SSN NEWS BLOG!

Game Thread l Boxscore/Highlights l Photos l SASS Post Game Videos

San Antonio 85, Connecticut 73

UNCASVILLE, Conn.(AP) — Becky Hammon scored 24 points and the San Antonio Silver Stars pulled into a first-place tie in the Western Conference with an 85-73 win Sunday over the Connecticut Sun.

San Antonio (21-10) and Seattle are tied for the lead in the West heading to the final week of the regular season.

Connecticut (20-11) saw its seven-game winning streak snapped, but the Sun still lead the Eastern Conference by a game over Detroit.

Asjha Jones led the Sun with 22 points and nine rebounds.

Hammon scored 10 of her 24 points in the fourth period. Sophia Young added 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Silver Stars, who shot 51 percent from the field.

The Sun shot just 36 percent and 17 percent from the three-point line (3-for-18).

Ann Wauters’ 3-pointer capped a 14-1 run late in the third period as San Antonio took a 57-41 lead. The Sun got no closer than five in the fourth period.

Wauters had 15 points and nine rebounds and Vickie Johnson added 10 for the Silver Stars.

Tamika Whitmore had 17 points and Lindsay Whalen added 16 points for Connecticut.

The Sun’s last lead was 26-25 midway through the second period. After that, they missed 15 straight shots. San Antonio held Connecticut to 14 percent shooting in the second period and took a 35-28 halftime lead.

Ruth Riley, who entered the game with seven 3-point field goals, made a pair of them late in the first quarter to give the Silver Stars a 23-19 lead after one period.

HFH:

“WOOHOO!!! That was a blast!!! That was total domination of LA and it was GREAT to watch! We had almost 10,000 in attendance tonight…we had people all the way up into the upper levels. LA paid so much attention to Sophia and Becky they forgot about every one else and everyone else was hitting and defending. Best 2 bball momentsof the night were Erin’s block on the Prima Dona LLL and her WTF look and then Becky grabing the ball out of said Prima Donas hands…her look was hilarious!!! Best non bball moment was The Spurs Bruce Bowen trying to find his seat and the usher taking him into the the seats a few rows up and reading his WTF comment to the usher and then making the usher take him court side.

How could I forget….they honored Becky for her Olympic performance and she got LOUD HUGE OVATION…it was a sweet moment!!! Especially the affection that is so evident between her and coach…he looked so proud and she looked so aw shucks..lol!”

Ok…more thoughts on the game. Poor Becky…she just couldn’t hit tonight…I mean it was one those the ball goes in goes out nights and some just plain old missed shots..it got to the point even she was laughing at some of those. Over all however she had a good game…some really good hustle and spreading the floor and getting people involved. Another funny moment was she was arguing with the refs…I mean to the point i thought a tech was on it’s way…i looked over to the bench to see if coach was going to pull her back….he was sitting down laughing at her and had GO BECKY smirk.

Erin was awesome on defense and just out hustled everyone the whole night. Ruth and Ann did great trying for rebounds and getting some nice blocks and they both were able to score when needed. VJ was VJ…steady and always coming through when needed. Edwidge REALLY stepped up…she played GREAT!! She had confidence and did all she could.

Sophia had another rough night offensively. She looks a bit out of sorts but in all fairness she was given a lot of attention. However she REALLY came through with some nice defensive plays. She was giving her all along with everyone else. Overall a fantastic TEAM effort. If they play like this the rest of the way they will be hard to beat. They had some stupid turnovers and some sloppy moments but over all the execution was impressive. They didn’t looked at all intimidated by LA this game.
The refs were decent…there were some no calls on some muggings of Sophia, Ann and Becky, but the crowd was really good at letting them know we knew when they were crap calls. We also did get a couple of calls our way so over all decent. Funny though…as the crowd got louder the calls got better

I did get pictures….some good news bad news. My batteries died right before they honored Becky so no pics of that.
I did run to the fan shop for new ones so I do have game pics.
I also snuck my video camera in and got footage of the end of the game celebration…bad news is I forgot my partner in crime is on vacation and I don’t know how to upload it

They have a new video of the team that was kind of cool…it starts with Becky’s custom Nike shoe showing Hammon 25…I’m hoping SilverStarsDotcom will post it for all to see.

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Balloon Man:

OK just got home from the game,

WHAT A WIN!!!

I loved Becky’s Steal from LL, it was the best steal I’ve seen all season. She just pulled out of her hands while she was looking the other way.

