Defense lifts Sacramento to WNBA crown
SACRAMENTO, Sept. 20 – The chances were there. But the Monarchs would not be moved. Despite a heroic playoff career-high 21 points from Asjha Jones, the Sun couldn’t hold leads of 11 in the first half. Finals MVP Yolanda Griffin and Sacramento were too much in a 62-59 victory in game 4 to send Connecticut home from the WNBA finals in second place for the second year in a row.
"The fact that we're in the Finals two years in a row is a great thing,” Sun coach Mike Thibault said. “We have some young players that we have been building around. One of them is Lindsay Whalen. We didn't have her a hundred percent for the series. So I would like to think that maybe we would have been able to play a little bit different in this series. But Sacramento got up on whoever played that position and played them.”
Sacramento’s defense helped give the Monarchs a 10 point lead with 7:48 but Douglas (15 points), Nykesha Sales (10) and Taj McWilliams-Franklin (10) helped engineer a 11-2 surge that pulled Connecticut with in one, 57-56 with 2:57 left. But thanks to some stifling defense and hustling plays, Connecticut sank just one more shot, a Douglas 3-pointer with 37 seconds remaining to cut the lead to two, 61-59. After Ticha Penicheiro sank 1 of 2 foul shots, the Sun had one last chance with 9.9 seconds left but the Monarchs didn’t let the Sun get close to the basket.
"They have what we wanted, and it's hard to take," Thibault said. Griffin finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Not close enough
Turnovers hurt Sun in game 3 loss
SACRAMENTO, Calif., Sept. 18 – The chances were there. But Sacramento wouldn’t let the Sun convert and now the Monarchs are one victory away from their first WNBA championship after a 66-55 victory in game 3 of the best-of-5 series. Yolanda Griffin had 19 points and 11 rebounds as the Monarchs took a 2-1 lead in the series.
Sacramento led by as many as 14 points (55-41) with 8:26 left but Connecticut used a 12-0 run to climb back into the game as the Monarchs missed six straight field goals and Nykesha Sales scored seven of her team-high 17 points. At one point in the surge, Sales slipped, regained her balance and drained a three-point goal. Ashja Jones slipped and put a hand on the floor to retain her balance before putting up a shot in the lane that cut the lead to two, 55-53 with 4:17 left.
Sales hit a pair of free throws with 3:16 left to trim the lead to two, 57-55 but the Sun never scored again, missing its final nine shots from the floor. “We beat them in the paint, which is what we're supposed to,” Sacramento coach John Whisenant said. “That's our goal. For us to win, that is the way. We can't beat them in a game of horse; they will outshoot us.”
Connecticut had several good opportunities in the final two minutes. Down by four, 59-55, Sales picked up a loose ball and zipped down the court on a 2-on-1 break. She dished the ball to Jamie Carey, whose layup attempt rolled off the rim with 1:50 left.
With 1:08 left, Taj McWilliams-Franklin missed down low and Griffin grabbed the rebound. But Sales stole the ball from her underneath the basket. Twice, Sales went up with the shot and twice it hit the bottom of the backboard. Sales finished with 17 points while McWilliams-Franklin had 16. Lindsay Whalen, who missed game 2 with an ankle injury, started but ineffective with two points and five turnovers.
Sun coach Mike Thibault cringed at his team’s turnovers. “I thought we would play our best game in the series today and we played our worst,” he said. “You don't win any games when you give them 20 points on turnovers and 16 points on offensive rebounds and you hold them to 37 percent from the floor. You don't win. So that's it, as simple as I can put it. “
Sacramento scored made on 37.5 percent of its shots (24-of-64) but had just seven turnovers. Kara Lawson had 16 off the bench for the Monarchs while Nicole Powell had 12 points including a single-game WNBA final record three 3-point goals.
