games left, but the magic number is now 2. Sparks and Comets losses help us out, and they're playing each other tonight.


I thought the Stars were going to get that comeback win last night. They came close.

:)

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

I thought the Stars were going to get that comeback win last night. They came close.

:)

Sandora Irvin and Camille Little had a great spurt where they both got into plays and forced a turnover, grabbed a rebound or hit a basket to spark the comeback. Camille even got smacked near the end of the game and was cut open.

It was a surprisingly physical game.

Damn that intelligent, funny and overall badass E-N reporter for not mentioning that.

[angel_luv]

Sandora Irvin and Camille Little had a great spurt where they both got into plays and forced a turnover, grabbed a rebound or hit a basket to spark the comeback. Camille even got smacked near the end of the game and was cut open.

It was a surprisingly physical game.

Damn that intelligent, funny and overall badass E-N reporter for not mentioning that.

I take it you covered the game. :)

[ShoogarBear]

Damn that intelligent, funny and overall badass E-N reporter for not mentioning that.I bet he's one of those creepy guys trying to sneak a peek in the locker room.

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

I take it you covered the game. :)

Did I?

*Checks byline*

Yup.

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

I bet he's one of those creepy guys trying to sneak a peek in the locker room.

Sneak? I was escorted.

[LEONARD]

One of the Dallas radio guys from 1310 The Ticket lost a contest yesterday (fielding punts from the Cowboys punters) and his punishment was to cover the Silver Stars game. He called in with updates every 20 mins'...

:lol

[angel_luv]

Did I?

*Checks byline*

Yup.


Just finished reading your article. Nicely done.

[ShoogarBear]

Sneak? I was escorted.. . . must . . . resist . . .

[angel_luv]

. . . must . . . resist . . .


And what fun would that be? :stirpot:

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

She's got a point.

[ShoogarBear]

She's got a point.Okay . . . I didn't know the Silver Stars provided those services.

[angel_luv]

Okay . . . I didn't know the Silver Stars provided those services.


:pctoss

Perhaps you just keep writing poetry. :)

[FearDaFro]

wow...phoenix moved into #1 in the west?

I only saw the play a few times, but wow... that team plays even less defense than the Suns...

If we can make it back to the finals, I hope the Mercury and their legion of 3-point chuckers are there waiting for us.

[spurschick]

It's official! With the win tonight over the Sparks, the Silver Stars are in the playoffs for the first time since they moved to San Antonio. :elephant

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

:danceclub

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

Shanna Crossley surpasses the career-high in points she just set. (9-16 FG, 6-12 3FG)

[shelshor]

Shanna Crossley surpasses the career-high in points she just set. (9-16 FG, 6-12 3FG)
She stepped up very well with Becky Hammon and Vickie Johnson in street clothes because of foot injuties
And with Phoenix' loss in Seattle, the Silver Stars are, barely, back in first place in the West

[DNS Error]

I think we averaged the same in attendance as the Stars this season...

good luck in the playoffs...

what it'd be to see another trophy come in this summer...

[angel_luv]

It's official! With the win tonight over the Sparks, the Silver Stars are in the playoffs for the first time since they moved to San Antonio. :elephant


Yea! Go girls! :)

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Updates? It's been over a week.

[CubanMustGo]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/wnba/silverstars/stories/MYSA081507.SilverStars-LA.en.3623a0e8.html

WNBA: Johnson, Young lead Silver Stars past L.A. in OT

Web Posted: 08/15/2007 02:37 AM CDT


Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — Vickie Johnson and Sophia Young scored 19 points each to lead the Silver Stars to an 84-77 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Sparks on Tuesday night.

Becky Hammon added 18 points for the Silver Stars (20-11), who moved within a half-game of first-place Phoenix in the Western Conference.

“Vickie Johnson played big,” Silver Stars coach Dan Hughes said. “That's what you get when you have a veteran that understands where we are and makes some timely plays for us.”

Christi Thomas had 18 points and a career-high 13 rebounds for the Sparks (10-22), who have lost nine of 11 games. Mwadi Mabika added 16 points.

The Silver Stars, who led by as many as 11 points in regulation, began overtime with a 10-2 spree to take a 79-71 lead with 1:26 left. Young scored eight points during the run but the Sparks missed their first eight shots.

“It seems like that's how the games go for us,” Thomas said. “We work really hard and then we lose by a few or go into overtime and end up losing.”

The Silver Stars held a 63-56 lead 54 seconds into the fourth quarter but Los Angeles forced a 69-69 tie when Mabika made two free throws with 1:09 remaining in regulation.

Mabika then missed a lay-in with 2.5 seconds left.

“They came out really aggressive defensively and made a nice little push at us,” Hammon said. “But we did a nice job of sharing the ball.”

The Silver Stars made 25 of 30 free throws and scored 22 points off 19 turnovers.

Ruth Riley did not dress for the Silver Stars after injuring her left ankle Saturday night against Houston.

