Detroit Shock sweep Stars to win WNBA championship

Last night, the Detroit Shock swept the San Antonio Stars in the WNBA finals by clinching game three with a final score of 76-60.

There is no doubt that Kate Smith’s performance late in the game was the highlight of the night.

ESPN reported that Smith hit a long jumper and then drained a high-arching 3 that made it 62-47 and sent the crowd into a frenzy.

Smith led the Shock with a team-high 18 points. Check out this incredible display of great shooting in this ESPN video of the WNBA championship.

It’s certainly exciting to hear that crowd go nutts. Can’t wait until next year.

Shock triumph Stars in game 2

Last night, in game 2 of the WNBA finals, the Detroit Shock beat the San Antonio Stars 69-61. This now puts the Shock up two games.

The Shock came ready to play, as they built a big lead in the first quarter with a 19-2 lead in less than 6 minutes into the game. Kate Smith ruled the court last night for the Shock with 22 points, and Becky Hammon led San Antonio with 24 points.

“Katie Smith is killing us,” Hammon said. “And she’s facilitating a lot of people.”

Deanna Nolan and Kara Braxton each contributed 12 points for the Shock.

Even though the Shock are up two games, it doesn’t mean it’s over. Game 3 is tomorrow (Sunday) at 4:30pm ET on ESPN2. For more information, check out WNBA.com.

WNBA finals: Detroit takes the lead (game 2 tonight)

With MLB smack in the middle of their playoffs and football season in full swing, it can sometimes be difficult to pay attention to what’s going on with our women’s pro basketball teams.

But I can assure you this: the WNBA finals are going to be exciting. Watch game 2 tonight at 7:30pm EST on ESPN2 as the Stars try and answer back to Detroit’s one game lead.

As ESPN’s Michelle Voepel puts it, “Not surprisingly, the Shock and the Silver Stars said the same thing on Thursday: Game 1 — a 77-69 Detroit victory — doesn’t mean anything.”

According to Voepel, there are benefits to both teams right now.

The Shock have won two WNBA titles and were runner-up last year. Detroit is playing for the championship for the third consecutive season. However, they’re fighting against San Antonio, who had two fantastic finishes on its home court in the Western Conference finals against Los Angeles.

The Shock’s two “old-timers” — Taj McWilliams-Franklin and Katie Smith — are catalysts in scoring, while Deanna Nolan sets the tone on defense and commands so much attention on offense that the rest of the Shock benefits.

What’s more:  Kate Smith is something truly amazing to watch. She turned 34 in June, and shows that when the situation calls for it, she can still be, as Voepel says, “one of the most reliable and fearless shooters in the sport.”

San Antonio’s guard Becky Hammon is  clear, critical threat on offense and Sophia Young came out of the regular season averaging 17.5 ppg. These girls came to play and stand up to what the Shock have to offer.

But beyond the games themselves, the WNBA’s Web site has so much to offer their fans which adds to the playoff experience. In fact, it almost makes you feel like you are part of the team and that you actually know these players personally simply by reading their blogs.

If you’re a Detroit fan, you read about how Taj McWilliams Franklin is feeling while heading into the finals and how Deanna Nolan feels about her team’s match-up against the Stars.

Or, if you’re more of a San Antonio fan, you can read about how Sophia Young feels she is living a dream.

There’s all kinds of information up there, anything you’d ever want to find. I encourage you to check it out and watch the WNBA finals tonight at 7:30pm on ESPN2.

Detroit Shock headed to WNBA finals

The Detroit Shock defeated the New York Liberty tonight, 75-73 in game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals.

According to the AP article, Deanna Nolan scored 21 points and Taj McWilliams-Franklin put in 19 to help the Detroit Shock reach the WNBA finals for the third straight season.

This was definately an exciting game. The Shock were up by 20 in the first half, but had to fight of New York’s determination, as they got within two early in the fourth.

The deciding moment seemed to occur when Loree Moore missed a free throw and Alexis Hornbuckle answered with five quick points for the Shock.

The WNBA finals will match up the Detroit Shock and the San Antonio Stars on Wednesday, October 1 at 7:30 PM on ESPN 2.

Here’s what the complete schedule will look like:

I’ll be covering this regularly. This will be a great matchup!

