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Stealth Slips past Spirit

February 15, 2004 - National Women's Basketball League (NWBL)
Houston Stealth News Release


The Houston Stealth slipped past the Springfield Spirit 85-80 in a back and forth basketball game Sunday afternoon at Rice University's Autry Court.

Five Stealth players scored in double figures. Houston forward Alicia Thompson scored 25 points (9 for 15 from the field) and pulled down 9 rebounds. Kelley Gibson, despite poor shooting from the field (5 for 20), scored 19 points thanks to knocking down 8 of her 19 free throw attempts. Octavia Blue, Kym Hope, and Tamicha Jackson each added 13 points.

Springfield's Stacy Clinesmith was on fire the entire game! Clinesmith shot 10 for 15 from the field, including 5 of 6 from the three-point line. She finished the game with 25 points. Rookie forward Isabel Stubbs scored 23 points and grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds while Andrea Garner, center, scored 18 points and pulled down 9 boards.

Houston led by ten (39 29) at halftime before Clinesmith led a 12-4 run by the Spirit to trim Houston's lead to 43-41 with 17:59 remaining in the second half. Over the next three 3 minutes, the Stealth responded with a 16 to 2 run to boost its lead to 59-43. Springfield answered with a 19-9 run to get as close as 4 at the 6:51 mark of the second half; but, once again the Stealth made key defensive stops and scored timely baskets to keep Springfield at bay.

Trailing 79-71 at the 2:39 mark, Springfield made one final push. Clinesmith scored 5 of her team's next 9 points to trim the Stealth's lead to 3 (83-80) with 11.7 seconds remaining; however, Kelley Gibson hit two clutch free throws to ice the game and give the Stealth the 85-80 victory.

Houston shot 43.8% (28 for 64) from the field while Springfield shot 46.5% (33 for 71). The Spirit beat the Stealth on the boards 42 to 35. Houston attempted 20 more free throws (31 to 11) than Springfield and connected on 24 of its attempts compared to just 8 for the Spirit.

Houston improves its record to 6-3 in the National Women's Basketball League while Springfield's record falls to 2-7.

The Stealth will face Sheryl Swoopes and the Dallas Fury this Wednesday, February 18, in Dallas on the University of Texas Dallas campus. The Stealth's next home game is Sunday, February 22, at 1 pm versus the Birmingham Power.

Individual game tickets are on sale on the Internet at http://www.nwbl.com/stealth/tickets or at the Rice ticket office an hour before the game. Tickets are $15 for reserved, priority seating, $12 for reserved seating, $8 for adult general admission and $5 for child general admission.

The NWBL is a six-team league that features 27 active WNBA players. The NWBL is in its fourth season with six teams expanding the United States: the Birmingham Power (Birmingham, AL), the Chicago Blaze (Chicago, IL), the Colorado Chill (Ft. Collins, CO), the Dallas Fury (Dallas, TX), the Houston Stealth (Houston, TX), and the Springfield Spirit (Springfield, MA). The season runs through March 23. A four-team, single-elimination playoff begins on April 1, 2004.

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National Women's Basketball League Stories from February 15, 2004


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.

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