Upcoming WNBA Storylines

Published on June 18, 2004 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) News Release

6/18 Charlotte (4-5, T4th in East) at Connecticut (4-6, 6th in East)

PRIOR MEETINGS Second of four meetings. June 3 at Connecticut Sun 71 – Sting 62 http://www.wnba.com/games/20040603/CHACON/boxscore.html http://www.wnba.com/games/20040603/CHACON/recap.html

The teams met in the first round of 2003 WNBA Playoffs with three-seed Connecticut upsetting second-seed Charlotte two games to none.

PLAYER TRENDS One of the best point guards in the history of women's basketball squares off against one of the best young point guards in the game in the form of Dawn Staley (Cha) and Lindsay Whalen (Ct). Staley has more assists in her professional US career than any player in history with 1,523 (606 in the ABL, 917 in the WNBA). This season, however Staley ranks just 14th in the league in assists per game (3.7) while the rookie, Whalen, is 10th (4.3).

The Charlotte Sting boast two of the three best field goal shooters in the league with Charlotte Smith-Taylor (.582) and Tammy Sutton-Brown (.563) who are ranked second and third respectively.

Three of the best three-point shooters in the league will also be on display tonight in the form of Charlotte's Nicole Powell (1st - .636), and Connecticut's Katie Douglas (6th - .488) and Lindsay Whalen (9th - .462).

Connecticut's Asjha Jones is one of two players in the WNBA who are still perfect from the charity stripe (among players with the minimum number of attempts to qualify). She is 11-for-11 on the season, and NY's Elena Baranova is 14-for-14.

TEAM TRENDS The Sting has won two in a row after ending a four-game slide. Over those two games, Charlotte has held opposing defenses to just 54.0 points per game.

The Sun are 1-4 over their last five games, allowing 73.8 points per game over that stretch, compared to 66.2 points during their 3-2 start to the season.

Charlotte is leading the WNBA in field goal percentage connecting on 46.2 percent of its attempts. The Sun are fifth in the league in that category hitting 43.0 percent of their shots.

The Connecticut Sun have played more games (seven) against Western Conference competition than any team in the East. The Liberty is next on that list with five games vs. the West. Five of Connecticut's previous six games have come on the road. The game against Charlotte begins a stretch of six of eight homes games for the Sun.

KEY STATISTICS Charlotte Offensive Efficiency – 96.3, 4th Defensive Efficiency – 98.3, 12th Scoring Differential – -2.0, 11th Pace – 62.9, 13th Reb Pct. – .468, 11th Off. Reb. Pct. – .277, 10th Def. Reb. Pct. – .659, 11th

Connecticut Offensive Efficiency – 95.4, 5th Defensive Efficiency – 96.4, 9th Scoring Differential – -0.8, 7th Pace – 72.5, 3rd Reb Pct. – .488, 9th Off. Reb. Pct. – .267, 11th Def. Reb. Pct. – .708, 4th 6/18 Seattle (6-2, 1st in West) at Houston (6-4, T2nd in West)

PRIOR MEETINGS First of four meetings.

PLAYER TRENDS MVPresent vs. MVPast as 2003 award-winner Lauren Jackson goes up against 2000 and 2002 trophy holder Sheryl Swoopes. Four Olympians will be in the arena in the first meeting of the season between the teams – Jackson, Swoopes, Tina Thompson (Hou) and Sue Bird (Sea).

Thompson and Swoopes are carrying the load for the Comets once again this season. The pair are ranked second (20.6) and tied for 10th (14.8) respectively in points per game, and second (37.3) and first (37.8) in minutes per game. Teammates have never finished first and second in that category in the seven-year history of the WNBA.

Not only is Sue Bird among the league leaders in three-point field goal percentage this year (second at 55.2), but the 5-9 point guard is also ranked fourth in the league in overall field goal percentage (.545).

Comets point guard Sheila Lambert is enjoying her best WNBA season averaging career-highs in scoring (4.6), assists (1.6), field goal percentage (63.6) and three-point field goal percentage (50.0).

Lauren Jackson is posting MVP-like numbers again averaging 18.8 points per game (3rd in the WNBA) and a career-best 42.4 percent from beyond the arc.

TEAM TRENDS The Comets have won three games in a row to pull to within a game of first-place Seattle. Houston has given up just 61.3 points per game during that three-game stretch.

