Shock Duo Lead WNBA All-Star Balloting
June 21, 2007 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Detroit Shock News Release
NEW YORK, NY (June 21, 2007) - Following second returns of the 2007 WNBA All-Star Balloting Program Presented by AOL and T-Mobile, Detroit Shock teammates Kara Braxton and Cheryl Ford lead all players in votes. Indiana Fever forward Tamika Catchings follows closely behind, while Seattle Storm guard Sue Bird has received the fourth largest number of votes and leads all Western Conference players on the ballot.
In addition to the top four vote-getters, Becky Hammon, Tamika Whitmore, Lauren Jackson, Deanna Nolan, Diana Taurasi and Tammy Sutton-Brown round-out the list of top 10 fan favorites.
The WNBA All-Star Game will be hosted by the Washington Mystics at the Verizon Center on Sunday, July 15, and will be televised nationally on ABC at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Braxton currently leads all players with 94,275 votes. She has started all eight games for the Shock in 2007 and is averaging 5.5 points and 5.9 rebounds. Ford, her frontcourt teammate with the Shock, has collected 86,759 votes and is posting 14.0 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.6 steals while Catchings (80,350) is averaging 18.2 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.1 steals per game in 2007. Rounding out the Eastern Conference selections by position are Shock guards Deanna Nolan (59,448) and Katie Smith (51,899).
Bird, the top vote receiver for the Western Conference with 75,907 votes, is averaging 11.1 points, 4.9 assists and 2.0 steals. Her Storm teammates, forward Lauren Jackson (63,743) and center Janell Burse (45,720), are joined by San Antonio Silver Stars guard Becky Hammon (68,141) and Phoenix Mercury forward Diana Taurasi (53,362) to complete the lineup.
Starters for the WNBA All-Star Game will be determined by fan balloting which began on May 22 and runs through June 24 in WNBA arenas, online and through a variety of other outlets. Starting lineups for both the Western and Eastern Conferences will be announced on Tuesday, July 3. Reserve players will subsequently be selected by the League's Eastern and Western Conference head coaches and announced by the league on Tuesday, July 10.
WNBA players will be extremely visible around town during All-Star Weekend, participating in community outreach initiatives that will leave lasting and positive impressions in the Washington, D.C. area. Several projects will take place, including the Nike/WNBA Court Refurbishment and the opening of a Reading and Learning Center through the WNBA Cares Legacy Event in conjunction with Toyota. Also on July 15, select WNBA players will again compete against each other in the Dribble, Dish & Swish Skills Challenge as well as the Three-Point Shoot Out, both of which are sponsored by adidas and included in the price of admission to the All-Star Game.
Additionally, the second annual All-Star Salute: Celebrating Inspiration Luncheon will take place in the nation's capital that week, honoring women who inspire, motivate and help ignite the dreams and aspirations of women in all fields of endeavor. The event will be highlighted by the presentation of the WNBA Inspiration Award which will be given to an individual or group who on a daily basis demonstrates the ability to inspire others through their commitment, passion and dedication to work, family and community.
Tickets at all price points can be purchased through WNBA.com, via Ticketmaster.com, at select Macy*s Department Stores in the Washington, D.C. area, or by calling Ticketmaster at 1-202-397-SEAT. Tickets are also available for purchase at the Verizon Center Box Office.
By hosting the 2007 All-Star Game, Washington, which also hosted the game in 2002, will join New York as the only cities to stage multiple WNBA All-Star games. In addition to hosting the league's first All-Star event on July 14, 1999, New York's Madison Square Garden was the site of the All-Star Game in 2003 and again last year during the league's 10th anniversary season. The Western Conference dominated play with a perfect 6-0 record before MVP Katie Douglas led the Eastern Conference to a 98-82 victory in last year's WNBA All-Star Game.
Now in its second decade of play, the WNBA features comprehensive national television coverage. ESPN2 and ABC will combine to televise up to 36 games nationally during the 2007 regular season and playoffs. Highlighting ESPN2's 16 regular season telecasts will be the second straight year of "WNBA Tuesdays", which includes 5 doubleheaders and WNBA action on 11 of 14 Tuesday nights in-season. NBA TV will complement ABC and ESPN2's coverage by televising 70 regular season and up to nine playoff games.
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