[CubanMustGo]

http://www.wnba.com/features/rbtl_070815.html

The biggest surprises of the 2007 WNBA season... so far...
Surprise, Surprise
Posted Aug 15 2007 6:28AM

It is no surprise that Becky Hammon had a great season, but what is surprising is that she isn't getting more MVP support.
http://www.wnba.com/media/hammon_300x300_070815.jpg
D. Clarke Evans/NBAE/Getty Images

NEW YORK, August 15 -- It's no secret that I think I'm pretty smart. (I mean, look at me. I look smart up there in that navy, pinstriped suit, don't I?)

But no matter how much I read, no matter how many players I talk to, no matter how many "experts" I consort with... something or somebody shocks me each and every WNBA season. And 2007 was no different as a number of surprises have kept things interesting all season long (and gave us plenty to write about).

With all of the changes that they made in the offseason, everyone knew that the San Antonio Silver Stars were going to be an improved team. There was even a chance they might sneak into the playoffs for the first time since moving to Texas in 2002 (and dropping the zz's). The first big move came back in February, when the Shock traded center Ruth Riley (a two-time champion and former Finals MVP) to the Silver Stars for Katie Feenstra. A week or so later, they inked 2006 Most Improved Player Erin Buescher to a free agent contract.

But the final bomb was dropped when the New York Liberty sent Becky Hammon, the face of their franchise, along with a second-round draft pick in 2008 to San Antonio for the rights to No. 2 draft pick Jessica Davenport and a first-round pick in 2008. (Hammon spent eight seasons with the Liberty.)

I remember sitting in that hotel ballroom-turned-studio set in Cleveland as subsequent picks were made, the room still buzzing about the fact that Hammon was no longer a member of the Liberty (apparently she was as shocked as anyone).

That alone could have qualified as the biggest surprise of the season, but then the 5-6 point guard got to San Antonio and immediately took charge. Not only have the Silver Stars won 19 games with four still to go, but Hammon is averaging career highs in scoring and assists. Her 19.2 points per game is third best in the WNBA this season and her 5.2 assists per contest lead the league. Her performance has been beyond what GM/coach Dan Hughes was hoping for when he pulled the trigger on the trade.

It isn't as much a surprise that Hammon is having a good year. I mean, she is a four-time WNBA All-Star. But she had never before scored more than 15 ppg in a season and an ankle injury forced her to miss much of 2006. Oh, and she turned 30 in March (the other four players in the top five on the scoring list are all 26 years of age or under).

But is she the Most Valuable Player? Seattle's Lauren Jackson had been the leading contender with Fever forward Tamika Catchings, but Catchings went down with an injury after the All-Star break. But Jackson's team is below .500 and has underperformed, which could affect voters' decisions. The award does say "Most Valuable," not "Most Talented" or "Best All-Around Player." I don't get a vote, but stats cannot (and should not) tell the whole story.

The reunion with former Liberty teammate Vickie Johnson seems to have turned back the clock for both of them. At 35, Johnson is shooting 44 percent from beyond the arc, is leading the WNBA in assist-to-turnover ratio and is averaging nearly 5.0 rpg. Those around the team also talk about what a great influence Hammon has been on younger stars like Sophia Young and Shanna Crossley. (Crossley and Hammon, two of the top shooters in the league, are said to have been "separated at birth" for their off-court antics.)

At the very least, they're having a good time entertaining each other (They love to quote lines from A Few Good Men... "Colonel Jessep, did you order the Code Red?!?"), not to mention the fans in San Antonio and across the league.

A Penny Earned

It's hard to say that anything that Mercury forward Penny Taylor (a once and current WNBA All-Star) does on the court is much of a surprise at this point in her career. She has been an important contributor over the first six years of her stay here in the States (the first three of which were spent in Cleveland). But it is fair to say that the 26-year-old Aussie's emergence as a go-to star on a team already bursting with go-to stars was unexpected.

Or was it?

Not only did she lead Australia to gold at the 2006 FIBA World Championship for Women, she was also named Most Valuable Player (averaging 27 ppg in the medal rounds). In fact, since coming off the bench as a rookie in 2001, Taylor has scored in double figures every year (averaging around 13 ppg). So getting Taylor re-signed as early as possible was a top priority for Mercury general manager Ann Meyers-Drysdale.

“She’s the MVP of the world championships, a vital piece of our plan here, and we had to have her back," Meyers-Drysdale said back on March 8. "Offensively, with Diana [Taurasi], Cappie [Pondexter] and Penny, we feel like we have a ‘Big Three.’ We’re ecstatic.”

But getting Taylor to arrive on time was another priority for the Mercury after Taylor's decision to show up late to work in 2006 may have cost the Mercury a spot in the playoffs. (She missed the first 14 games last year, and despite winning seven straight to close out the regular season, the Mercury were on the outside of the postseason looking in.) This season, Taylor did make it back to the States for Opening Day and has played in every game. She is averaging a career-best 18.1 ppg (No. 6 in the WNBA this season) and 6.4 rpg ( No. 11). Taylor, Taurasi and Pondexter are all in the top 10 in scoring and are averaging a combined 53.8 ppg. (No three teammates have ever finished in the top 10 in scoring in the same season in WNBA history.)