Finding a way
Sun save hopes for WNBA title with OT victory in game two
UNCASVILLE, Conn., Sept. 15 – By the end of game 2 of the WNBA Finals, it was obvious that both teams were exhausted. Shots were falling short and players were late on defensive assignments. But the Sun found a second wind after Brooke Wyckoff hit a 3-point shot with 2.2 seconds left in regulation to force overtime as Connecticut climbed back into the series with a 77-70 victory over Sacramento at the Mohegan Sun Arena. The best-of-5 series is tied at 1-1.
The Sun outscored the Monarchs 7-0 in OT. Sacramento was 0-for-7 from the floor with two turnovers in the extra session while the Sun’s Taj McWilliams-Franklin had five rebounds, two points and a key assist. The most important carom came with Connecticut holding a 72-70 lead. Sacramento’s Nicole Powell was short on a shot from the corner and McWilliams-Franklin (game-high 24 points, 16 rebounds) grabbed the ball and fired it downcourt to Nykesha Sales, who took it to the basket and was fouled. She sank the foul shot for a 75-70 lead with 1:55 to go.
Connecticut’s defense came up with another steal when backup guard Jamie Carey tipped the ball away from Ticha Penicheiro to Sales, who got the ball on the outlet to Wyckoff, who scored with 1:43 left. “We’re a good team that plays with confidence,” Sales said. “We have a lot of players who can step up.” Connecticut played without point guard Lindsay Whalen, who turned an ankle in game one. McWilliams-Franklin was outstanding keeping Connecticut afloat throughout the game. She scored the Sun’s first nine points.
Connecticut took a 61-58 lead with 9:10 left but its offense sputtered missing its next seven shots but Sacramento couldn’t pull away. A Wyckoff 3-pointer with 3:52 left gave the Sun a 64-62 lead. Twice in the final 1:26, McWilliams Franklin was short on shots in close and Sacramento was 8.6 seconds away from a 2-0 lead in the series after Kara Lawson hit two free throws for a 70-67 lead.
Connecticut inbounded the ball to Katie Douglas (16 points) who fed it to McWilliams-Franklin near the top of the circle. When Penicheiro collapsed on her, McWilliams-Franklin fired the ball to a wide-open Wyckoff in the right corner, who drained the shot with 2.2 seconds left in regulation to force OT.
Sales finished with 19 points and three 3-point shots while Wyckoff finished nine points on three 3-point goals. Yolanda Griffin, who was dominant at times, finished 16 points and nine rebounds for Sacramento while Nicole Powell (four 3-pointers) added 16. DeMya Walker had 14.
Sun wilt under Sacramento's pressure
Griffin dominates in game 1 victory
UNCASVILLE, Conn., Sept. 14 – The visiting Sacramento Monarchs said they didn’t feel any pressure in game 1 of the WNBA finals. “We’re the underdog,” Monarchs veteran Yolanda Griffin said. “We’re relaxed.” It was the Sun that wilted under the pressure Wednesday night.
Sacramento forced 11 Connecticut turnovers in the second half, used a 15-4 run to seize control of the contest and rode Griffin for 25 points and 9 rebounds in a stunning 69-65 victory in game 1 of the best-of-5 series. The Sun led by six points with 15:06 left but Sacramento went inside to Griffin and received some key outside shooting from Nicole Powell with a pair of deep 3-point shots in a 15-4 run.
“We have confidence in each other,” said Griffin, who had 19 points in the second half. “We’ll stick together as a team no matter what happens.” Powell finished with 10 points. Game 2 is Thursday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
Sacramento led by five with 8:22 but the Sun clawed their way back in. Katie Douglas capped off seven straight points for the Sun by draining a 3-point shot, stealing a pass at the other end of the floor and racing to the basket for a layup with 3:53 left. That gave Connecticut its final lead at 59-58. But Sacramento quickly responded when DeMaya Walker hit a wide-open jumper in the lane and Griffin scored again 30 second later driving past Sales and getting fouled for a 3-point play and a four-point lead.
