Quite a bit happened this past Father's Day weekend, with 10 games on the schedule.
There were a couple of firsts, a couple of injuries, and dramatic finishes.
As usual, we help you catch up with some links that highlight some of the most statistically significant tidbits from each of these games, just in case you were occupied with other aspects of life.
Shock Win First Game Of 2012 Regular Season via KTUL
Sunday
- Jeff Brucculeri of the Tulsa Shock Examiner reported that the Shock are glad to have the weight of getting that first win off their shoulders, especially given the number of winnable games that slipped through their fingers this season. Temeka Johnson and rookie guard Riquna Williams combined for 28 of the Shock's 31 fourth quarter points and 52% of the team's overall statistical production. Read more >>>
- The Tulsa Shock announced shortly after the game that they have released guard Jene Morris. Read more >>>
- Kristofer Habbas of SB Nation Arizona wrote that despite holding the Tulsa Shock to 39% shooting, the Phoenix Mercury's 25 turnovers killed them in their loss yesterday. The Shock capitalized in getting 23 easy points off those turnovers. Read more >>>
- Jayda Evans of the Seattle Times reports that Seattle Storm guard Tanisha Wright played an important role in their 65-62 win over the Minnesota Lynx last night to complement Sue Bird's 21 points and Tina Thompon's late-game heroics. In addition to handing out a season-high 8 assists, Wright was responsible for defending Lynx star Seimone Augustus, who finished 5-for-16 from the field with 12 points. Read more >>>
- Ryan Black of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Atlanta Dream guard Armintie Price's season-highs in points and steals in yesterday's 75-73 loss to the Connecticut Sun helped to offset the absence of Dream wing Angel McCoughtry, who was diagnosed with a sprained medial collateral ligament (MCL) that kept her out of the game. Read more >>>
Saturday
- Mike Brown of the Tulsa World reports that Seattle Storm point guard Sue Bird continued her success against the Tulsa Shock on Friday with a game-high 21 points on 9-for-12 shooting on Friday along with four assists and no turnovers (for a pure point rating of 8.08). While Shock coach Gary Kloppenburg said after the game that he was "really dumbfounded" by the Storm's 2-7 record, Bird's performance might help clarify things: she was a combined 6-for-31 from the field in the Storm's previous three games. After last night's win against the Lynx, the Storm are 3-0 this season when Bird scores more than 20 points. Read more >>>
- NewsOn6 has a highlights video for the Storm's second win of the season in Tulsa. Read more >>>
- James Oldham of the Indianapolis Star reports that Chicago Sky coach Pokey Chatman said that her team didn't contain the Indiana Fever very well in the second half of Saturday's 84-70 loss at Conseco Fieldhouse. A large part of their second half struggles was the absence of Sky guard Epiphanny Prince who came out of halftime on crutches after suffering an injury to her right foot. Prince tweeted that she will be out 6-8 weeks. Read more >>>
Friday
- Nicolas Nightingale of the Washington Times reported that recently-signed Washington Mystics guard Shannon Bobbitt provided the spark that helped them get their second win on Friday night against the Indiana Fever. Nevertheless, Mystics forward Crystal Langhorne was still the pivotal figure in the game, with her presence in the paint opening up shots for her teammates. Read more >>>
- Odeen Domingo of the Arizona Republic recapped the Minnesota Lynx' record setting 10th straight win on Friday night in Phoenix. Mercury coach Corey Gaines commented after the game that their defense was pretty good, but they just couldn't score against the Lynx' defense. The Lynx held the Mercury to 28.8% shooting from the field to continue their dominant start. Read more >>>
- Kristofer Habbas of SB Nation Arizona introduced the Brittney Griner Watch after the Mercury's loss to the Lynx to track who has the greatest odds of winning the WNBA Draft Lottery. Read more >>>
- Nate J. Butler of Peachtree Hoops described the Atlanta Dream's 92-59 win over the Los Angeles Sparks on Friday as "their best game of the 2012 WNBA season against a great basketball team." Although Dream wing Angel McCoughtry was his player of the game, he highlights the importance of Lindsey Harding giving the team an additional boost from the point guard position. Read more >>>
- John Altavilla of the Hartford Courant reported that James Dolan, executive chairman of Madison Square Garden, Inc., was on hand at Mohegan Sun Arena to witness "every miserable minute" of the New York Liberty's 97-55 loss to the Connecticut Sun on Friday night. The Sun set franchise and WNBA records with their first half performance, including shooting 24-for-39 (61.53%). Read more >>>
Other Links
- Christine Brennan of USA Today offers her take on the Geno Auriemma situation and writes that, "If what officer Kelley Hardwick alleges to have happened did occur, Auriemma cannot represent the United States at the Olympics next month. For that matter, if it's true, he probably wouldn't be coaching anymore at UConn, either." Read more >>>
- Mike Strange of GoVoleXtra put together a nice feature on Title IX at the University of Tennessee, quoting former women's department director Joan Cronan as saying that, "Tennessee cared about women's athletics before it was cool." Read more >>>
Feel free to share your additional links, insights, or random basketball thoughts in the comments. We'll be back tonight for the Mystics' game in Los Angeles (Washington Post preview).