WNBA: Detroit Tops Liberty in the East, Sparks Eliminated by Stars in the West

Yesterday’s WNBA action was certainly exciting for both the Eastern and Western Conference Finals. The Detroit Shock beat NY Liberty 64-55, and LA Sparks were eliminated by San Antonio Silver stars, 76-72.

The two heroes of the day were Deanna Nolan of the Detroit Shock (pictured on the right) and Becky Hammon of the San Antonio Stars.

Deanna Nolan scored 22 points to lead the Shock in their victory over the Liberty in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals Sunday. They play again tonight at 7pm EST on ESPN2.

In the West, Becky Hammon led the Silver Stars in their Western Conference Championship by scoring 35 points and making four free throws in the final 36 seconds.

It was definately an exciting day for the WNBA. Tonight’s matchup will be equally exciting; I just wish we wasn’t so overpowered by all of the football coverage going on right now.

Reminder: WNBA Playoff Games Today

Just a reminder to everyone: WNBA playoffs are today, taking place in Detroit. Tune in to ESPN2.

At 3pm EST, Detroit Shock plays NY Liberty for the East; right now, the Liberty are up 1-0.

At 5pm EST, the LA Sparks take on San Antonio Stars for the West; right now, the two teams are tied at 1-1.

These should be some pretty good games; I’ll be posting about them later. For more information, check out WNBA.com.

Have a great Sunday!

WNBA: Liberty offering cheap tickets Friday!

If you’re in the New York area on Friday night, you should consider getting tickets to the New York Liberty – they’re selling them, cheap!

In case you aren’t aware, WNBA is right in the height of their playoffs. Friday’s game will be a great preview and might be your last change to see a game.

Semifinals start Sunday:
Eastern Conference Finals: New York Liberty vs. Detroit Shock (Sunday, 3PM on ESPN)
Western Conference Finals: LA Sparks vs. San Antonio Stars (Sunday, 5PM on ESPN)

But if you’re in the NY area and want to catch a good game, click the picture below and enter the code STRETCH.

Suspensions Handed Out for WNBA Fight

The wrath has been disclosed in response to Tuesday night’s mayhem fight in the WBNA.

Detroit Shock assistant coach Rick Mahorn as well as 10 players were suspended for contributing to the fight that made headlines across the world. In total, four were ejected from the game on Tuesday night, and now eleven people received suspensions.

Here’s a quick recap of what happened (from ESPN): [Candace] Parker and [Plenette] Pierson got tangled up and fell to the court. Deanna Nolan tackled Parker and Mahorn appeared to push [Lisa] Leslie to the court. [Delisha] Milton-Jones responded by punching Mahorn in the back.

(The last part is my favorite!!!)

Plenette Pierson of the Shock was suspended for four games, the harshest penalty, for initiating and escalating the fight. Mahorn was suspended for two games, as were Shannon Bobbitt and Murriel Page of the Sparks. Sparks’ Candace Parker and DeLisha Milton-Jones, meanwhile, were banned one game each.

According to ESPN, here’s what the WNBA has to say about it:

“The WNBA and its players represent all that is good about sports: passion, hard work and sacrifice,” WNBA president Donna Orender said in a statement released by the league. “On a nightly basis our players display extraordinary skill, athleticism and competitive fire. The events Tuesday, however, were inexcusable and in no way indicative of what the league stands for. We hold our players to a very high standard and these suspensions should serve notice that the behavior exhibited at the end of Tuesday’s game will not be tolerated.”

Though I would never approve of the behavior exhibited the other night, I have to say, ladies – you did a great job of showing the world that you have aggression, a value that is coveted in the highly-popularized sports of our male counterparts.

Mahorn did an excellent job of making himself look like an asshole.

The disciplinary action is well-deserved for all.

Fight Breaks Out in WBNA

In a game last night between Detroit and Los Angeles, a fight broke out. It seems like there was a long of pushing and shoving, but it boiled down to Candace Parker of the LA Sparks and Plenette Pierson of Detroit Shock. The benches cleared on this one.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oE4s3C93Ex4]

Well, this is one way we can draw fans and attention. (Not so sure if it’s the type of attention we want, though)