Seattle has won four in a row, and leads the West by one game over the Comets and Sparks. During that span, the Storm are holding opponents to 58.3 points per game, and they are outscoring the opposition by 14.5 points per game.

For the second year in a row, the Seattle Storm boast the most efficient offense in the WNBA averaging 105.8 points per 100 possessions. In 2003 they paced the league with 103.9 points per 100 possessions.

Houston once again is among the best defensive teams in the WNBA, leading the league by allowing just 90.3 points per 100 possessions. They ranked second in the WNBA in 2003 (94.1), first in 2002 (88.4), third in 2001 (92.4), first in 2000 (91.0), first in 1999 (92.4), first in 1998 (88.3) and third in 1997 (90.5).

KEY STATISTICS Seattle Offensive Efficiency – 105.8, 1st Defensive Efficiency – 92.2, 3rd Scoring Differential – +9.5, 1st Pace – 73.0, 2nd Reb Pct. – .535, 3rd Off. Reb. Pct. – .367, 3rd Def. Reb. Pct. – .704, 5th

Houston Offensive Efficiency – 91.9, 10th Defensive Efficiency – 90.3, 1sth Scoring Differential – +0.9, 5th Pace – 69.2, 8th Reb Pct. – .471, 10th Off. Reb. Pct. – .249, 13th Def. Reb. Pct. – .693, 6th

6/18 Los Angeles (6-4, T2nd in West) at Phoenix (4-4, 4th in West)

PRIOR MEETINGS First of four meetings.

PLAYER TRENDS Phoenix's Diana Taurasi has been every bit as good as advertised this season, and ranks fifth in the WNBA in scoring (17.4) seventh in field goal percentage (48.5), eighth in three-point field goal percentage (46.3), tied for 12th in assists (4.0) 14th in blocked shots (1.00) and third in minutes played (35.5).

Sparks forward DeLisha Milton-Jones injured her knee while training with the US Senior National Team in the spring, but you can't tell from her performance to date. She is averaging 10.5 points and 5.3 rebounds while connecting on 40.9 percent of her three-pointers on the year.

Mercury guard Anna DeForge is proving her 2003 season was no fluke ranking sixth in the WNBA in assists (4.4) and 12th in three-point field goal percentage (43.3) while averaging 11.5 points per game.

Laura Macci moved into the starting lineup three games ago and is averaging 10.0 points per game while hitting 50.0 percent of her field goals over that time.

Sparks point guard Nikki Teasley is threatening to unseat Sacramento point guard Ticha Penicheiro's stranglehold on the top spot on the league's assist-per game charts. Penicheiro has led the league in assists per game in each of her six seasons in the WNBA, but Teasley leads the league in 2004 at 6.1 per game.

TEAM TRENDS Los Angeles has won three games in a row after and five of its last seven games. The Sparks allowed an average of 84.7 points per game in its first three games, but just 67.1 points per game over the next seven.

Phoenix did not win its fourth game of 2003 until the 22nd game of the season. Win number five came in game number 24.

Los Angeles is the second best three-point shooting team in the WNBA, hitting 41.4 percent of its attempts from beyond the arc, and the best defensive rebounding team in the league, grabbing 72.6 percent of all defensive rebounds.

The Mercury is second in the WNBA in field goal percentage (44.9) and first in three-point field goal percentage (42.3). They also rank last in opponents field goal percentage permitting the opposition to connect at a 45.9 percent clip.

KEY STATISTICS Los Angeles Offensive Efficiency – 94.2, 8th Defensive Efficiency – 95.0, 8th Scoring Differential – -0.4, 6th Pace – 76.4, 1st Reb Pct. – .503, 8th Off. Reb. Pct. – .280, 9th Def. Reb. Pct. – .726, 1st

Phoenix Offensive Efficiency – 98.0, 3rd Defensive Efficiency – 99.4, 13th Scoring Differential – -1.0, 9th Pace – 67.3, 10th Reb Pct. – .456, 12th Off. Reb. Pct. – .281, 8th Def. Reb. Pct. – .630, 13th

6/19 Detroit (5-3, T1st in East) at Sacramento (3-6, 6th in West)

PRIOR MEETING First of two meetings

PLAYER TRENDS Two of the top rebounders in the game take the court in Cheryl Ford (Det) and Yolanda Griffith (Sac). Ford leads the WNBA in rebounds per game at 11.5, and Griffith is fourth with 8.4. Griffith. The pair also ranks first (Ford – 10.7) and second (Griffith – 9.7) all-time in rebounds per game. Ford and Griffith's efforts have also helped lead the teams to the top of the team rebound rankings – Detroit is ranked first in overall rebound percentage and in offensive rebound percentage, while Sacramento is fourth in overall rebound percentage and second in offensive rebound percentage.

