October 5, 2008 - With the 3-0 series win over San Antonio, the Detroit Shock became WNBA champs for third time in 6 years.

The Shock had been one of the league’s best teams for much of the year, but sputtered after losing top post player Cheryl Ford to a season-ending knee injury in July. A trade for proven veteran Taj McWilliams-Franklin  was just what Detroit needed.

Detroit became the second team in league history to win a third championship. Only the Houston Comets, who won the first four (1997-2000), have more. Los Angeles (2001, 2002) is the only other team with more than one.

Katie Smith was named WNBA Finals MVP after averaging 21.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists in three games. She was the Shock’s leading scorer in each game of the Finals and led the team in rebounds in Game 1 with nine.

The celebrating isn’t over yet for the champs, who will be honored at a rally in Detroit on Monday.

Complete details at WNBA.com

Filed under: WNBA by jane
No Comments »

October 4, 2008 - Twenty two-year-old Candace Parker received the WNBA’s most valuable player award last night, becoming the first player in the league’s 12 year history to win the award along with rookie of the year honors.

The awards capped a big run for Parker, who was college player of the year for national champion Tennessee. Parker also was a member of the gold-medal winning U.S. team in the Beijing Olympics.

Parker was the only player in the league to pull down more than nine rebounds per game. Parker also led the league in double-doubles with 17 and ranked among WNBA leaders in rebounds per game (first), blocks per game (second), points per game (fourth), field goal percentage (fifth), minutes player (seventh) and assists per game (17th).

Parker joined some elite company on Friday as she became the first women’s basketball player and only the third basketball player ever to win Rookie of the Year and MVP honors in the same year – joining Wilt Chamberlain (1959-60) and Wes Unseld (1968-69).

In honor of being named the WNBA Most Valuable Player, Parker will pocket $15,000 and a trophy.

When asked by WNBA.com what she’ll do you do for an encore, CP laughed and answered “Win a championship.”

With that said, we can’t wait for next season!

Filed under: Candace Parker, WNBA by jane
No Comments »

September 30, 2008 - The Shock’s 75-73 victory over the NY Liberty sends them to their third consecutive trip to the WNBA Finals and fourth in the past six seasons. They will take on Becky Hammon and the San Antonio Silver Stars, who eliminated the Los Angeles Sparks on Sunday to advance to their first finals.

Games 1 and 2 in the best-of-five series will be played in San Antonio on Wednesday and Friday. The Silver Stars will have home-court advantage in the finals because of their 24-10 regular-season record, while Detroit finished 22-12.

Detroit lost both of its regular-season games against San Antonio, but they were both before the August trade for McWilliams-Franklin, who was acquired after star forward Cheryl Ford was lost for the season with a torn knee ligament on July 22.

Thirty-seven year-old McWilliams-Franklin, one of the oldest players in the league, was key in helping Detroit reach the WNBA finals .

Will Detroit three-peat?

Filed under: WNBA by georgia2
No Comments »

September 28, 2008 - Becky Hammon turned in 35 points,  making four frees throws in the final 36 seconds, to help San Antonio advance to the WNBA finals for the first time in franchise history.

By beating the Los Angeles Sparks 76-72 in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals, San Antonio ended Candace Parker’s history making run at the elusive trifecta - winning a NCAA Championship, Olympic Gold Medal and Professional League Championship in one year.  

It looked like the Sparks had the Conference final locked up at the end of Game 2 but a buzzer beater by San Antonio’s Sophia Young gave the Silver Stars a one point lead and forced a third game.

The best-of-five finals will start Wednesday in San Antonio. Their opponent will be determined Monday when Detroit and New York play Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals in Michigan.

Filed under: Candace Parker, News Bytes, WNBA by jane
No Comments »

September 25, 2008 - This is when it gets fun! Be sure to catch a WNBA game before the season’s over! To get you up to speed….

The Detroit Shock advanced to the WNBA Eastern Conference finals for the third straight year. They’ll face the NY Liberty, the youngest team in the league, tomorrow night in New York.

The Liberty are celebrating their playoff appearance by offering a discount for fans attending the Sept. 26th game against the Detroit Shock. To purchase tickets, click here and be sure to enter the code “STRETCH” during checkout!

In the West, the Los Angeles Sparks advanced with a tight win over Seattle. The Sparks will host the San Antonio Silver Stars in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals tonight. Note if you’re going to the game - it’s at USC’s Galen Center instead of the Staples Center.

The Silver Stars are one step away from the franchise’s first trip to the WNBA finals but to get there,  they’ll have to figure out a way to stop Candace Parker.

Parker is trying to become the first woman to win an NCAA championship, Olympic gold medal and a WNBA title in the same year.

In other WNBA news, Minnesota Lynx guard Candice Wiggins has been named the 2008 WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year, the league announced today.  A standout in her four years at Stanford, Wiggins was drafted No. 3 overall by the Lynx in the 2008 WNBA Draft. Wiggins made an immediate impact on the Minnesota Lynx as a rookie, helping to propel the team to 16 wins, the second-best total in team history and a six-game improvement on 2007.

 Loading …

Visit wbna.com for the latest playoff news.

Filed under: Candace Parker, News Bytes, WNBA by jane
No Comments »

September 22, 2008 -Let’s quickly catch up with what happened in women’s sports over the weekend.

WNBA: No easy victories in the WNBA Playoffs.  Sue Bird scored 20 points, Sheryl Swoopes added 16, and the Seattle Storm beat the Los Angeles Sparks 64-50 Sunday to force a Game 3 in the Western Conference semifinal series. The final game in the best-of-three series will be played Tuesday in Seattle.

