Power outage gives Spider first win
February 13, 2005 - National Women's Basketball League (NWBL)
San Jose Spiders News Release
SAN JOSE CA, February 12, 2005- Another hard fought game between the SAN JOSE SPIDERS and BIRMINGHAM POWER ended in a SPIDER victory. The tension built throughout the first half as a tenacious SPIDERS' defense continually frustrated the second place POWER. Both teams have now played three physical games against each other this season and a rivalry is surely forming between the two clubs. The SPIDERS took this match up 71-60.
The SPIDERS pre-game began with a brief prayer session were players from both teams participated. But, there was nothing religious about the play on the court as both teams got chippy with each other from the get go.
Natalie Nakase was once again the defensive catalyst for the team as she has taken professional pleasure in harassing the POWER backcourt duo of Kim Ortega and Sara Nord. The two guards were held to a combined 16 points and 4 assists for the game, many of which came on desperation three point shots as the game was no longer in question.
Erica Glover led the offensive charge for the SPIDERS as she had 8 points to lead the team at the half. Her heads up play in transition led to numerous easy baskets for the home team and had the visitors scrambling to recover defensively. There was a brief scare when Glover collapsed at half-court after an attempted steal sent her to the ground, but she would return to lead the team in the second half.
For all that Glover meant to the first half, the second half belonged to forward Amisha Carter. The super-sub has played effective minutes when available this season as a backup to starters Tera Bjorklund and Andrea Garner. With Garner in street clothes due to a mild knee sprain it was up to Carter to fill the void on both sides of the court, she did not disappoint.
Carter led the SPIDERS with a game high 18 points and 7 rebounds and was instrumental in drawing the defensive attention of the POWER defenders away from her teammates, thus creating open looks and clean lanes for the other SPIDERS players to bite the Birmingham defense.
An elated SPIDERS' bench exploded as the crowd counted down the final seconds of regulation. Hugs and handshakes were in abundance as players and coaching staff alike look to use this win as momentum for the upcoming road trip.
The team has still not been able to put it's four best players on the court at one time as injuries have been one of the most sobering factors contributing to the teams early season struggles. Coach Tracy Carpenter acknowledged this point after the victory saying: "having 3 out of 4 tonight certainly helped us. Carter was tremendous. With her, Amanda [Lassiter], Tera, and Andrea [Garner], I mean we really haven't seen those four play together yet." When asked how it felt to get the team's first victory Carpenter smiled and said, "winning is great." SAN JOSE will look to do more great things in the weeks ahead.
The SPIDERS will be on the road for three games this week starting in Colorado to face the first place CHILL. Two more stops at LUBBOCK and DALLAS will follow before the SPIDERS return home for another match up with the CHILL February 19th, game time 7:00 pm.
For more information on the Spiders or to purchase season tickets please visit our website at www.nwbl.com.
The SAN JOSE SPIDERS is an expansion team of the WNBL, a professional women's basketball league that plays its season in the spring from January to April each year and features some of America's best professional women athletes.
The WNBL is a six-team league that features more than 25 active WNBA players. Other teams in the league include the Birmingham Power (Birmingham, Ala.); Dallas Fury (Dallas, Texas); Chicago Blaze (Naperville, Ill.); Lubbock Hawks (Lubbock, Texas); and San Jose Spiders (San Jose, Calif.).
National Women's Basketball League Stories from February 13, 2005
- Power outage gives Spider first win - San Jose Spiders
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