Sales led the Sun with 23 points while Douglas had 14. Lindsay Whalen, whose status was questionable entering the series, started and played 25 minutes. She had seven points and 2 assists. She was 3-of-9 from the floor, including missing a wide-open 3-pointer with 17.6 seconds left that could have tied the game but it bounced off the rim.
Minus Whalen
Knee injury may keep guard on the bench in WNBA finals
UNCASVILLE, Conn., Sept. 12 – Ouch!! The Sun’s victory over Indiana Saturday may be a little more costly than previously throught. Guard Lindsay Whalen is questionable after suffering a non-displaced fracture of the tibial plateau of the left knee. She was hurt after colliding with Fever guard Tully Bevilaqua in the first half but returned to play in the second half, scoring 13 of her 14 points. An MRI and followup exam Monday morning revealed the problem. Whalen (16.5
avg.) is receiving extensive treatment and will be
re-examined each day. “Obviously, this is very
disappointing,” Sun coach Mike Thibault said. “But we have a lot of very good players, and we are capable of winning this series with the players who will suit up.”
Second effort leads to 2nd shot at title
Sun take over in OT to oust Fever
UNCASVILLE, Conn., Sept. 10 – Second efforts have led the Connecticut Sun to the WNBA finals for the second time. Taj McWilliams-Franklin ripped down a rebound following a Nykesha Sales miss in overtime and scored to break the 11th tie with 3:20 left. With 1:54 to go, 7-foot-2 Margo Dydek grabbed a rebound after McWilliams-Franklin missed and scored to extend the Sun lead to seven as Connecticut outlasted Indiana, 77-67 in overtime and sweep the Eastern Conference finals, 2-0. The win puts the Sun in the finals against Sacramento, which swept Houston on Saturday, 2-0.
Indiana erased a 10-point deficit in the second half and forced OT when Tamika Catchings drained a three-point shot with 18 seconds left. But playing in OT for the first time this year, the Sun outscored Indiana, 17-7. After McWilliam-Frankin gave Connecticut 64-62 lead with 3:20 left, Dydek ripped down a defensive rebound and began a fast break that ended with Sales draining a 3-point goal to extend the lead to five with 2:49 to go. Less than a minute later, Dydek’s basket pushed the lead to seven.
“We did the things in overtime we should have done in the last five minutes of the game,” said McWilliams-Franklin, who had a team-high 15 points. “We were assertive. We were aggressive. We were on the boards. We just got active and I don’t know if they were ready for that.” Dydek finished with 12 while Lindsay Whalen had 14 and Ashja Jones added 13 off the bench. Sales had only 9 points on 3-of-10 shooting but she her 3-pointer in OT was huge. “We got contributions from a lot of different people tonight,” Sun coach Mike Thibault said. “It was fun to watch how hard we played.”
Indiana took its last lead on a Catching jumper with 5:45 to go but Dydek responded with a long jumper to tie the game. Whalen hit two straight baskets for the Sun and McWilliams-Franklin grabbed a shot by Whalen that was short, actually an airball, and sank a reverse layup for a four-point lead with 2:22 left.
Connecticut will now face Sacramento in a best-of-5 series that begins Wednesday at the Mohegan Sun Arena. Game 2 is Thursday night before heading out to Sacramento for a pair of games.
Douglas makes hometown fans wince with 3
INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 8 – The hometown fans winced and then smiled. Katie Douglas, the Indianapolis native who became an All-American at Purdue, banked in a three-point shot with 30 seconds left to cement a 73-68 victory by the Sun over Indiana in game 1 of the best-of-3 Eastern Conference final Thursday. The Sun can advance to the WNBA finals for the second straight year with a win over Indiana Saturday or Sunday in Uncasville.
