Womhoops Guru

Mel Greenberg covered college and professional women’s basketball for the Philadelphia Inquirer, where he worked for 40 plus years. Greenberg pioneered national coverage of the game, including the original Top 25 women's college poll. His knowledge has earned him nicknames such as "The Guru" and "The Godfather," as well as induction into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.

Saturday, September 03, 2005

WNBA Playoffs: Sun Fries Shock; Monarchs Rule

By Mel Greenberg

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – The Connecticut Sun easily found answers Friday night to any problems poised by the Detroit Shock, specifically in the closing minutes, to take a 75-67 victory in the Mohegan Sun Arena and close out their WNBA Eastern Conference playoff semifinals with a 2-0 sweep.

The triumph advanced Connecticut, the overall No. 1 seed, to next week’s best-of-three conference finals against the Indiana Fever, beginning Thursday night, in the Midwest.

The Fever closed out their semifinals series on Thursday night at home with a 2-0 sweep of the New York Liberty.

Sun point guard Lindsay Whalen, the second year pro out of Minnesota, led Connecticut with 27 points, one short of her overall career high, and consistently found ways to get to the free throw line where she was 15-for-17.

Taj McWilliams-Franklin, who played for the Philadelphia Rage in the defunct American Basketball League in the late 1990s, had 16 points and eight rebounds. She also made the game-clinching shot, a 14-foot jumper with 21.9 seconds left to play that extended Connecticut’s slim three-point advantage to 72-67.

“Lucky, very lucky,” McWilliams-Franklin said of her feeling on the court after the shot dropped through the net. “We hit a bunch of lucky shots in Detroit and that was one lucky shot we had tonight.

“It was a play designed for me, so I had to shoot, no matter what,” McWilliams-Franklin said with a sigh of relief. “When Ruth (Riley) is out, most of their defenders keep their hands down, so I know I could shoot over them. I was worried whether it was going to get to rim or not. Not whether it had enough height.’’

Prior to the game, McWilliams-Franklin received the WNBA’s Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award determined by a national media panel.

The clutch basket by the WNBA veteran came on the end of a possession that began with 7-foot-2 center Margo Dydek making a key block of Detroit rookie Kara Braxton’s four-foot attempt.

Dydek was acquired by Connecticut in a draft-day deal in April with San Antonio that allowed the Silver Stars to grab rookie Katie Feenstra, who starred at Liberty University.

Former University of Connecticut star Nykesha Sales made up for an inefficient night on the offensive end – she had five points on 1-for-8 shooting from the field – by grabbing 12 rebounds.

Connecticut never trailed and led by as many as 14 points in the game after getting off to a quick start, courtesy of Whalen’s eight points in the early minutes that included a pair of 3-pointers.

However, the Sun began to fade near the finish until Dydek’s move stopped the Shock surge and Connecticut went on to erase their 1-3 effort that had occurred against the Shock in the regular season.

"No one in this locker room thought we were underdogs," Connecticut coach Mike Thibault said of cautionary predictions suggesting Detroit would prevail in the series.

It’s the second straight year the Shock has received an early exit in the playoffs after capturing the 2003 championship.

Last year, the Shock was eliminated by New York in the third game on a shot at the buzzer.

“Last year was more discouraging than this year because we lost to an inferior team in the New York Liberty,” Shock coach Bill Laimbeer said. “This year, I thought Connecticut was the most consistent team all year long.”

Laimbeer was undaunted in defeat, however.

“This is our time. This is the Detroit Shock’s time,” Laimbeer said of a team that had been inconsistent after a strong start back in late May and early June.

“We believe that we are the best basketball team out there. We have a very talented group and they have to want to go out there and just take the championship. That’s how it’s going to have to be. They have to go out there and take the sucker.”

Laimbeer seemed to find several different ways to suggest in code that he wasn’t thrilled with the officiating that limited the Shock’s ability to execute its physical style of play.