The Mercury are already in the playoffs for the first time since 2000 and Taylor's performance has already helped the team to two franchise firsts: 21 regular season wins and 10 games above .500. Look for another first, too, in a few weeks... Penny Taylor, All-WNBA.

The Heat of the Moment

At the midpoint of the season, the Connecticut Sun were sputtering along with a 6-11 record and were all but out of the postseason picture. They then proceeded to win 10 of their next 11 games, all but assuring themselves of a spot back in the postseason (actually, they have since clinched). All of this without one of the most popular players in the history of the franchise. Gone from the Sun is Taj McWilliams-Franklin, who was traded to the Sparks this past offseason. Her departure meant that Asjha Jones (previously the team's Sixth Woman) would replace Taj in the starting lineup. Thirty games later, the gamble has paid off. Jones' 15.3 ppg and 6.1 rpg averages are personal bests and Jones even made her first All-Star apperance.

Putting Down His Roots

Remember when the Washington Mystics were winless two months ago and I wrote that I thought they were still going to make the playoffs? (OK, I'm also the guy who thought the Sparks would make the playoffs at the beginning of the season.) Despite getting out to an 0-8 start and replacing coach Richie Adubato in the process, the Mystics went on to put together two separate four-game winning streaks and are right back in the playoff chase. One of the primary reasons for that has been steadying influence of interim coach Tree Rollins. Rollins is an NBA veteran whose teams advanced to the playoffs in 15 of his 18 pro seasons. Washington and New York are battling for the fourth (and final) spot in the Eastern Conference Playoffs (Washington holds a 1.5 game lead as of tonight), but the fact that Rollins has the Mystics where they are should be enough to earn him the full-time coaching gig in 2008.

Las Sorpresas

By now, they should be household names. But three months ago? Not so much. L.A. Sparks rookies Sidney Spencer and Marta Fernandez are currently second and third on the rookie scoring list (Lindsey Harding is still first, but hasn't played since mid-July after tearing her ACL). With these two back in 2008, not to mention the return of Lisa Leslie and a Lottery pick in the 2008 Draft, L.A. should be right back in the thick of things. But these are not the only surprising rookies in the WNBA this season. Back on June 8, I remember getting an e-mail with a new Connecticut Sun transaction. "The Connecticut Sun sign Evanthia Maltsi. " I wasn't sure what an Evanthia Maltsi was, but now I know.

More Things That Make You Go Hmmmm

The rise and fall and potential re-rise of the New York Liberty (all in an eight-game span)... the Chicago Sky already winning more than twice as many games as last season (13 to five)... the starting lineup for the Eastern Confence All-Stars (Shock and awe)... the Seattle Storm's sub-.500 record (no clue on this one)... Janel McCarville leading the league in field goal percentage (much improved, but Most Improved?)... Chamique Holdsclaw's retirement (premature)... Rick Mahorn's weight loss (Less Thump. Or was he Bump?)... Buescher, Bird, Harding, Walker, Griffith and Temeka Johnson's knees, Catchings' foot, Beard's shoulder, Ford's femoral chondral defect (huh?), Sales' ankle, Swoopes' back, Hughes' Achilles', Burse's wrist (ouch!)... Rebekkah Brunson's nine double-doubles (ferocious)... Diana Taurasi's two-game suspension (disappointing)... my being allowed to write columns (groundbreaking)... the new WNBA.com (breathtaking)... the Comets and Sparks combined 19 wins (remember their 45 combined wins in 2000?)... and, of course, the 2007 WNBA champion (maybe)...

[spurschick]

The Silver Stars definitely don't get as much national tv game coverage as other teams in the league do... guess it's the curse of all San Antonio teams to fly under the radar.

[shelshor]

At least tonight's game is on NBAtv at 9:00pm

[T Park]

Was at the game tonight, and Becky Hammon is just as hot in person, as on tv.

(whew she looked hot after the game too, we were talking to friends and she came out in this dress and heels and done up hair, took all i could from whistling)

First off, the offense sucks.
It consists of players playing one on one, theres no set plays, theres NOTHING.

The defense is decent, but not good enough.

BTW, they are gonna wear out Becky, her PT is absolutely nuts.

[spurschick]

Silver Stars Playoff Schedule - Round I

Game I: Thurs. Aug 23 @ Sacramento - 7pm
Game II: Sat. Aug 25 vs. Sacramento (AT&T Center) - 12pm
Game III (if necessary): Mon. Aug. 27 vs. Sacramento (AT&T Center) - TBD

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Easy series, NEXT!

[FromWayDowntown]

Just got my tickets to Game 2.

[LEONARD]

Spurs fans be hurtin' for some sports entertainment :lol

[T Park]

Hope they play better tommarow night than they did last week.

Hopefully Riley playing helps things.