Anyway, this was the Clincher, so we are Play-Off bound for the second season in a row!!! Now it’s time to work on that home court advantage. Have to win out at this point, but let’s see what SEA does.

For those that are interested in Leauge attendance, since it is the life blood for these teams, SASS is now averaging just under 8K a game at 7,944. That equals our third season in SA in 2005. Which is our third best season thus far. So hopefully we can get some great numbers in the last 2 home games and can make this an even better season for attendance.

The best thing is we had about 9,500 on a Friday in TX competeing against Friday night football. That is just amazing, and shows the attention the team has been getting as of late. For those of you who don’t visit the Gas Station BBQ very often (meaning all of you out of staters) Friday night is HS football night in TX, which is one of the most imortant nights for most families in the whole week. We live breath and die with football in TX. So those numbers reall shocked me.

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BluesSister1:

“WOOOOOHOOOOOO!!!! What an awesome game! It sure was nice to finally stomp a team…especially LA! The game started out with BS3 & 4 being named co-captain of the game and season ticket holder of the game, respectively. Prior to tip-off, we went down to meet Coach Yow. What an honor!

We introduced ourselves and wished her well. She is a very humble person and was very nice to our weird selves! LOL We had our pink on for the evening..will try to get our pic posted soon. BTW, when they seated Bruce Bowen and his family, they moved Andrew Crossley and his friend out of the front row seats. More about the drama queen (LLL) and the auction after the game in a few minutes. Visited with Starsfan and never really saw H…think she was behind a camera! ”

Game Thread l Boxscore/Highlights l Photos l SASS Post Game Videos

Silver Stars back in playoffs after 76-58 win

SAN ANTONIO (AP)—Edwige Lawson-Wade scored a career-high 14 points and Ann Wauters added 12 to help the San Antonio Silver Stars clinch a spot in the playoffs with a 76-58 win over the Los Angeles Sparks on Friday night.

It will be the second straight playoff appearance for the Silver Stars (20-10), who also got 11 points from Becky Hammon.

The Sparks (18-13) were looking for their fifth consecutive victory and second over San Antonio in six days. They were led by 17 points from Candace Parker.

Lawson-Wade’s effort off the bench broke the game open in the second quarter. She was 4-of-4 from the floor including three from the 3-point line in 10 minutes—as San Antonio turned a one-point deficit into a 14-point lead at halftime.

After trailing by six in the first quarter, the Sparks took their only lead of the game on Temeka Johnson’s layup 1:26 into the second quarter.

The Sparks missed 9 of 12 shots during the next eight minutes and were outscored 21-6 to trail by 14 at halftime.

Playoffs Tickets On Sale Friday at 10 am CST

SAN ANTONIO – Individual tickets for the Silver Stars first home game (Round 1, Game A) of the 2008 WNBA Playoffs will go on sale to the general public Friday, Sept. 5 at 10 a.m.

Playoff tickets range in price from $11 to $106 and can be purchased at all Ticketmaster Ticket Center locations, charge by phone at (210) 225-TEAM, or online at ticketmaster.com or sasilverstars.com. Tickets can also be purchased at the AT&T Center Southeast Box Office. The Box Office is open from 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. on weekend event days.

Currently the Silver Stars lead the Western Conference and are tied for the best record in the WNBA. A win Friday against the Los Angeles Sparks would clinch a spot in the 2008 WNBA playoffs.

The Silver Stars first round playoff opponent and schedule will be released at a later date.

Stars To Wear Special Pink Uniforms Friday

San Antonio- Continuing an effort that has raised more than $2 million for breast health awareness, the Women’s National Basketball Association also will host several activities from Sunday, Sept. 7 to Saturday, Sept. 13, to generate awareness about breast cancer and raise funds to help fight the disease.

Two nationally televised WNBA games will include special programming on the league’s breast health initiative and awareness efforts. Those games include San Antonio vs. Connecticut on ABC at 1 p.m. ET. on Sept. 7, and Phoenix vs. Detroit on ESPN 2 at 7 p.m. ET. on Sept. 9. Each WNBA team donated pink and white autographed basketballs and both home teams participating in the televised games will wear white uniforms with pink trim, which will also be auctioned off for charity. In addition, coaches will wear pink ties or scarves and the referees will use pink whistles during these games. The official WNBA Breast Health Awareness logo will be displayed on the court MORE

TRACK SMACK MYSPACE l ESPN 1250 The Zone Myspace l Dawn Murphy’s Myspace l Dawn Murphy’s Yuku Site