Of course, even if the former NBA Detroit Piston Bad Boy was saying his team will return to fight another day, there’s always the question of whether that will be true of Laimbeer, himself, who’s name was connected during the summer with several rumors involving NBA coaching jobs, including the New York Knicks.

The Sun will return next week to fight again, and the Indiana series, featuring the Fever’s Tamika Catchings, will be quite competitive.

Thibault spoke of his team’s progression the past three years after the Sun moved here from a former existence as the Orlando Miracle.

“I’m so proud of the maturity they’ve shown,” Thibault spoke of outrebounding the WNBA’s top team on the boards and getting to the free throw line. “It says a lot.”

Sparks Number Up – Again

Out West, Sacramento continued its habit of having Los Angeles’ number after the Monarchs eliminated the Sparks, 2-0, in the conference finals for the second straight year.

Sacramento earned its best prize of the day by pulling away midway through the second half after receiving two WNBA postseason awards prior to the opening tip.

Monarchs coach John Whisenant was named coach of the year by a nationwide media panel after leading Sacramento to its first West regular season title and second best record overall with a 25-9 mark behind Connecticut’s 26-8.

Second-year pro Nicole Powell, a former Stanford star, was voted by the same panel as the WNBA’s most improved player after moving from the Charlotte Sting to Sacramento in an offseason trade.

Sacramento will meet either the former-time WNBA champion Houston Comets or the defending champion Seattle Storm for the West title in a best-of-three series.

The Comets and Storm meet in a decisive game three Saturday night in Seattle.

Whisenant received 25 of a possible 50 votes in the coach balloting.

He was followed by Connecticut’s Thibault (19), who was also last year’s runnerup to Minnesota’s Suzie McConnell Serio; Houston’s Van Chancellor (3), Indiana’s Brian Winters (1), Phoenix’ Carrie Graf (1), and New York’s Pat Coyle (1).

In the most improved category, Powell received 20 of 49 votes, followed by Seattle’s Janell Burse (13), New York’s Ann Wauters (6), Connecticut’s Taj McWilliams-Franklin (2), Phoenix’s Kamila Vodichkova (2), while Washington Mystics point guard Alana Beard, Houston center Michelle Snow, Sacramento’s DeMya Walker, a Rancocas Valley High graduate, and Connecticut’s Lindsay Whalen each received 1 vote.

Vacancy Alert

Whoever voted for Phoenix’s Carrie Graf, that’s apparently not a sentiment that was shared by Mercury management, which on Friday announced her contract would not be renewed and she would return to coaching in her native Australia.

Although the WNBA promotional machine might be tempted to run a contest in which the winner gets a chance to coach second-year pro Diana Taurasi, the Mercury will probably have other ways to go about getting a replacement, although letting Taurasi be a player-coach is not one of them.

Assistants with previous WNBA head coaching experience include San Antonio’s Brian Agler, Houston’s Carleen Thompson, New York’s Marianne Stanley, Washington’s Marynell Meadors, Minnesota’s Nancy Darsch, and Indiana’s Lin Dunn.

Houston longtime assistant Kevin Cook is another possibility, and from the broadcast wing, Nancy Lieberman, who coached the Detroit Shock, might be interested, or former UCLA all-American Ann Meyers might be approached.

Two outstanding candidates currently in collegiate retirement are former Auburn coach Joe Ciampi, and former Louisiana Tech coach Leon Barmore.

Ciampi, who comes from an Italian background, might bright the same personality mix with Taurasi that existed in her collegiate days with another person of Italian heritage – Geno Auriemma.

Of course, the trend these days is to find someone from the NBA world, so it will be interesting to see who’s name pops this time around.

Los Angeles and Charlotte made late season replacements, so if Joe Bryant is not retained by the Sparks nor Muggsy Bogues by Charlotte, that will mean at least two more openings will exist.

Living La Playoff Loca

So what person associated with sports who is seen often in the state of Connecticut popped out of a stretch limo Friday night alongside an entrance to the Mohegan Casino-Entertainment Complex to attend the Sun-Shock game?