Indiana had nearly erased a 12-point Connecticut lead and trailed just by three, 65-62, with about 30 seconds left. But with the shot clock nearly expired, Douglas banked home a 25-footer off the glass to puncture any Fever comeback hopes. "I should have (called bank), but in my mind I definitely called it," Douglas told the Lafayette Journal and Courier. "I felt like I had to bank it because I was at a really bad angle. I work on some of those silly shots sometimes. I worked with one of the managers today." Douglas finished with nine points. Connecticut’s Taj McWilliams-Franklin made the pass to Douglas. “Lucky is the key word,” said McWilliams-Franklin. “I didn’t know the shot clock was running down. But she did and she heaved it up. It’s better to be lucky than not.”
Indiana cut the lead to one, 63-62 on a three-point shot by Kelly Miller (14 points) but the Sun defense didn’t give up a point in the next three minutes. The Fever’s Tully Bevilaqua missed a three-point shot and turned the ball over on a traveling violation by running the baseline on an inbounds play. MVP candidate Tamika Catchings finished with just 10 points. She left the game with 13:48 left in the first half after Brooke Wyckoff fell on her chasing a loose ball. "I was reaching for the ball and hit the floor," Catchings said. "Somebody landed on top of me and hit the floor again. I got up and knew something was wrong.”
McWilliams-Franklin led the Sun with 24 points. “She makes patient plays,” Sun coach Mike Thibault said. “She doesn’t rush things that other people do. She takes her time. Its mark of a veteran, more composed player.” Nykesha Sales had 14 points for the Sun while Lindsay Whalen added 13.
“We have to find a few more ways to score,” Indiana coach Brian Winters said. “We just have to play well, go out there and take it to them on their home court and do a little better job defensively.” The Fever were 23-of-61 from the floor (38 percent).
Other recent WNBA coverage from Connecticut Sports Online
Sun sweep past Shock into Eastern finals
Laimbeer still believes his team is championship caliber
UNCASVILLE, Conn., Sept. 2 – Shock coach Bill Laimbeer still believes in his team. Even after they were swept by the Sun Friday night, 75-57. “We believe we are the best basketball team out there. We have a very talented group. But they have to want to go out there and just take the championship,” Laimbeer said.
Well, the talented Shock can watch the Sun play in the Eastern Conference finals for the third straight year, facing Indiana in a best-of-3 series beginning Tuesday in Indianapolis. After Detroit trimmed a 14-point lead to three, 70-67, on a Kara Braxton basket with 2:20 left, the Shock never scored another point. They missed five shots, had two shots blocked, missed two free throws and had a turnover.
Connecticut’s Taj McWilliams-Franklin blocked a Deanna Nolan shot with 1:40 left but Detroit controlled the rebound. Seven seconds later, Ruth Riley’s shot at the top of the circle bounced off the rim and the Sun controlled the rebound. With 47.9 seconds left, Connecticut’s Margo Dydek blocked Braxton’s four-foot jumper on the baseline. That was it for the Shock as McWilliams-Franklin drained a fadeaway jumper right in front of the Shock bench with 21.5 seconds left to extend the lead to five. Nolan was tremendous with 23 points, including 12 points in a 19-9 second half run that lifted Detroit within three.
Lindsay Whalen scored a playoff career-high with 27 points and was 15-of-17 from the free throw line, sinking her first 13 free throws. McWilliams-Franklin had 16. Nykesha Sales had only five yet she ripped down a career-high 12 rebounds. Dydek had three blocks. “We had a lot of people step up and do different things,” Sun coach Mike Thibault said. “We struggled offensively for a little bit but we did a lot of other things really well and we won because of our defense.”
The Sun donated proceeds ($71,170) from the contest and a Silent Auction at halftime to the American Red Cross to aid ongoing relief efforts to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. … Before the game, Sun forward Taj McWilliams-Franklin was named the winner of the WNBA’s 2005 Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award. … Laimbeer smiled as he entered the court before the game as the Imperial March from the Empire Strikes Back played on the stadium speakers and the crowd booed. … Twice fans wearing Swin Cash Shock jerseys got a surprise pie in the face at the end of mid-game promotions to the delight of the Sun crowd.
--- GERRY deSIMAS, JR.