Tamika Catchings had 27 points and 10 rebounds, and the Indiana Fever topped the Detroit Shock in overtime to force a third game in the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series. Game 3 is Tuesday night in Auburn Hills.

In other playoff news, the Sacramento Monarchs and Connecticut Sun both forced a decisive game three on Saturday in their WNBA playoff series. The Monarchs easily topped the San Antonio Silver Stars 84-67 in the Western Conference playoffs, while the Sun withstood a late New York Liberty rally to win 73-70 in the Eastern Conference. Both of these series will be decided tonight.

Tennis:  Dinara Safina lost a total of just five games in the final two rounds of the Toray Pan Pacific Open, winning her fourth title of the year at the Tier I event. She defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final. With the win, Safina moves up to #3 seed behind Serena Williams and Jelena Jankovic.

Beach Volleyball: Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh won in Manhattan Beach for fourth straight time. The number one seeds finished the season with a two set victory over No. 4 seed Jennifer Boss and April Ross 21-18 and 21-16.  From Walsh heading to next week’s Glendale Open to try to become the Best of the Beach to May-Treanor starting competition on Dancing with the Stars, these two are ready to start the next chapters of their lives.

Track & Field:  Olympic gold medalist Dawn Harper of the United States won the 100-meter hurdles in 12.56 seconds at the Golden Grand Prix in Shanghai. Veronica Campbell-Brown of Jamaica won the women’s 100 in 11.01 and world record-holder Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia won the pole vault at 15 feet 1 after three failed tries at 15-7.

Filed under: Beach Volleyball, Tennis, WNBA by admin
No Comments »

September 19, 2008 - WNBA rookie Candace Parker of the Los Angeles Sparks is on track to make women’s basketball history as the first of three rounds of playoffs begin tonight.

Parker and the No. 3 seed Sparks begin the quest for their first championship since 2002 in a Western Conference home game against No. 2 seed Seattle Storm.

The Trifecta: Parker will be looking to add to this year’s accomplishments of leading the Tennessee Lady Vols to a second NCAA championship in a row and helping the USA win the Olympic gold medal in Beijing.

No woman has accomplished the college, pro and Olympic trifecta in the same season. On the men’s side, only Boston Celtics center Bill Russell can make the claim.

What do you think? Will she make history?

Filed under: Candace Parker, WNBA by jane
No Comments »

September 19, 2008 - As expected, Los Angeles Sparks center Lisa Leslie was named the 2008 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year.

After sitting out the 2007 season due to the birth of her first child, Leslie returned to the Sparks to drastically improve the team defense from a year ago. The team center led the WNBA in both total blocks (97) and blocks per game (2.94). Leslie, an 11-year veteran,  has consistently been adept at swiping the ball from opponents as she ranks sixth in league history in steals (276).

In other post-season awards, Indiana Fever forward Ebony Hoffman has been named the 2008 WNBA Most Improved Player.

Heading into the season, Hoffman had never scored more than 16 points in a game. In 2008, she scored 20 or more points three times, including a career-high 26 in triple overtime at New York.

What are the awards worth? For the honors, Leslie and Hoffman will each receive a trophy specially designed by Tiffany & Co and $5,000.

Filed under: WNBA by admin
No Comments »

September 18, 2008 - The 2008 WNBA Playoffs get underway tonight as the Connecticut Sun play the New York Liberty and the Sacramento Monarchs play the San Antonio Silver Stars. Tomorrow night Sue Bird and the Seattle Storm take on the Los Angeles Sparks.

The league is also prepping for post-season awards with Rookie of the Year almost certainly going to Candace Parker who is also in the running for MVP.

To break down the match ups and read blogs by players such as Deanna Nolan, Sue Bird, Tamika Catchings, Lindsey Whalen, visit at WNBA.com

This week in WNBA History
September 16, 2003: The Detroit Shock won their first WNBA title against the Los Angeles Sparks in front of a sell-out crowd and record attendance for the WNBA of 22,076.

Filed under: WNBA by admin
No Comments »

September 7, 2008 - After holding clinics for boys and young men from across Africa in South Africa for the last six years, the NBA held its first camp for girls in Johannesburg.

Sixty participants spent two hours on the courts of a Johannesburg high school with Jennifer Azzi, 40, who led Stanford to a collegiate national championship in 1990 and was part of the U.S. team that won Olympic gold in 1996. She went on to spend five seasons in the WNBA.

According to an AP article, Azzi didn’t just share the finer points of shooting and passing. She urged the young women to take their confidence and competence off the court, and not be afraid to shatter stereotypes about a woman’s place in this traditional society.

“You’re changing the culture of South Africa for women,” she told the group.

Azzi, an ambassador for the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders, understands the importance of making a positive impact beyond the basketball court. Her training helps girls develop the necessary skills to live a centered and balanced life. Change, Azzi believes, comes from the inside out.

Earlier in the week, Azzi sat down with players from the University of Johannesburg women’s basketball and volleyball teams. The women spoke of fathers who thought they should be home cooking dinner instead of at practice. Azzi told them her own parents were supportive, but she had an aunt and uncle who thought she was “the weirdest kid” because she was doing what boys did.

“But let me tell you something: When I got to the Olympics, my aunt and uncle were my best friends,” she said. 

The South African girls were encouraged to know that everywhere, females are going through the same thing. Clearly, no matter where you’re from, girls struggle with many of the same issues. The good news is that step by step, with the support of mentors like Azzi and others, girls are learning the power of change.

Though not just for girls,  be sure to check out these great organizations to see how baskeball can change the world: Hoops 4 Hope and Basketball Without Borders.

Filed under: Basketball, Charity/Cause by jane
No Comments »