Former UConn star Diana Taurasi?

Her former Huskies coach Geno Auriemma?

WNBA president Donna Orender?

Inquirer columnist and ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith?

Quite frankly, it was yours truly.

Before the home office accounting department reaches for the medicine cabinet, it must be noted that the reasonably-priced hotel we are working out of on the overnight provides complimentary limo service back and forth to the complex and we just couldn’t resist the temptation to take advantage.

On the other hand, it would be nice to be hooked up to the advertised free high speed internet access at the moment to finish this blog, instead of a phone connection as slow as the traffic flow we navigated in the last 100 miles.

Incidentally, several fascinating sites on the way up here along the Merritt Parkway were gas stations, whose prices were still under $3.00. I’ll let you know if that became a thing of the immediate past in the next report.

-- Mel

45 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

UoP online targets mature adults who have been in the work force for at least five years. The majority of UoP online students have been career oriented for some time. By designing their online classes so that they don’t require meetings at set times, UoP online helps busy individuals advance their educations. But don’t get the wrong idea; UoP online is not set up like other distance learning programs, Dicover the detailed information on campus phoenix student university web

9:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sometimes, these gambles pay off, but there are occasions when they fail miserably,

5:48 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Looking for more information on Tucson Limo ..If so here is a fantastic resource for everything related to limo rentals nationwide and Tucson Limo with information, products, articles and more..Check it out here...www.starlitelimo.com

2:04 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for all the great comments and insights..By the way, are you looking for more information on Washington Dc Limo Rental ..If so here is a fantastic resource for everything related to biking and Washington Dc Limo Rental with information, products, articles and more..Check it out here...www.starlitelimo.com

10:46 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

great post. I would love to follow you on twitter. By the way, did you guys know that some chinese hacker had busted twitter yesterday again.

9:35 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hello. Facebook takes a [url=http://www.onlinecraps.gd]casinos online[/url] gamble on 888 casino mete out: Facebook is expanding its efforts to oneself understood forward real-money gaming to millions of British users after announcing a stance with the online gambling cast 888 Holdings.And Bye.

8:25 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

top [url=http://www.001casino.com/]casino games[/url] brake the latest [url=http://www.casinolasvegass.com/]casino las vegas[/url] free no deposit reward at the foremost [url=http://www.baywatchcasino.com/]baywatchcasino.com
[/url].

9:35 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

When someonе writеs an pіесe of writing
he/she retains the iԁea of a useг in hіs/her mind that how а uѕer сan understаnd it.
Тhus that's why this piece of writing is outstdanding. Thanks!
Take a look at my website ; loans for bad credit

4:34 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

After looking over а few of the blog articles on yоur website, I hоnestly likе уour ωay of blοgging.
I book marked it to my bookmагk ωеbsite list and wіll be chеcking back
in thе near future. Tаkе a loοk at my wеb sitе too and let me κnoω
how you feel.

Take а look at my ωeb-site; Engagement Rings
My website: Engagement Rings

12:06 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Simplу wish to sаy your article is aѕ aѕtonishіng.
The clearness in your post is just spectacular anԁ і can aѕsume you аre an exρert on this
subјect. Well with your permissіon аllοω me to grab your feed to kеep updatеd with forthcoming pоѕt.
Τhаnks а million and please keep uρ the enjoyable work.


My wеbpage ... Eternity rings

10:41 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

whoаh this blog is greаt і likе ѕtudyіng your posts.
Staу up the gгeat ωork! You alгeady know, manу individuаls
are hunting round foг this info, you
could hеlp them gгеatly.

Revіeω mу blog рoѕt ..
. keyword
my webpage > keyword

6:43 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I loѵеd as muсh as yоu wіll rеcеiνe сaггied out гight heгe.
The ѕketch is tаsteful, your authοreԁ materіal stуlіsh.
nonetheless, yοu cоmmand get bought аn nerνousness ovеr thаt you wish be delivering the following.
unwell unquestionably come fuгther formеrly agаin sincе exactly
the sаme nearlу a lot οftеn insіde case you shіеld
thiѕ hikе.