We are back for another season of TRACK SMACK with Dawn Murphy,and are back home in SAN ANTONIO and ready to go! You can catch TRACK SMACK LIVE Saturday Mornings from 10AM-12pm on ESPN 1250 AM The Zone and soon online at www.1250zone.com

As always I will be joined by my Co-Host, Chip DuBose and of course we will be talking EVERY week with our Man, Director of Competition for Hall of Fame Racing, and fellow San Antonian, Philippe Lopez. Philippe as always will be LIVE at the TRACK from the Sprint Cup Circuit and giving us the Dirt on the #96 Car and Driver JJ Yeley, but also on all the happenings on and off the track. Philippe is our ALL ACCESS PASS into the NASCAR GARAGE AREA.

We are also very excited to have Express News Motor Sports Writer/Blogger Mike Haag join our team FULL TIME this season. Mike is “THE MAN” when it comes to the local race scene and we’re not just talking STOCK CARS. I am also super stoked to bring on board ESPN’s Pit Reporter and Host Mike Massaro each week to discuss everything going on in the NATIONWIDE series and SPRINT CUP Series Garages.

This season as always we will have EXCLUSIVE interviews from Drivers, Crew Members, Owners, Analyst, and more from the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Nationwide, and Craftsman Truck Series as well as the Indy Series and More. We will have Special Shows LIVE from several NASCAR RACES and we will be out in the Local Race Community doing several Charity events and Lots of RACING!!! Looking forward to a great season and as always we will take your phone calls at 210-656-ESPN (3776)

The great people at sasilverstars.com have been working hard to provide more access to favorite Silver Stars players like Becky Hammon, Sophia Young, Ruth Riley, Ann Wauters and more!

Get all the Silver Stars audio and video sent to you subscribing to the Silver Stars Podcast! Best thing, it’s free and is automatically sent directly to your computer or iPod.

SUBSCRIBE TODAY!!!!
http://www.wnba.com/silverstars/multimedia/podcasts.html

Throughout the 2008 Olympics our Becky fans have been combing every possible internet resource to get a coveted photo of Becky in her Russian Opening Ceremonies outfit. We had members from different countries rewatch the March of Nations frame by frame in hopes of finding her.

Today it was Ilona Korstin’s Blog that provided the first picture. And Lord those blouses are …. well… um … something else …lol!

Sound off about the outfit with other Becky Fans
http://www.silverstarsnation.com/forum/showthread.php?p=65352#post65352

Aug 28, 2008 during their game in Phoenix, Becky was interviewed during halftime and Sophia was post game. Enjoy!

Becky Hammon Halftime Interview l Sophia Young Post Game Interview

Source: CBSSports.com

Wecker Joins OSU Staff

NORMAN, Okla. — University of Oklahoma head women’s basketball coach Sherri Coale announced Thursday that 2005 Big 12 Player of the Year Kendra Wecker would join the team as a graduate assistant.

“I’m excited to begin the newest chapter of my career on the Oklahoma staff,” Wecker said. “I have nothing but the utmost respect and admiration for Sherri Coale and that program she has built in Norman. With the championship tradition of this team and the skill of our current players, I am very much looking forward to the upcoming season.”

Wecker was a three-time All-Big 12 First Team member at Kansas State and was picked fourth overall by the San Antonio Silver Stars in the 2005 WNBA Draft.

“Kendra will be a tremendous addition to our program,” Coale said. “Her collegiate experience in this conference coupled with her professional experience both in the WNBA and overseas provides her with a broad base of basketball intelligence.

“Playing against her for four years was no fun, but the respect and admiration I have for her as a competitor is second to none. Kendra’s passion for the game and her work ethic as a student-athlete made her a poster child for everything that is good about intercollegiate athletics.

“We look forward to the channeling of those traits into her career outside the lines of the court.”

After suffering an ACL tear in the first game of her rookie season, Wecker returned to appear in 58 career WNBA games, averaging 3.7 points and 1.8 rebounds. Wecker played in nine games this season with the Washington Mystics before being waived on Aug. 12.

The Marysville, Kan., native ended her collegiate basketball career as one of the sport’s most prolific athletes. A first-team All-American in 2005, Wecker was a three-time Naismith Player of the Year finalist and two-time Wade Trophy and Wooden Award finalist.

Wecker still holds Kansas State career records for scoring (2,333 points), rebounds (1,087), double-doubles (52), field goals made (935), field goals attempted (1,913) and minutes played (4,141).

Wecker will pursue Master’s of Education with an emphasis in intercollegiate athletics administration.