[angel_luv]

Our girls are in trouble. Down by almost 20 to Sac over half way through the fourth. :(

[T Park]

Watched the game, an absolutely pathetic effort.

They oughtta be embarassed.

[CubanMustGo]

Can't say I like the better team having to go on the road for Game 1.

[Behrooz24]

Game 2 is on right now. (espn2) This shit's pretty entertaining

[T Park]

Girls are playing alot better today. Amazing what a little defensive effort gets you.

Keep up the rebounding, keep up the D, and theres a game 3 monday night, and hopefully a berth into the Western Finals :)

[angel_luv]

Go girls! :)

[angel_luv]

Man!
I wish Beno would date Becky Hammon. That girl is awesome! She could whip him into shape. :)

[HoopleHead]

SASS Tussle!! I love it! :clap
Do it again on monday pleeeeze!

[CubanMustGo]

59-35 Silver Stars with the third quarter winding down.

[angel_luv]

I want to go to the game on Monday. :)

[T Park]

I wish Beno would date Becky Hammon

HEY!!!!!!!! WHAT ABOUT ME!!!

Come on Angel wheres the love :lol

[angel_luv]

HEY!!!!!!!! WHAT ABOUT ME!!!

Come on Angel wheres the love :lol


You should date Erin Brusser ( sp?). She is beautiful as well and is so sweet.

Eric and Erin. Beno and Becky. :tu :)

[T Park]

I wonder if Monte Bleu in Lake Tahoe has ESPN2

Since I'll be chillin out in Tahoe startin sunday night :)

[T Park]

You should date Erin Brusser ( sp?). She is beautiful as well and is so sweet.



If she is the power forward? Yeah shes not bad, but Becky is smokin.

I demand Becky. :)

Plus she dresses alot more girly than Erin does from what i notice in interviews.

Wouldn't be that feeling of "is she" or "isn't she"

[T Park]

You only want it that way cause the names sound good :lol

[angel_luv]

I wonder if Monte Bleu in Lake Tahoe has ESPN2

Since I'll be chillin out in Tahoe startin sunday night :)


You get to go to a lot of places.

Some of my friends from the Terrace Club are in New York for the US Open. Our company is helping cater the event.
I'm sorry they didn't need me along. :)

[angel_luv]

You only want it that way cause the names sound good :lol


No. Beno needs Becky. He could use the motivation. I don't think he would want to be out played by his girl friend.
Imagine the teasing.

[T Park]

No. Beno needs Becky. He could use the motivation. I don't think he would want to be out played by his girl friend.
Imagine the teasing

Beno likes latinas remember? :)

[angel_luv]

Keep up the intensity Stars. Don't let them even begin to make a come back.

[T Park]

up 21 with 4 mins to go.

Youd think the game is in hand.

[angel_luv]

up 21 with 4 mins to go.

Youd think the game is in hand.


I am already thinking next game. Let's wear them out and mess with their confidence.
Monday we go for the kill and make it a painful one. Domination. :)

[angel_luv]

Man, I LOVE basketball- NBA, International, College and WNBA. :)

[angel_luv]

I know this is the bench- second/ third string-that is in- but the sloppiness needs to stop.

[dknights411]

Kinda off topic here, but I was at the game and I sat just a few seats down from Malik Rose! So I got a chance to chat for a few seconds. I didn't even knew he was back in San Antonio. Man, had I known he was there, I would hav brought my camera. :depressed

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

Kinda off topic here, but I was at the game and I sat just a few seats down from Malik Rose! So I got a chance to chat for a few seconds. I didn't even knew he was back in San Antonio. Man, had I known he was there, I would hav brought my camera. :depressed

I shook his hand and said hello when I got up and was at the snack bar. IIRC, he still lives in SA in the off-season. I also shook Ian Mahinmi's hand and welcomed him to San Antonio.

KEDA said the Maloofs were nearby at halftime and talking with Peter Holt.

[angel_luv]

Kinda off topic here, but I was at the game and I sat just a few seats down from Malik Rose! So I got a chance to chat for a few seconds. I didn't even knew he was back in San Antonio. Man, had I known he was there, I would hav brought my camera. :depressed


I just heard from a friend about Malik being there. I am soooooooooooo sad I missed him. :(
I had actually been thinking about him all this week too.

I am glad some of you got to see him. How is he? :)

[Cloud786]

just choked a 20 point lead.. seems like a spurs game. down 1 point with a minute to go..

[Cloud786]

BECKY with a 3!!!

[Tobias]

Wooooo!

[ace3g]

its funny we will be playing Phoenix* in the WCF thats awesome, and Becky Hammon is clutch, she better win MVP

[Behrooz24]

Anybody elses TV audio shit out on them on the last play?

[sa_kid20]

Anybody elses TV audio shit out on them on the last play?

yeah that happen to me too. i guess there was a problem with the station

[samikeyp]

its funny we will be playing Phoenix* in the WCF thats awesome, and Becky Hammon is clutch, she better win MVP

How funny would that be if SA wins?