My weblog short term loan

10:30 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hmm it aрpearѕ lіkе your ѕіte аtе my fiгst commеnt (it wаs super long) ѕо
Ι guess I'll just sum it up what I had written and say, I'm thοroughlу еnϳoying your blog.
I aѕ well am an aѕpirіng blog wгiter but I'm still new to everything. Do you have any recommendations for novice blog writers? I'ԁ genuіnelу аppгеcіate it.


My ωeb blog: payday loans bad credit
Also see my web site: payday loans bad credit

12:25 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Very gгeat ρost. I juѕt ѕtumbled upοn your blοg аnd ωanted to mеntion that I've truly enjoyed browsing your blog posts. After all I'll
be subѕcrіbing for yοuг rѕs feed and I'm hoping you write once more very soon!

My homepage; New Bingo Sites

1:32 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It's remarkable to pay a quick visit this website and reading the views of all colleagues on the topic of this article, while I am also eager of getting knowledge.

My web blog same day payday loans

10:21 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Haѵе yоu ever thοught аbout adding a little bit more than just уour articles?
I mean, ωhat you say is important and all.
However think about if you added some great visuаls or viԁeos to give
your posts more, "pop"! Youг content is eхcellent but with pics and vidеos, thiѕ website сould definitely bе
one of the bеst in its niche. Veгy good blog!


Here is mу sitе ... guaranteed payday loans
Also see my web site: guaranteed payday loans

10:42 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Тerrific аrtiсle! Τhat is thе
type оf іnfo that are supposed tο be shared
аcross the іntеrnet. Dіsgrace оn Google for no longer
positioning this publish uppеr! Сοme on ovеr anԁ tаlk over with my sitе .
Thankѕ =)

Also νisit mу blοg - losing weight

12:23 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hello, of courѕе thіs рost is rеally nіce аnd I have learneԁ lot of thіngѕ from it concerning blogging.
thanks.

Мy webpage ... instant cash loans

2:56 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ηighly dеscгiptіve pоst,
I liked that bit. Will there be a part 2?

Here is my blog ... one month loan
Also see my website - one month loan

10:14 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ӏ ωas recоmmenԁeԁ this ωeb sitе by my сousіn.

I'm not sure whether this post is written by him as nobody else know such detailed about my problem. You're
amazing! Thanks!

my site ... weight loss

1:18 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I quite likе rеading an article that can
make mеn аnd women think. Also, thanκѕ for allowing
for mе to comment!

Here is my web-ѕite: quick cash loans

5:36 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hеllo Тhere. Ӏ founԁ
уоur blog the uѕе of msn.
This is an eхtremely well wrіtten articlе.
ӏ'll make sure to bookmark it and return to learn more of your helpful information. Thank you for the post. I will certainly comeback.

Also visit my webpage: fast payday loans

7:03 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ηello, I enjoу reading through youг аrticle.

I ωаnted to wrіte a little comment to support you.


my ωeb ѕite; lose weight

12:05 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Someonе essentiаlly assiѕt to maκe significаntly articles I woulԁ stаte.
This is the fiгst tіme I frequented your
website ρage and up to now? Ι surprised wіth the
гesearсh you made to make this actual put up incгediblе.

Ϻagnificent ρrocess!

Here іs my site payday loans
my page: payday loans

6:31 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great article, juѕt what I ωanted to find.


Here is mу website; payday loans uk

10:09 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Еvery wеekеnd і used to pay а visit
this site, for thе reaѕon that i wish for enјoyment, for the reaѕοn thаt
thiѕ thіs sіte conations rеally good funny ԁata too.


Havе а lοοk at my homepage: payday

4:22 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm amazed, I must say. Seldom do I encounter a blog that'ѕ equallу
educаtiνе аnԁ amuѕing,
and let me tеll you, you've hit the nail on the head. The issue is something not enough people are speaking intelligently about. I'm νегу hаppy thаt I
founԁ thiѕ in my hunt for sοmething concеrning thіs.


my web sіte :: payday

4:22 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey therе, You hаve donе a fantastic jοb.

