Although there was plenty of drama going on in the WNBA yesterday - documented elsewhere on this site - there were also some noteworthy performances on the court last night that are worth highlighting before we move on in our lives.
James has already covered the happenings in Atlanta and below are more links about actual basketball being played.
- Tim Leighton of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that Lynx center Taj McWilliams-Franklin's displays of emotion in the fourth quarter were a major catalyst for the Lynx in the fourth quarter of last night's 96-84 win. Aside from the emotional boost she gave the team, it was also a milestone night for the veteran center: her five offensive rebounds last night helped her set the WNBA record for career offensive rebounds. Read more >>>
- Amelia Rayno of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve joked after point guard Lindsay Whalen scored 8 of the team's 17 points in overtime capped by a long three that the team had found a new play: "It's a fist-out-four special -- and that is, 'Whay, just crank a three." In seriousness though, forward Rebekkah Brunson was no joke grabbing a franchise record 20 rebounds on a night in which the Lynx dominated the visiting San Antonio Silver Stars on the offensive boards 19-7. Read more >>>
- Rayno also reported yesterday morning that Lynx assistant coach Jim Petersen thinks that forward Rebekkah Brunson could have easily been an Olympian this year because, "...she's just as good as anybody on the Olympic team." (I think some of us here agree). Read more >>>
- David Wood of the Indianapolis Star reports that the Indiana Fever are on pace to break the league's record for 3s in a season and showed off their shooting prowess last night against the Washington Mystics - the Fever went 10-for-17 beyond the arc and outshot a Mystics team that shot 62.5% in the first half. Read more >>>
- Wood also reports that Indiana Fever coach Lin Dunn is challenging each of her four post players to step up and take minutes in the rotation. Underlying that is an understanding on Dunn's part that, "...we're only going to go as far as we rebound." Against the Mystics - a strong rebounding team - the Fever impressively won the offensive rebounding battle 30.43% to 24.13% last night. Read more >>>
- Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune reports that Chicago Sky guard Courtney Vandersloot enjoys coming off the bench and her numbers last night showed it: the second year point guard had 17 points and 6 assists in a loss against the Connecticut Sun last night. But if there was a positive to the Sky's performance last night it's that they did a better job of holding on to the ball - they only had 12 turnovers. Read more >>>
- Patricia Babcock McGraw of the Daily Herald reported that Sun center Tina Charles was impressed by the play of Sky center Carolyn Swords, who had 10 points and 7 rebounds last night. But Charles was too much for the Sky, finishing with 24 points and 14 rebounds. Read more >>>
- Mitchell pulled double duty last night, also reporting that the Sun clinched a playoff spot with their win against the Sky last night. The first place Sun are now 2.5 games ahead of the second place Indiana Fever in the Eastern Conference. Read more >>>
As usual, there are probably more links out there that you find noteworthy so feel free to drop those in the comments along with any other insights you might have.