Live blogging from Washington Mystics vs. Chicago Sky game, Saturday June 20, 7pm

I will be live blogging from the Washington Mystics vs. Chicago Sky game tonight at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC at 7pm.

This is a special day for the Maryland/Washington, DC area. Why? Because two local stars will be facing each other: Marissa Coleman of the Washington Mystics and Kristi Toliver of the Chicago Stars.

Toliver and Coleman were teammates on the University of Maryland this past year – local and national favorites to advance the club in the NCAA tournament. Unfortunately, their journey was cut short with a loss to Louisville in the elite eight.

During the NCAA tournament, Graham Hays from ESPN described the Toliver/Coleman popularity, saying,

“There are times when the things Kristi Toliver and Marissa Coleman do on a basketball court make it difficult to believe your own eyes. But in person, it doesn’t take a replay to verify the moment. All you have to do is listen for the roar.”

I plan to see that roar again today as the two local stars revisit their home city. I anticipate to see local girls basketball teams filling the stands, including my own, the 14U Classics AAU club of Bethesda, MD, as the WNBA, understood how my girls worship Coleman and Toliver and graciously invited us to witness their reunion.

Unfortunately, Coleman, the most promising rookie on the Mystics – averaging 12.7ppg, suffered a high ankle injury during a practice scrimmage last week. She’s out 4-6 weeks.

However, I am looking forward to seeing Toliver play. Though she’s only averaging 3.5 ppg so far for the Sky, she is expected to make an immediate impact on the club this season.

A piece in the Chicago Tribune earlier this month quoted Kristi’s coach, Steven Key, speaking very highly of her,

“Kristi Toliver is an unbelievable talent. She’s got a lot of skills,” said Sky coach/general manager Steven Key of his first-round draft pick from Maryland. “She can shoot the three and she has an unbelievable eye for her teammates.”

It just may take some time for her (and her teammates) to adjust over the course of this season.

Other players to watch today will be:

Washington Mystics:

Alana Beard – A graduate of Duke in her sixth year with the team, Beard is the Mystics biggest offensive threat as the leading scorer, averaging 17.3 ppg.

Crystal Langhorne – another local favorite, Langhorne, a Maryland graduate, led the Terps to a national championship in 2006. At 6’2,” Langhorne leads the Mystics in rebounds, averaging over 8 per game, and is third leading scorer, averaging 10.3 ppg.

Monique Currie – In her fourth year with the league, Currie is a graduate of the Duke women’s basketball powerhouse. Another strong team leader, Currie averages 7 ppg so far this season.

Chicago Sky –

Jia Perkins - A Texas Tech graduate who has been playing in the WNBA since 2004, though she skipped her first year due to the birth of her daughter. Perkins now leads the Sky with 19.8 ppg. And, at only 5’8″, she grabs an impressive 5.8 rebounds per game.

Sylvia Fowles - A Louisiana State grad in her second year with the league, goes by the name “Big Syl” as she towers a height of 6’6″. She averages 15.5 ppg and grabs 8.8 rebounds per game.

Candice Dupree – A graduate of Temple in her fourth year with the WNBA, Dupree, 6’2,” already averages 15ppg for the Sky.

Looks like a good game. Be sure to check out the live blog via WomenTalkSports.com.

Basketball teammates help girl with amnesia

Just saw this story on ABC’s World News. It’s a good one. Good enough to share it with you.

It’s about a girl named Kayla Hutchinson, who, at the age of 19 as a student-athlete at Walla Walla Community College, collided with a teammate during a basketball practice and suffered a concussion (very common).

A few days later, however, she started losing her memory, didn’t know where she was, and had responses similar to that of a toddler. She didn’t know where she was, and couldn’t remember anything from the 19 years of her life. Memories of vacations, graduation and holidays were all gone. On top of all of this, she couldn’t do things like make her lunch or get to class.

Who was there to help? Her teammates.

Hutchinson’s roommates, all female athletes, started recognizing the problem as soon as Hutchinson returned back to her downtown apartment. Hutchinson couldn’t feel her arms and didn’t remember her roommates’ names.

Her basketball coach was equally concerned.

“When I recruit these kids, I make a promise to their parents to take care of them, but you never think it’s going to be this. Every year I get 15 new children. Kayla is like a daughter. Every day when I wake up, my first thought is How’s Kayla?”

When the accident occurred, Kayla’s parents wanted to take her home to Idaho. But, as this news report on KomoNews.com says,

“they found a network of support so tightly woven around their daughter that to remove her would have been detrimental, they believed.”

Hutchinson’s teammates, coach, roommates and professors all helped to get her back on track. Last year, she was released to participate in most of the basketball practice drills. She’s writing and reading again.

If you missed World News, you can watch this again on ABC’s Nightline at 11:35pm ET for the full story.

Why haven’t I posted lately? I live in DC.

The reason I haven’t posted lately is largely due to the pomp and circumstance that is surrounding the Presidential Inauguration.

While I am definitely off-topic (this is a sports blog), I figured I’d share a bit of this experience with you.

Below is a video I took during President-Elect Obama’s speech at the We Are One Concert at the National Mall on Sunday. I’m headed there early in the morning for round 2. Here’s to hoping I don’t get trampled…

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPK3V2yy7Z4

My Decision to Save Women’s Sports

I’m just another not-so-typical-20-something just-out-of-college overly altruistic and obnoxious about it pretentious individual… who has no idea what tomorrow will bring.

I moved about a year ago – three hours from home to the beautiful greater Washington, DC metropolitan area. I came to this place of one-too-many cocktails, suits and high heels because I wanted to save the world through my professional career. What I’ve found is it takes a little more than a dream, and I have a lot of work to do.

In the mean time, I’ve realized something… by participating in sports as a kid, I was setting myself up for successful opportunities, long after I hung up my sneakers. All of that hard work, all of those years of obsessing over practices, coaches’ impressions, newspapers, rankings, everything… it has all come full circle. It’s true, what the NCAA says — most of us go professional in something other than sports.

I grew up playing A LOT of basketball. I started in about fifth grade when I played for St. Rose of Lima basketball, then gradually became a part of the Penn-Jersey Panthers AAU basketball program where I met all kinds of great girls in New Jersey. I went on to play basketball for two years at Camden Catholic High School then transferred to Haddon Heights High School and graduated in 2003. I turned down a few basketball scholarships and chose to play for The College of New Jersey Lions, and graduated in 2007 with a degree in Exercise Science and Health Communication. Right now, I work for a public relations firm in Washington, DC. On the side, I coach a Classics Basketball AAU team and play in Headfirst Sports Leagues.

Now, since I’ve hung up my sneakers, I’ve discovered is that as female athletes, there is an incredible disconnect between the billions of us who play sports and the very few who choose to follow the stars. Not only this, but we as female athletes are incredibly underrepresented in print and on the Web. So I will do what I can to bring as much as I can to the online space. I strongly believe that by simply listening (and I mean really listening) and paying attention, you’re empowering yourself beyond measure. Knowledge is very, VERY powerful. And if I can bring it to the table, I’ll always have a seat.

That is what this blog is all about.

Welcome. I’m glad you’re here.

(Disclaimer: the thoughts an opinions on this site are mine and mine alone, and do not reflect those of my current or previous employers).