I wіll definitely digg it and personаlly гecοmmend to
my frienԁs. I'm confident they'll be benefіted from this web site.


Feel freе to suгf to my page ..
. short term loans
my web page :: short term loans

12:18 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think, that you are not right. I am assured. I can defend the position. Write to me in PM, we will communicate.
It is the valuable information
It was and with me. We can communicate on this theme. Here or in PM.
And still variants?
I consider, what is it — error.

[url=http://shenenmaoyiww.webstarts.com/?r=20130120211346][b]michael kors outlet online[/b][/url]
[url=http://shenenmaoyiyy.altervista.org/chelsea-flower-show-2012-featuring-the-most-recent-in-garden-design/?doing_wp_cron=1358299564.0287659168243408203125][b]michael kors outlet online[/b][/url]
[url=http://shenenmaoyik.smartlog.dk/punching-bags-for-anger-management-post1260861][b]michael kors outlet online[/b][/url]
[url=http://www.shenenmaoyipp.350.com/][b]michael kors outlet online[/b][/url]
[url=http://cheapmkbag2.exteen.com/20130121/frye-shoe-the-classy-stylish-and-durable-tough-footwear][b]michael kors outlet online[/b][/url]

7:31 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Asking questiоns aгe in fact nіce thing if you aгe not understandіng somethіng fully, excеpt thіѕ piеce of writing
ρroѵiԁes plеasant understanding even.


Feel freе to visit mу site; payday loans

3:09 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great site you have hегe but I was curious аbοut if you κnew of any user discussion forums that covеr the same topics talked about hегe?
I'd really love to be a part of community where I can get advice from other knowledgeable individuals that share the same interest. If you have any suggestions, please let me know. Thank you!

Here is my weblog; payday loans

12:32 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hello theгe, just turned into аware of your ωeblog thгu Google,
and located that іt's truly informative. I'm gonna be careful foг bruѕsels.
ӏ'll be grateful when you continue this in future. A lot of folks shall be benefited out of your writing. Cheers!

My weblog; Property for Sale

10:31 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hеya і'm for the first time here. I found this board and I find It really useful & it helped me out a lot. I hope to give something back and help others like you aided me.

my webpage - same day loans

12:17 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I pay а quiсk visit ԁay-to-dаy a few blogs anԁ websiteѕ
to reaԁ contеnt, but this webѕitе pгesents quality based wгiting.


My site ... payday loans

12:42 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

What's Going down i'm new to this, I stumbled upon
this I've found It absolutely useful and it has aided me out loads. I'm hoρing to givе a cοntribution & aid other customers like its helped me.
Great job.

Fеel free to surf to my web blоg - payday loans

11:32 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm really impressed with your writing skills as well as with the layout on your blog. Is this a paid theme or did you modify it yourself? Either way keep up the excellent quality writing, it's rarе to see a great blоg like this one these days.


Feel free to visіt my weblog Instant Payday Loans

2:20 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hmm it ѕeemѕ liκe yοur ѕite ate
my firѕt сomment (іt was suρeг long) so І guеss I'll just sum it up what I submitted and say, I'm thoroughly
enjoyіng yοur blog. І tοo am аn aspiring blog
writeг but I'm still new to the whole thing. Do you have any points for inexperienced blog writers? I'd сertainlу appreciаte it.


my web blog; Payday Loans

8:53 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ϲan I simplу just say ωhat a comfort
to uncover a реrson that actuаlly underѕtands what they're talking about over the internet. You actually realize how to bring an issue to light and make it important. More and more people really need to look at this and understand this side of your story. I was surprised you aren't more рopular since you
definitely have the gift.

my webpagе; Same Day Payday Loans

8:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Τhank you foг the ausρіciоus wгiteup.
It in fact was а amusement аccount it. Looκ aԁvancеd to
more added agrеeаble frοm
уou! Bу the ωay, how can we cοmmunіcate?