[CubanMustGo]

How funny would that be if SA wins?

Who we gonna get to lure the Phoenix players off the bench this time? :smokin

[samikeyp]

I don't know but they should bring Horry in as an assistant coach..just in case. :)

[td4mvp21]

Damn, that was a good game. Hammon is damn good...and hot.

[FromWayDowntown]

I don't know but they should bring Horry in as an assistant coach..just in case. :)

My friend and I just mentioned the same thing to each other -- he suggested that Horry wear an FCUK shirt with a big U underneath as his coaching attire.

[angel_luv]

That game was flippin fantastic- so glad I went! Too fun, ya'll.
I already have my ticket for Thursday. :fro

[angel_luv]

The ending to the game - holy cow. And how there was 0.5 left on the clock. Too scary. :lol

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

That game was flippin fantastic- so glad I went! Too fun, ya'll.
I already have my ticket for Thursday. :fro

You shoulda called us.

[dbreiden83080]

Great game GO Becky Hammon, HOT and a great player doesn't get better than.

[shelshor]

Who we gonna get to lure the Phoenix players off the bench this time? :smokin
May not have to--Taurasi has already tried to attack a ref at least once this season

[angel_luv]

You shoulda called us.


I don't have your number and didn't realize until after I was already at the game. :oops

Thursday I am sitting in section 116

[spurschick]

Johnny_Blaze_47, KEDA, Meg and I will be in attendance again on Thursday. Don't know where our seats are yet - I'll post when I get them.

[angel_luv]

Johnny_Blaze_47, KEDA, Meg and I will be in attendance again on Thursday. Don't know where our seats are yet - I'll post when I get them.


Please do so I can come say hi. :)

[spurschick]

Please do so I can come say hi. :)

We're in sec. 124.

[angel_luv]

We're in sec. 124.


I'll be up in the Terrace Club from 6 till tip off. What time do you guys get there?

[shelshor]

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/mercury/articles/08290830mercury-ON.html

Phoenix-San Antone feud re-fires
Norm Frauenheim
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 29, 2007 11:13 PM

Spring has turned to summer, but one season never seems to change for two cities: Phoenix and San Antonio still are playing basketball.
The women resume the rivalry tonight at San Antonio's AT&T Center in Game 1 of the WNBA's Western Conference finals in a second-round playoff series between the Mercury and Silver Stars.
The rivalry went into hibernation for a few months after the end of an NBA playoff series won by the Spurs over the Suns in six games in May, also in the second round.
Like just about everybody else in Maricopa County, Mercury coach Paul Westhead remembers the contentious end to the Suns' season.
"We'd like to repay the favor," Westhead said.
The Mercury's chances look good. Then again, so did the Suns' chances.
The Mercury are favored in the series, a best-of-three sprint, by virtually everyone.
Everything seems to be stacked in the Mercury's favor, including a 3-1 regular-season advantage over San Antonio and a 14-2 record since their lone loss to the Silver Stars at US Airways Center in July.
The Mercury, who are coming off a 2-0, first-round sweep of Seattle, are on a roll. that doesn't look as if it will stop until the WNBA Finals.
"Phoenix is on top of their game," Silver Stars coach Dan Hughes told the San Antonio Express-News. "I'm not sure they can play any better. We'll go to work on that, and we'll have to dig deep."
The Silver Stars have begun to create some momentum of their own, including a 2-1, first-round elimination of Sacramento. A key for the Silver Stars might be an early recognition of zones that switched between 3-2 and 2-3 alignments and included Diana Taurasi at the point in the so-called rover defense.
Then again, the resourceful Mercury have added one element after another to their attack at an astonishing rate since mid-July.
Nobody would be surprised if that continues, which is another reason to favor them in a series that moves to US Airways Center for Game 2 on Saturday and, if necessary, Game 3 on Sunday.
Individual matchups are difficult to judge because of Westhead's breakneck style. His players are all over the floor. Other than the point guard, there are no traditional roles.
Still, there are intriguing possibilities.
Start with the frontcourt, where the fate of the series might rest in a matchup between Mercury forward Penny Taylor and San Antonio's Sophia Young.
In the four games against the Silver Stars, Taylor averaged 12.0 points and 6.8 rebounds. Young averaged 19.8 points and 9.5 rebounds. The rebounding edge could put the Mercury in jeopardy, especially if the Silver Stars can grab the offensive rebounds.
But Taylor won't be alone in the difficult matchup against Young. Mercury post player Tangela Smith figures to be part of Mercury tag team. Smith averaged 15.5 points and 6.0 rebounds in the series.
As for the backcourt, the Silver Stars might have the WNBA's most complete guard in Becky Hammon, a contender for the league's Most Valuable Player award.
"Most valuable nightmare," Westhead said of Hammon.
Hammon averaged 17.8 points against the Mercury. But she might not be enough against a lineup thatessentially is three guards and two forwards.
In Taurasi, Cappie Pondexter and point guard Kelly Miller, the Mercury have as potent a backcourt as any in the league.
Taurasi averaged 23.0 points against the Silver Stars. Pondexter averaged 13.0 and Miller 11.0.
The series might wind up being simple: If the Silver Stars can deny the Mercury three-point attempts, San Antonio wins. If the Mercury can get the attempts and hit them, Phoenix wins.
Finally, the benches. Essentially, it's two against two. For the Mercury, that means perimeter guard/forward Kelly Mazzante and post player Kelly Schumacher.
For the Silver Stars, the combo is guards Marie Ferdinand-Harris and Shanna Crossley.
Crossley is to San Antonio what Mazzante is the Phoenix. Both are designated shooters. Crossleywho averaged 11.8 points against the Mercury. Mazzante averaged 5.5 points against the Silver Stars.
Shumacher is expected to give Taylor and/or Smith some relief in the matchup against Young.
Ferdinand-Harris is an aggressive defender who figures to be busy in a rush to limit Taurasi and Pondexter.

