Charlotte Sting Weekly Update

July 18, 2005 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Charlotte Sting News Release


LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

Team Leaders
Date Opp. Result Pts. Rebs. Asts.
7/12 @ LA L, 59-71 Sutton-Brown-15 Sutton-Brown-11 Sam-4

The Sting built a nine point lead late in the first half, but couldn't hold on as the Sparks used a 17-2 run to end the frame and take a 36-30 lead into halftime. The Sparks built their lead to 11 in the second stanza before Charlotte used a 12-5 run to pull within four. The Sparks connected on eight of 10 free throws down the stretch to seal the win. Lisa Leslie finished with 26 points and 11 rebounds while Chamique Holdsclaw added 18 for the Sparks. The Sting were led by Tammy Sutton-Brown with 15 points and 11 rebounds while Jia Perkins added 12 off the bench.

Team Leaders
Date Opp. Result Pts. Rebs. Asts.
7/13 @ PHX L, 62-82 Perkins-21 Perkins/Smith-5 Darling-5

The Mercury shot 58.2% from the field as they posted the 82-62 win over the Sting in Phoenix. After the Sting took an early 3-0 lead, the Mercury went on a 17-3 run over a 5:50 stretch to build an 11-point lead. The Mercury extended their lead to as many as 21 points in the second half, and the Sting had only three scorers on the board for much of the game. Anna DeForge paced the Mercury with 19 points while Penny Taylor and Diana Taurasi added 17 and 15 respectively. Jia Perkins tallied a career-high 21 points to earn scoring honors for Charlotte while Tangela Smith added 17.


Team Leaders
Date Opp. Result Pts. Rebs. Asts.
7/17 HOU L, 55-67 Sutton-Brown-14 Smith-10 Sam-4

After shooting 35.7% (10-28) in the first half, the Comets shot 68.0% (17-25) in the second half and used a 13-0 run to build an 11-point lead with 3:55 left in the game. Sheryl Swoopes scored 16 of the Comets' last 20 points and finished the game with 20 total points. The Comets committed just eight turnovers compared to 18 by Charlotte. Tammy Sutton-Brown paced the Sting with 14 points while Allison Feaster added 12.

STING NEWS AND NOTES

CALLING ALL CAMPERS

The Sting will host their annual Camp Day on Tuesday, July 19 as they take on the Connecticut Sun at 12 noon. All fans in attendance will receive pom pons courtesy of Dr. Larry Seitlin.

BREAST HEALTH AWARENESS NIGHT

For the ninth consecutive year, the Sting will host Breast Health Awareness Night on Saturday, July 23 as they face the Indiana Fever. A portion of all ticket sales from the game will be donated to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

The first 2,500 fans will receive Sting visors courtesy of Presbyterian Hospital while Mobile Health Outreach will be on hand offering free mammograms.

UPCOMING STING EVENTS

July 20 The Sting will host a Read To Achieve Reading Time-out at Ray's Splash Planet at 1 p.m. Assistant Coach Fred Chmiel will attend along with players Helen Darling and Jia Perkins.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Tuesday, July 19 - vs. Connecticut
12 noon - Charlotte Coliseum

The Sting face the defending Eastern Conference Champion Connecticut Sun for the first time this season. Connecticut is led by 2005 WNBA All-Stars Nykesha Sales and Taj McWilliams-Franklin. Sales averages 15.6 points per game, the sixth highest total in the league, while McWilliams-Franklin contributes 14.6 points and 7.1 rebounds per contest. Second-year standout Lindsay Whalen ranks third in the WNBA in assists averaging 5.3 per game.

Friday, July 22 - at Connecticut
7:30 p.m. - Mohegan Sun Arena

In the second half of a home and home series, the Sting travel to Connecticut to face the Sun. The Sun currently sit atop the league standings with a 14-4 record. Connecticut also boasts the top offense in the league posting 74.4 points per game. Last season, the two teams split the season series at two games each.

Saturday, July 23 - vs. Indiana
6:00 p.m. - Charlotte Coliseum

The Sting return home to host the Indiana Fever, the third match-up between the Eastern Conference foes this season. On May 22, Deanna Jackson scored 12 points to lead the Fever to a 68-58 win. On June 16, Indiana posted a narrow 60-57 win over the Sting at the Charlotte Coliseum. Tamika Catchings scored 12 points to lead the Fever while Allison Feaster posted 14 for Charlotte. Tamika Catchings leads the Fever in scoring (15.5 ppg), rebounding (7.4 rpg), assists (4.5 apg) and steals (2.88 spg).

HOT FROM THREE
The Sting currently rank first in the league in three-point field goal percentage shooting 38.8% (66-170) from behind the arc. The Sting have two players ranked among the top ten in the league in this category. Allison Feaster is ranked sixth shooting 44.3% (31-70) from three-point range while Dawn Staley is ranked eighth shooting 43.8% (14-32).

PERKINS OFF THE BENCH
Sting guard Jia Perkins has been a spark for the Sting off the bench in the last four games. In those contests, she is averaging 11.3 points on 51.4% (19-37) shooting. Perkins had one of the best performances of her young career in Phoenix on July 13 as she posted a career-high 21 points on 10-of-21 shooting along with a career-high five rebounds. This performance came after she posted a then career-high 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting on July 12 at Los Angeles.

STING HIT HALFWAY MARK
The Sting have just passed the halfway mark of the 2005 season and have 16 games remaining. Of those 16 games, 13 of them are against Eastern Conference opponents.

STING ON TV
The Sting at Washington game on August 2 will be broadcast on ESPN 2 at 8 p.m.

WJZY UPN-46 will also broadcast the Sting's season finale against the Connecticut Sun on Saturday, July 27 at 6 p.m.

KEY WNBA DATES
August 1 - Trading Deadline

OVER THE AIRWAVES
All 34 regular season games can be heard live on WNMX 106.1 FM. Veteran announcer Sam Smith calls all the action for the third consecutive season.

STING TICKETS
Fans can purchase tickets at the Charlotte Coliseum ticket office, any Ticketmaster location, by calling 1-877-WNBA-TIX or by logging onto www.charlottesting.com. All seats are located in the lower bowl and start as low as $10.

BOBCATS PLAYING IN ROCKY MOUNTAIN REVUE
The Charlotte Bobcats are currently in the midst of summer league action as they play in the Rocky Mountain Revue in Salt Lake City. To follow the Bobcats in summer league play, please log onto www.BobcatsBasketball.com.



Women's National Basketball Association Stories from July 18, 2005


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