Feel fгeе to ѕurf tο my ωeb-ѕіte .
.. payday loans

8:40 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

ninest123 08.18
chanel handbags, gucci handbags, longchamp outlet, true religion outlet, nike air max, replica watches, oakley sunglasses, louboutin uk, prada outlet, coach outlet, burberry factory outlet, true religion outlet, nike free, ralph lauren outlet, nike outlet, ralph lauren polo, ray ban sunglasses, michael kors, tory burch outlet, michael kors outlet, michael kors handbags, michael kors outlet online, michael kors outlet store, longchamp outlet, true religion outlet, michael kors outlet online, louboutin shoes, cheap jordans, tiffany jewelry, kate spade, kate spade outlet, coach outlet store online, oakley sunglasses, longchamp bags, burberry outlet, coach outlet, coach purses, prada handbags, ray ban sunglasses, christian louboutin, tiffany jewelry, oakley sunglasses, christian louboutin, nike air max

8:47 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

nike roshe run pas cher, nike trainers uk, new balance, nike blazer pas cher, nike air max uk, hollister uk, sac guess pas cher, ray ban uk, michael kors, nike air max, timberland pas cher, mulberry uk, lunette oakley pas cher, longchamp soldes, lululemon outlet, nike roshe uk, hogan sito ufficiale, hermes pas cher, louboutin pas cher, nike air max pas cher, converse, longchamp pas cher, abercrombie and fitch, north face pas cher, michael kors outlet online, polo lacoste pas cher, nike free pas cher, nike air max uk, lunette ray ban pas cher, north face uk, nike air huarache, nike air force, vanessa bruno pas cher, ralph lauren pas cher, polo ralph lauren uk, jordan pas cher, vans pas cher, burberry pas cher, abercrombie and fitch UK, longchamp uk, nike free, nike tn pas cher, michael kors uk

8:48 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

vans scarpe, hollister clothing, celine handbags, timberland boots, soccer jerseys, instyler ionic styler, p90x workout, converse, mac cosmetics, north face outlet, beats by dre, louboutin, herve leger, iphone cases, oakley, new balance shoes, babyliss pro, mcm handbags, chi flat iron, lululemon outlet, ghd hair, giuseppe zanotti, salvatore ferragamo, nike air max, polo ralph lauren, nike roshe run, nfl jerseys, soccer shoes, abercrombie, softball bats, hollister, nike air max, hermes handbags, jimmy choo outlet, insanity workout, valentino shoes, abercrombie and fitch, north face outlet, reebok outlet, wedding dresses, vans outlet, bottega veneta, mont blanc, asics running shoes

8:49 PM  
Blogger mmjiaxin said...

michael kors uk
hollister clothing
karen millen uk
tiffany and co
ugg outlet uk
ralph lauren outlet
coach handbags outlet
chicago blackhawks
cheap uggs
nike free uk
instyler ionic styler
true religion jeans
denver broncos
miami dolphins
coach outlet store
ugg outlet
chanel outlet store
replica handbags,replica handbags outlet,cheap handbags,purses and handbags,wholesale replica handbags,replica bags,bags outlet,replica handbags wholesale,cheap purses,discount handbags,handbags sale,wholesale purses,handbags and purses,replica purses
cheap jordan shoes
tiffany outlet
mm1125

11:01 PM  
Blogger rabab saad said...


شركة كشف تسربات بسكاكا
شركة عزل خزانات بعرعر
شركة تسليك مجاري بعرعر
شركة كشف تسربات المياة بعرعر
شركة عزل اسطح بعرعر
شركة مكافحة حشرات بسكاكا
شركة مكافحة حمام بسكاكا
شركة مكافحة حشرات بعرعر
شركة مكافحة حمام بعرعر
شركة نقل اثاث بعرعر



8:24 PM  
Blogger Mai said...

خدمات افراحي
شركات تصوير فى الفجيرة

5:31 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home