[spurschick]

I'll be up in the Terrace Club from 6 till tip off. What time do you guys get there?

Probably around 6:30ish

[spurschick]

Change in plan Angel... we're sitting in Sec. 28 in the second row. Come on down when you get a chance.

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

I've done it in person, but I must officially thank Melissa for taking care of us and getting me into Silver Stars basketball.

[angel_luv]

Change in plan Angel... we're sitting in Sec. 28 in the second row. Come on down when you get a chance.


Will do. :)

[T Park]

Well, not lookin good, looks like the stars are gonna drop game 1.

Not lookin good to make it to the Finals.

[ace3g]

win or lose this looks like it was a exciting game

[ace3g]

come on Becky Hammon make another Clutch 3

[T Park]

becky nails the three

and then the stars get fucked ROYALLY on an inbounds foul.

Wow, thats one of the worst calls I've honestly seen in my years of basketball.

[T Park]

the Stars got fucked.

Wonder how much the refs had riding on that game.

[ace3g]

are you serious, I call the clutch 3 and then they get called for an inbound call, gay

[Behrooz24]

ouch

[T Park]

becky is hot when shes angry :)

[ace3g]

wow, I just saw the so called foul, the silver stars players was backing away while swiping at the ball and pointdexter lost her footing, no contact was made;


Phoenix you can have that victory* should have gone to overtime to see who the better team was

[boutons_]

Come on, ladies, champions can do miracles.

black/silver owns PHX@PHX, doncha know?

Stars ought to appeal, esp if they win the first game in PHX (would have won the series) and lose the 3rd game.

[HoopleHead]

I was watching the game on TV so I was kind of controlled by what was being shown... plus I was so jumping off the walls at Becky's shot that I didn't even know there was a call until I calmed down... I used my DVR and watched over and over in slow motion... there was no fowl. Plus, this is a championship game... what official would make a tough/close call like that with two seconds to go that would decide the outcome? I say this MUST be reviewed by the league and quickly... we are already doubting the officials and this appears to be an obvious last ditch effort to cause a Phoenix win.

[angel_luv]

I was at the game and that last three by Becky was amazing.

But then I saw the refs talking and I knew the Stars were in trouble. I was hoping that they were going to say Becky was fouled when shooting.
That would have made as much sense as the foul the did call.

The Stars did not play well for a lot of the game, in my opinion. Their ball movement from the second quarter on was poor. They allowed WAY too many lay ups and several times were out of position defense wise.

However, I was very proud of the Stars. Their heart and hustle almost won the game for them.

The refs shouldn't have called a foul. The game should have been decided in overtime.
Although you have to credit whichever Phoenix player it was that knocked down her foul shots.

[angel_luv]

Johnny_Blaze_47, KEDA, Meg and I will be in attendance again on Thursday. Don't know where our seats are yet - I'll post when I get them.


It was great to see you guy!

Blaze- that must have been a long text you sent. You never came back. :(

[HoopleHead]

yeah thanks for calming me down, angel... I do get carried away with sports calls! Looking at the stats, Phoenix definitely won on statistics. But I still say the outcome of a game should never be decided on a tough call like that.

btw I do know how to spell foul :) I raise too many shikkins I guess.

YES I'm proud of those SASS... not matter what the refs do.

[Nashfan]

I was watching the game on TV so I was kind of controlled by what was being shown... plus I was so jumping off the walls at Becky's shot that I didn't even know there was a call until I calmed down... I used my DVR and watched over and over in slow motion... there was no fowl. Plus, this is a championship game... what official would make a tough/close call like that with two seconds to go that would decide the outcome? I say this MUST be reviewed by the league and quickly... we are already doubting the officials and this appears to be an obvious last ditch effort to cause a Phoenix win.


