Silver Stars Guard Becky Hammon Earns Fifth Trip to All-Star Game

Published on July 14, 2009 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
San Antonio Stars News Release


SAN ANTONIO - The starting lineups for the 2009 WNBA All-Star Game as selected by fans have been announced today with Silver Stars guard Becky Hammon earning her fifth trip to the mid-season classic after finishing with the second-highest vote total behind Indiana's Tamika Catchings.

Hammon, who is one of only three players (Dawn Staley and Swin Cash) to earn a starting nod for both the Eastern and Western Conference squads in her career, earned 88,991 fan votes behind Catchings' 94,316 votes. Lauren Jackson (88,685) and Sue Bird (88,591) followed closely behind Hammon.

Through the 2009 WNBA All-Star Balloting Program presented by T-Mobile, fans were responsible for voting in the starters for the WNBA All-Star Game, which will be played at Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday, July 25. The game will be nationally televised on ABC beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET. It will mark the second time that the midseason classic is played at Mohegan Sun Arena, which also hosted the WNBA All-Star festivities in 2005.

Joining Catchings in the Eastern Conference starting lineup are Chicago Sky forward Candice Dupree, Sky center Sylvia Fowles, Washington Mystics guard Alana Beard and Fever guard Katie Douglas. It marks the first time that Douglas, Dupree, Fowles and Beard have been voted as starters by the fans. Douglas, a three-time All-Star and the 2006 All-Star MVP, and Beard, a four-time All-Star, were both inserted into the starting lineup in 2006 due to injuries. Fowles is a first-time All-Star while Dupree makes her third appearance.

Familiar names in WNBA All-Star history make up the Western Conference starting lineup as Hammon, Jackson and Bird are joined by Storm forward Swin Cash and Los Angeles Sparks center Lisa Leslie. Leslie, a three time All-Star MVP, now leads all players in WNBA history with eight All-Star appearances. Jackson is a seven-time All-Star, Bird makes her sixth appearance and Cash is named for the third time.

Following are the starting lineups for the 2009 WNBA All-Star Game:

Eastern Conference Starters: Western Conference Starters:

Katie Douglas, Guard (Indiana Fever) Sue Bird, Guard (Seattle Storm)

Alana Beard, Guard (Washington Mystics) Becky Hammon, Guard (San Antonio Silver Stars)

Sylvia Fowles, Center (Chicago Sky) Lisa Leslie, Center (Los Angeles Sparks)

Candice Dupree, Forward (Chicago Sky) Swin Cash, Forward (Seattle Storm)

Tamika Catchings, Forward (Indiana Fever) Lauren Jackson, Forward (Seattle Storm)

The 13 WNBA head coaches will select the reserves by voting for six players within their conference, including two guards, two forwards, one center and one player regardless of position. Coaches are not permitted to vote for players on their team.

Silver Stars forward Sophia Young, a two-time all-star reserve, just missed earning her first starting nod, falling behind forwards Jackson and Cash, while Ruth Riley finished second among centers behind Leslie. As previously announced, San Antonio Head Coach Dan Hughes will coach the West by virtue of winning the 2008 Western Conference title. The East will be led by Indiana Head Coach Lin Dunn, who was named the coach after the Fever clinched the best winning percentage in the Eastern Conference for games through July 15. This method was used because Bill Laimbeer, head coach of the 2008 Eastern Conference champion Detroit Shock, stepped down from his post in early June.

A limited number of tickets for the 2009 WNBA All-Star Game are still available by going online to ticketmaster.com.

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