Hoops Happening: Today in women’s basketball — Friday April 27, 2018

Sylvia Fowles was the player of the game after putting up 16 points and snatching down five rebounds. It was just another night at the office for Big Syl, whose game-high scoring led the USA Basketball Women’s National Team to a whopping 83-46 victory.

The road to the win was relatively smooth, except for slight hiccup in which USA let China back into the game. New Team USA Head Coach Dawn Staley had a solution for that: put veterans back on the floor to re-establish stability.

At the half, Breanna Stewart had a team-high nine points.

Before departing into the KeyArena tunnel, Staley identified as first-half strengths ball movement and unselfishness. However, she mentioned that perhaps there was a little too much unselfishness, leading to missed shot opportunities. For the second half, Staley said she was looking to see the team blow open the lead so that bench players could get into the rotation and demonstrate their abilities.

By early minutes of the third quarter, Team USA had begun to widen its lead. The third-quarter buzzer sounded with Team USA enjoying a 65-39 advantage over China, which allowed newer kids on the block to take to the hardwood in the fourth. Morgan Tuck and Elizabeth Williams both had high-energy, hustle-heavy performances.

Williams, in particular, made timely buckets, scoring five-of-six from the field off the bench.

Points-leader Fowles said she cherished not only the dominant win but the conditioning it provided in advance of the WNBA season. The exhibition helps you “[g]et into a groove and make sure you’re ready and focused,” she said.

Well, that typical, Big Syl performance — along with the spry energy and lithe bodies of veteran stars on vegan diets — certainly whet the appetite for the start of the 2018 WNBA season.

Other happenings in women’s hoops

Important ingredients for successful living: 1) beast mode and 2) sweet mode

If this doesn’t warm your heart, you may not have one

Diana Taurasi may have found fountain of youth through vegan diet

Taurasi previously reported changing her diet to support faster recovery times and enhance career longevity. Vegan plates are definitely working for her because Taurasi appears to be in the best shape of her career!

Wife, Penny Taylor, is also vegan and had a vegan pregnancy. They are raising baby boy Leo on a plant-based diet as well.

Links Appeal

• Lindsay Whalen follows in Dawn Staley’s footsteps, does super-human tricks; Staley explains how Whalen can work it
• Lindsay Whalen discusses the challenges and benefits of wearing two hats on High-Post Hoops podcast with Howard Megdal
• Taurasi is a doting mutha, claims to be running on E (but we’re not sure we believe her — see above)
• FanShot (and the kind of hardcore hoops geekery we love): Charting WNBA stats over time
• Disturbing mandate would force female track-and-field athletes born with elevated testosterone levels to take medicine to reduce them and compete in some races against men | Ick. Could something like this happen in women’s basketball?!