:cry :cry :cry :cry

[HoopleHead]

:cry :cry :cry :cry

I know, I know... but if the call HAD been on the foul on Becky while shooting the three, who would be crying? :)

[Nashfan]

I know, I know... but if the call HAD been on the foul on Becky while shooting the three, who would be crying? :)



If Phoenix fans aren't allowed to cry over calls then San Antonio fans aren't :)

[duncan228]

I put this in the Spurs forum, but maybe it belongs here.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/stories/MYSA083107.01D.NZ.Metro.1Dbuck_0831.en.3a242a1.htm l

Buck Harvey: Short in size and in luck - Hammon as another Nash

Buck Harvey
Express-News Staff Writer

"We'd like to repay the favor," the Phoenix coach had joked before the game.
And then that very thing happened.

A bloody nose wasn't required, nor was an equally messy decision by David Stern. But San Antonio and Phoenix still picked up where May left off.

They played another playoff basketball game, in another second round, and this time overtime seemed unavoidable after drama rare for the WNBA in South Texas. Then a ref stepped in as if there just hadn't been enough controversy lately.

With that, the Phoenix Mercury repaid the favor, just as the coach, Paul Westhead, had hoped. The Mercury had turned everything around, leaving the Silver Stars feeling as the Suns had before, and it came with specific role reversals.

Playing the part of Steve Nash, for example, was San Antonio's Becky Hammon.

It's as if the Spurs and Suns won't go away, and that was true this week in Las Vegas. Then, during Olympic qualifying, Puerto Rico committed a hard foul against a U.S. player, leading to a technical foul, and Amare Stoudemire immediately jumped out of his seat.

An assistant coach and a trainer rushed down the bench to warn players not to go on the court, because FIBA has similar rules to the NBA. As the story goes, Stoudemire assured everyone he had learned his lesson. "I ain't going nowhere," he said.

So that series lives on, and Westhead isn't the only member of the Mercury who carried this theme to San Antonio. "No NBA officials and no Robert Horry," Diana Taurasi joked before the game. "So we should be all right."

Taurasi and the Mercury were. They ran past the Stars, and Taurasi was especially efficient. She scored 20 points on only 11 shots, and the team that swept Seattle in the first round looked in control.

Enter Hammon, a candidate to win her league's MVP award, acting like the NBA's two-time MVP. She's Nash in size and in creativity, and sometimes in form. At times she extends her left arm for a wrong-foot layup — just as Nash does.

Being Nash can be fun, and it was Thursday for Hammon. Toward the end of the third period, on her way to 32 points, she drove through a gaggle of Phoenix players, switching hands before somehow snaking in a layup.

"If there's a player with better presence, I haven't seen it," said the Stars coach, Dan Hughes. "That's Tim Duncan at 5-foot-6. I always feel, with her, you have a chance for something to happen."

Phoenix was the better team in Game 1, but the Stars had a chance — also thanks to Taurasi. First she fouled the Silver Stars shooter, Shanna Crossley, on a 3-point attempt with 15 seconds left.

Then she stumbled out of bounds, committing her only turnover of the game. "I became handicapped from the neck down," Taurasi said.

That left 11 seconds for Hammon to make something happen, which she did. "I just saw a little gap and let it fly," she said, knowing all she ever saw this night against the Phoenix defense was a little gap.

Her NBA 3-pointer tied the game at 100, and, for a moment, the Stars had captured what the Spurs have known for a decade. But just for a moment. What followed was a call against Crossley that would lead SportsCenter had this been the Spurs and Suns.

"I just wanted more basketball," Hughes said afterward of the call. The ref, instead of deciding the game this way, should have applied similar logic.

Afterward Hammon sounded like, well, Nash. She had just lost her only home game in this too-short series, and she had just missed the kind of opportunity the Stars needed to upset favored Phoenix. Yet she measured her words without anger.

"The referees are part of the game," she said, "and they make mistakes. The whole world saw what happened (on the replay). It's a shame, but we have to move on, and I'm sure the refs aren't feeling too hot right now either."

She's never won a league title, just as Nash hasn't. And now she heads to Phoenix, where she has to win two games to advance.

The role of Nash?

It can be heartbreaking.

[lefty]

If Phoenix fans aren't allowed to cry over calls then San Antonio fans aren't :)

We have earned that right in 99 :toast

[HoopleHead]

No Crying... No Hard Feelings. Just want to say I've been a SASS fan four years now and I've never been prouder of anyone. Good Job Ladies!!!! Next year The Stars Will Rise.

[spurschick]

I'm incredibly proud of these ladies. They have nowhere to go but up.

[angel_luv]

Stars had an incredible season and have gained a new fan. :)

Go Stars!

[dbreiden83080]

No Crying... No Hard Feelings. Just want to say I've been a SASS fan four years now and I've never been prouder of anyone. Good Job Ladies!!!! Next year The Stars Will Rise.

Tough series i really thought that that was a bad call in game 1 and overtime should have been played. Living here in NY i knew how great a player Becky Hammon was from seeing her with the Liberty and thought they were NUTS to trade her. She was great in NY and in her last year she was hurt and never really got to play. She came back with a bang this year and i thought was league MVP. Hopefully they improve a bit in the offseason, with Hammon leading that team they can win the title next year.

[T Park]

Sniff.

