Fury Tip Spirit to Close Preseason
Published on February 5, 2003 under National Women's Basketball League (NWBL) News Release
MARYVILLE, TN, Feb. 4, 2003 - A capacity crowd of 1807 fans came out to see what women's professional basketball is all about. What some were touting as an easy game for the Springfield Spirit turned out to be anything but. Things started off at a furious pace for the Fury with Keisha Brown drilling a three to get things started. And to get the team out to a quick 3-2 lead, Brown finished up the night perfect going 4-4 from the field along with going 2-2 from behind the arc.
Springfield however did not sit back and watch. Swin Cash went 5-6 from the field in the 1st half and dropped in 16 of her 20 points. The lead changed hands back and forth with Springfield eventually taking a 43-42 lead into the break. In the second half Springfield came out and took it to the Fury. They jumped out to a seven point lead at 55-48 behind Sue Bird who finished up with a team high 22 for Springfield. The Spirit looked as though they were ready to pull away.
Then it was the Fury's turn to answer. The Fury was lead by Tonya Washington who scored 25 and had 7 of those down the stretch in the final 8 minutes. Crowd favorite Semeka Randall led the team by dishing out 6 assists and also chipped in 10 points.
Down the Stretch there were 12 lead changes and it looked as though it would be anybody's game. The Fury would go up 80-73 on a jumper by Jerica Watson with 6 minutes remaining. With just under 2 minutes left Springfield would take the lead 87-86 on a jumper by Swin Cash. Tennessee would quickly answer with a Becky Hammon jumper. Hammon had 18 points along with 5 assists for the night.
After 2 free throws from Sue Bird to help Springfield go up by one with 1:32 remaining, Tonya Washington came down and nailed a huge three to make the score 91-89 with just over a minute left. It would be the last lead the Spirit would see on the night. With the game tied at 91, Becky Hammon buried a three to the delight of the crowd and all but seal the game. With the Fury leading 96-93 Sue Bird launched a desperation 3 pointer that was no good. Coach Rodney Minggia was extremely proud of his group.
"For a squad that had just been put together in the past week I'd say we did pretty good" Coach Minggia said. "I knew that if we did what we were capable of doing we were going to win the game. Springfield is a talented team, anytime you face up against players like Sue Bird and Swin Cash, you know you are in for a battle. We definitely are expecting quite a game when we travel up to Springfield."
This was the final exhibition game of the pre-season. The NWBL regular season begins in Springfield on Thursday Feb 6th, with a rematch of the Fury vs. the Spirit, at the Springfield Civic Center, the Spirit's Home court.
The NWBL is a Professional women's basketball league with franchises in Springfield, MA; Knoxville, TN; Chicago, IL; Birmingham, AL; Houston, TX and Grand Rapids, MI. The League boasts some of the best players in women' s basketball today, including, Sue Bird, Tamika Catchings, Swin Cash, Kara Wolters, Tina Thompson, Rebecca Lobo, and Becky Hammon.
For more information and Stats, please visit the NWBL web site at www.nwbl.com
National Women's Basketball League Stories from February 5, 2003
- A Fury-ious Finish ends with a Tennessee Victory over Spirit - Dallas Fury
- Fury Tip Spirit to Close Preseason - NWBL
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