Comets pulls out victory

June 26, 2008 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Houston Comets News Release


LEADERS

1 2 3 4 Final Points Rebounds Assists

Comets 19 17 21 20 77 Sancho Lyttle: 23 Michelle Snow: 16 Lyttle: 4

Shannon Johnson: 4

Silver Stars 25 18 14 14 71 Sophia Young: 19 Vickie Johnson: 5 Becky Hammon: 6

Becky Hammon: 5

STARTERS

Comets Silver Stars

99 Hamchétou Maïga-Ba F 33 Sophia Young

7 Tina Thompson F 7 Erin Buescher

2 Michelle Snow C 12 Ann Wauters

41 Shannon Johnson G 25 Becky Hammon

4 Mwadi Mabika G 55 Vickie Johnson

Officials: Eric Brewton, Sue Blauch, Angelica Suffren

Attendance: 5,983

NOTES:

- Sancho Lyttle set a career high in points with 23 total, including a career high 10 field goals, and also pulled 10 boards.

- Michelle Snow led the team in rebounds with 16 boards and 17 points for her third double-double this season.

- The Comets shot a season high of .556 (30-of-54) in field goal shooting and outrbebounded the Silver Stars 31-20.

- Houston Comets forward Tina Thompson and other Olympians will toss out the first pitch at the Boston Red Sox vs. Houston Astros game tomorrow at Minute Maid Park.

GAME RECAP

HOUSTON--(AP) Sancho Lyttle scored a career-high 23 points to lead the Houston Comets to a 77-71 win over San Antonio on Thursday night, their second victory over the Silver Stars in three days. Lyttle, starting in place of injured forward Tina Thompson, helped Houston rally from a 10-point second-half deficit. Thompson, the Comets' leading scorer and rebounder, hit the game-winner against San Antonio two days earlier despite playing with a broken ring finger. The Comets led 65-64 when Lyttle came up with a steal and a layup for a 67-64 lead with 4:09 left. That sparked a 7-1 Houston run that opened up a 72-65 lead with 2:57 left. San Antonio could get no closer than three points the remainder of the way. Center Michelle Snow added 17 points and 16 rebounds for the Comets, and guard Shannon Johnson also contributed 17 points. Sophia Young led the Silver Stars with 19 points. The Comets jumped out to a 12-0 lead 3:05 into the game behind six points from Lyttle but San Antonio led 43-36 at halftime. The Silver Stars responded to the 12-0 start with 15 unanswered points, including seven by guard Vickie Johnson, to take their first lead. The Silver Stars' biggest advantage in the opening half came at 32-21 on an Erin Buescher 3-pointer with 8:20 remaining. Houston, though, went on an 11-0 run, capped by two Shannon Johnson jumpers to tie the game at 32. San Antonio closed out the first half with an 11-4 flurry. The Silver Stars led by as much as 52-42 in the second half before the Comets began chipping away at the lead.

Comets' Next Games:

June 28 at 7:30 p.m. CDT vs. Indiana Fever (Reliant Arena)

July 1 at 6:00 p.m. CDT at Connecticut Sun (Mohegan Sun Arena)

July 3 at 6:00 p.m. CDT at Atlanta Dream (Philips Arena)

Houston Comets Head Coach Karleen Thompson

On forward Sancho Lyttle's Performance

"You know, I called Sancho this morning and told her she would start instead of Tina. Whenever she's called up on, she's always ready. She gave a great performance tonight."

On Sweeping the Series

"It feels great! We played hard. San Antonio is a good team and Sancho just really showed up for us tonight."

Houston Comets forward Sancho Lyttle

On Setting a Career-High in Points

"When Coach Karleen Thompson told me this morning that I was going start I knew that I had to go in the game and play as hard as I could play. I am backing up somebody who is very, very good! I had to put all my effort just to match her intensity and then I guess the game was just smooth sailing from there. "

Houston Comets Michelle Snow

On the Play of Sancho Lyttle

"Sancho was a beast! She went in the game and went to work. She posted hard and wide. She was an easy target and she just turned around and took the shot. She got the easy jumpers and lay-ups, and she crashed the boards. She also played hard on defense. It was an all around magnificent game!"

On the Team's Efforts

"I think our team came out and we played hard for forty minutes as a team. Everybody brought something to the table. Pee Wee [Shannon Johnson] was great defensively, our substitutes were great, and we rebounded the ball. We played great defense and we talked. We played for forty minutes which is what we have been saying all season. We needed to play for forty minutes as a team."

Houston Comets guard Shannon Johnson

On the Team's Efforts

"I think we just played well together tonight. It was important for us to play well because we did not have Tina tonight. We just tried to do different things. Sancho Lyttle and Michelle Snow stepped up well and played hard for us tonight. Our bench came in and played well for us."

Silver Stars Head Coach Dan Hughes

On the Momentum of the Game

"They had a lot of runs. I think what they got done in the paint was great, they consistently scored in the paint."

On Houston Comets center Michelle Snow

"I'm not sure we ever stopped her. They executed pretty well, finished in the paint, and she did a great job on the glass. We didn't stop her."

San Antonio Silver Stars forward Erin Buescher

On Comets' Rebounding

"Houston came out really tough tonight, they were outrebounding us on almost every single play, they really out played us in the arena and it cost us the game."

On the Losing the Series

"We have Ruth out, one of our biggest players, and it's been a tough series. We've lost twice now and the competitor in me wanted to win. We had a slow start, but Houston outplayed us and they deserve to win."

San Antonio Silver Stars forward Sophia Young

On Moving Past This Game

"We have another game in two days. We really can't dwell on things like this. We definitely have to move forward and put this behind us. We have to get it done and move past this."



Women's National Basketball Association Stories from June 26, 2008


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