No more Becky :(

[LavaLamp]

Sniff.

No more Becky :(


I watched Game 2 live. It was a lot of fun to watch. Those women play hard... lots of hard banging and jostling under the basket don't come across on TV.

It was a back and forth game, the score was tied something like 11 or 14 times (I can't recall the exact stat). The final score does not show how close the game really was. Both teams played really hard and really well. Those women are amazing athletes.

[KEDA]

I attended about 8 games this season, and I can honestly say that I am a Silver Stars FAN!

Props to the ladies, they busted some ass this year and will do better next season!

And I will be there to cheer them on even more!

[spurschick]

Thanks to Kori and LJ for pinning this thread for the season and to everyone who supported the Silver Stars this year.

[angel_luv]

Thanks to Kori and LJ for pinning this thread for the season and to everyone who supported the Silver Stars this year.


Here's to next summer's thread. May it be even longer. :toast :)

[spurschick]

Hammon, Young Pick Up All-WNBA Honors

SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio Silver Stars Becky Hammon and Sophia Young garnered All-WNBA honors following a standout season for the two all-stars, the league announced today.
Hammon earned First Team honors, finishing second to lead vote-getter Seattle Storm forward Lauren Jackson. Jackson, who earned 243 points, also finished first in MVP voting. Hammon was second. Hammon joins the First Team for the first time in her career after leading the Silver Stars in scoring with 18.8 points per game. She also lead the league in assists with a 5.0 per game average.

Second year Silver Stars forward Sophia Young wasn’t far behind Hammon, earning Second-Team All-WNBA honors after an all-star caliber season that saw her score 16.8 points and grab. 5.9 rebounds per game. Young also received eight MVP voting points.

Voting for the All-WNBA First and Second Teams was conducted by a panel of national sportswriters and broadcasters. Players were selected by position and received five points for each First Team vote and three points for each Second Team designation.

With her selection, Jackson ties Sheryl Swoopes of the Houston Comets for the second-most All-WNBA First Team selections. Only Los Angeles Sparks center Lisa Leslie (nine) has been voted to the First Team more often.

Rounding out the First Team are Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi (204 points), Detroit Shock forward Deanna Nolan (179 points) and Phoenix Mercury forward Penny Taylor (167 points). Taurasi joins the First Team for the third time, while Nolan is a second-time selection. Like Hammon, Taylor is a first-time selection to the All-WNBA First Team.

The 2007 All-WNBA Second Team is led by Indiana Fever forward Tamika Catchings (146 points). She is joined by the Connecticut Sun guard Katie Douglas (120 points), Houston Comets forward Tina Thompson (116 points), Minnesota Lynx guard Seimone Augustus (113 points) and Young.

In honor of being named to the All-WNBA First and Second Teams, each player will receive a Tiffany-designed trophy. In addition, $10,000 will be awarded to each member of the First Team, while each member of the Second Team will receive $5,000 .

http://www.wnba.com/silverstars/news/070905_allwnba.html

[angel_luv]

Congrats Ladies. :)

[spurschick]

Hughes Named Coach of the Year :elephant

NEW YORK, Sept. 8, 2007 -- San Antonio Silver Stars head coach Dan Hughes is the recipient of the 2007 WNBA Coach of the Year award presented by AOL.com, the WNBA announced today. Hughes received 20 votes from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.

Hughes becomes only the second coach to win multiple WNBA Coach of the Year Awards, joining former Houston Comets mentor Van Chancellor, who earned the honor three straight times from 1997-1999.

In a season in which numerous WNBA head coaches turned in outstanding efforts, Hughes' 20 votes topped the 14 tallies Phoenix Mercury head coach Paul Westhead received. The six-point margin of victory for Hughes ties the mark for the second-closest voting in league history. In 2005, John Whisenant (Sacramento Monarchs) garnered six more votes than Mike Thibault (Connecticut Sun), while in 2004, Suzie McConnell-Serio (Minnesota Lynx) edged Thibault by a single vote.

Hughes led the Silver Stars, who earned the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, to a 20-14 record, a 14-game improvement from the team's record in 2006 (13-21). The 20 wins ties the franchise record for wins in a season, which was set in 2002 - the last year the franchise reached the playoffs prior to this season. In his three years with San Antonio, Hughes has reshaped the roster and converted the team into a championship contender.

The 2007 edition of the Silver Stars set franchise records for totals points (2,517), total rebounds (1,087), field goals made (923), three-point shots made (207), assists (567) and steals (283).

Prior to joining San Antonio, Hughes coached four seasons with the Cleveland Rockers and one with the Charlotte Sting. Over the course of his career, the Lowell, Ohio native has compiled a 116-136 record, including a 22-10 mark in 2001 when he won his first WNBA Coach of the Year Award.

http://www.wnba.com/silverstars/news/070908_hughes.html

[angel_luv]

Congrats Coach. :)

[TheAuthority]

Why on god's green earth is this in the NBA topics? The WNBA is awful. Shouldn't this be under "Other Sports".