Ticha Penicheiro is the WNBA's career leader in assists per game, but she's tied for second in assists in 2004 with 4.8 per game. She also came off the bench for just the second time in her career in a 63-50 loss to Indiana on Wednesday. The 7th year point guard passed LA's Teresa Weatherspoon as the league's career assist leader against Minnesota Thursday evening and now has 1,317 in her career.

Detroit's Elaine Powell ranks second in the WNBA in assists per game this season, averaging a career-high 4.8 per game.

TEAM TRENDS The Detroit Shock has won four straight games after a 1-3 start to the season. The Shock have turned things around on the offensive end of the floor averaging 75.8 points per game during its recent winning streak after scoring just 62 points per game in its first four games.

The Monarchs lost three straight games before righting the ship against Minnesota, and have the WNBA's worst home record at 1-3.

Both teams have struggled defending the perimeter this season as the Shock are allowing opponents to make 40.2 percent of its three-pointers (13th in the WNBA) and Monarchs opponents are connecting on 38.6 percent of their threes (11th).

Both teams have also attacked the offensive glass this year as they are ranked first (Sacramento) and second (Detroit) in offensive rebound percentage.

Sacramento boasted the most efficient defense in the WNBA last season allowing just 92.4 points per 100 possessions, but has slipped to seventh season at 93.9. They are still forcing teams to turn the ball over, however, as opponents are averaging a league high 18.9 turnovers per game.

KEY STATISTICS Detroit Offensive Efficiency – 95.3, 6th Defensive Efficiency – 92.7, 4th Scoring Differential – +2.4, 2nd Pace – 72.3, 4th Reb Pct. – .541, 1st Off. Reb. Pct. – .395, 2nd Def. Reb. Pct. – .688, 6th

Sacramento Offensive Efficiency – 91.3, 11th Defensive Efficiency – 93.9, 9th Scoring Differential – -1.3, 10th Pace – 69.3, 7th Reb Pct. – .530, 4th Off. Reb. Pct. – .395, 1st Def. Reb. Pct. – .665, 9th

6/19 New York (6-4, T1st in East) at Indiana (5-4, 3rd in East)

PRIOR MEETING Third of four meetings May 21 at Indiana Fever 69 – Liberty 67 http://www.wnba.com/games/20040521/NYLIND/boxscore.html http://www.wnba.com/games/20040521/NYLIND/recap.html

June 11 at New York Fever 72 – Liberty 68 http://www.wnba.com/games/20040611/INDNYL/boxscore.html http://www.wnba.com/games/20040611/INDNYL/recap.html

PLAYER TRENDS Two unheralded rookies are making names for themselves with the New York Liberty. DeTrina White is second among rookies, and second on the Liberty, in rebounds per game with 5.8, and Shameka Christon's 6.3 points per game rank fifth among rookies.

Indiana needed a third-scoring option this year, and Kelly Miller, acquired in a trade from the Charlotte Sting in the offseason, had filled the role nicely averaging a career-high 12.4 points per game.

New York's Elena Baranova is enjoying her second season for the Liberty. She is leading New York regulars in rebounding, field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentage, free throw percentage and blocked shots.

TEAM TRENDS New York has dropped three straight games after beginning the season 6-1. Two of those losses have come to the Fever. After allowing 59.9 points per game in their first seven games, the Liberty have given up 73.3 points per game over their last three.

Indiana has not been more than one game above or below the .500 level all season.

The Fever rank first in the WNBA in rebound percentage (54.0), while the Liberty rank last. New York ranked last in the league in that category in 2003 as well.

