
Fury gets a win but loses Washington
February 19, 2003 - National Women's Basketball League (NWBL)
Dallas Fury News Release
It took four chances but the Tennessee Fury finally chalked one up in the win column with a 76-73 win over the Chicago Blaze. However the loss did come at a rather steep price. It appears as if the Fury has lost their leading scorer Tonya Washington indefinitely due to what looks to be a bad ankle sprain. Washington went down late in the second half with the injury and didn't return.
Early on in the game it looked as though the Fury was in for another long night. The Blaze jumped all over them in the first half. They led by as many as nine at one point but the Fury put together a 10-1 run and only trailed by 3 at the half 38-35.
In the second half the Fury came out ready to play. In the first 10 minutes of the half they outscored the Blaze 31-12 to open up a 63-50 lead, their biggest lead of the game.
The Blaze wouldn't get any closer then 3 points after that. Dominique Canty led the Blaze with 21 points and 12 boards but it wouldn't be enough. Becky Hammon led the way for the Fury with 21 points.
"I think we were successful in the second half because we were able to get into our transition offense," said Hammon. "We did a good job of hitting the boards which allowed us to get into that transition game."
Coach Rodney Minggia thought that his team really got after it in the second half, which was key to his team holding on for the victory. "At halftime I told them that we need to box out, and I thought we did a great job of that in the second half."
"It's great to get the first win but we can't celebrate for long. Important thing now is that we know we can win and we have confidence." From here the Fury has a couple of days off before Sheryl Swoopes and the Houston Stealth come to town on Sunday.
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National Women's Basketball League Stories from February 19, 2003
- Fury gets a win but loses Washington - Dallas Fury
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