Fury must play on without Washington
February 20, 2003 - National Women's Basketball League (NWBL)
Dallas Fury News Release
The good news is the Tennessee Fury got their first win of the season. The bad news however is that they now must do without one of their top scorers Tonya Washington for at least the next week, or possibly two.
Washington, who went down late in the second half of the Fury's 76-73 win over the Chicago Blaze, was diagnosed with a bad ankle sprain but with no bones broken and no apparent ligament damage she should be back in the lineup after some rehabilitation.
Coach Minggia had this to say about Tonya's injury, "I talked to Tonya and she knows her body better then anyone and she seems to think she could be back in a weeks time. It all depends on how well her body heals and how quickly she can get her range of motion back."
Now the dilemma for Coach Minggia is how do you replace a person in your lineup that is averaging almost 20 points a game?
"Everyone is going to need to step up while Tonya is out. We have a big hole to fill. Marie had a great game against Chicago and I expect her to continue to play like she did, but if we have to do it by committee that's what we'll do until she gets' back."
There is also the option of bringing in someone to help fill the void.
"We will look around and see if we can bring in someone to help out," said Rodney "but we'll just have to wait and see."
Up next for the Fury is the Houston Stealth on Sunday at 5 p.m. at Maryville College. Fury fans will get a look at Sheryl Swoopes, who in the one game she's played, this season dropped 28 points against the Birmingham Power.
"Sheryl is not the only one that can hurt you. Tamicha Jackson is probably one of the toughest players to defend in the game. She has a lot of quickness and will definitely pose some problems for us" said coach Minggia.
Fury Notes: Tickets for Sunday's game can be purchased at TICKETS UNLIMITED.
You can go online at www.knoxvilletickets.com or you can purchase by calling 865.656.4444.
On Monday Feb 24th 4 Fury players will be at Eagleton Middle School in Maryville TN putting on an assembly in front of the entire school from 2-3 p.m. All media is welcome to attend and cover the event. If you have any questions please call 865.386.8780.
• Discuss this story on the National Women's Basketball League message board...
National Women's Basketball League Stories from February 20, 2003
- Fury must play on without Washington - Dallas Fury
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