KEY STATISTICS New York Offensive Efficiency – 94.5, 7th Defensive Efficiency – 93.6, 5th Scoring Differential – +1.4, 4th Pace – 69.1, 9th Reb Pct. – .446, 13th Off. Reb. Pct. – .258, 12th Def. Reb. Pct. – .634, 12th

Indiana Offensive Efficiency – 92.4, 9th Defensive Efficiency – 96.9, 9th Scoring Differential – +2.2, 3rd Pace – 67.0, 12th Reb Pct. – .540, 2nd Off. Reb. Pct. – .360, 4th Def. Reb. Pct. – .720, 2nd

6/19 Seattle (6-2, 1st in West) at San Antonio (3-8, 7th in West)

PRIOR MEETING First of three meetings

PLAYER TRENDS Two off-season additions to the Storm roster have made major contributions to the team in 2004 – Sheri Sam and Betty Lennox. Lennox is second on the team in scoring and rebounding averaging 13.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Sam is fourth on the team in scoring (11.4) and third in rebounding (5.8), and the pair respectively ranks first (1.75) and second (1.63) on the team in steals.

San Antonio's Marie Ferdinand is putting up All-Star numbers again ranking 14th in the league in scoring (13.5), third in steals (2.18) and ninth in minutes (33.3).

Not only is Seattle point guard Sue Bird among the league leaders in three-point field goal percentage this year (second at 55.2), but the 5-9 UConn grad is also ranked fourth in the league in overall field goal percentage (.545).

The WNBA's all-time leader in blocked shots, Margo Dydek, is struggling in 2004. The 7-2 Dydek is averaging 5.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.09 blocked shots per game while hitting 41.1 percent of her field goal attempts.

The Storm's Lauren Jackson is posting MVP-like numbers again averaging 18.8 points per game (3rd in the WNBA) and a career-best 42.4 percent from beyond the arc.

Silver Stars and Olympic point guard Shannon Johnson has struggled in her first season in San Antonio as well averaging career-lows in scoring (8.2), rebounding (2.8), field goal percentage (32.6) and three-point field goal percentage (23.5)

TEAM TRENDS Seattle has won four straight games including a 24-point win over the top team in the East, the New York Liberty. During that streak, the Storm held opponents to 58.3 points per game, and outscored the opposition by 14.5 points per game.

San Antonio has lost seven games in a row after beginning the year with three wins in its first four games. After scoring 63.0 points and allowing 58.8 points per game in the team's first four games, the Silver Stars have averaged 56.3 points and allowed 65.6 points per game during its seven-game slide.

For the second year in a row, the Seattle Storm boasts the most efficient offense in the WNBA averaging 105.8 points per 100 possessions. In 2003 they paced the league with 103.9 points per 100 possessions.

The Silver Stars are connecting on just 37.9 percent of their field goal attempts and averaging 58.7 points per game. Both figures are close to the league records for futility in each category – 36.5 percent shooting by the 2000 Miami Sol, and 56.9 points per game by the 2000 Seattle Storm

KEY STATISTICS Seattle Offensive Efficiency – 105.8, 1st Defensive Efficiency – 92.2, 3rd Scoring Differential – +9.5, 1st Pace – 73.0, 2nd Reb Pct. – .535, 3rd Off. Reb. Pct. – .367, 3rd Def. Reb. Pct. – .704, 5th

San Antonio Offensive Efficiency – 87.4, 13th Defensive Efficiency – 93.8, 6th Scoring Differential – -4.4, 13th Pace – 67.2, 11th Reb Pct. – .505, 5th Off. Reb. Pct. – .336, 5th Def. Reb. Pct. – .675, 7th

6/19 Houston (6-4, T2nd in West) at Minnesota (4-5, 5th in West)

PRIOR MEETING First of four meetings

PLAYER TRENDS Thompson and Swoopes are carrying the load for the Comets once again this season. The pair are ranked second (20.6) and tied for 10th (14.8) respectively in points per game, and second (37.3) and first (37.8) in minutes per game. Teammates have never finished first and second in that category in the seven-year history of the WNBA.

Minnesota's Nicole Ohlde is staking a claim to the title of best rookie not named Diana Taurasi. She ranks second among WNBA rookies in scoring (11.4), first in rebounding (6.7) and first in blocked shots (1.33).

Comets point guard Sheila Lambert is enjoying her best WNBA season averaging career-highs in scoring (4.6), assists (1.6), field goal percentage (63.6) and three-point field goal percentage (50.0).

The Lynx Tamika Williams is attempting to become just the second player in WNBA history to lead the league in field goal percentage in back-to-back seasons. Williams paced the WNBA a year ago hitting 66.8 percent of her shots, and is at the top of the leader-board again in 2004 connecting on 62.8 percent of her shots. Murriel Page was the first player to accomplish the feat in 1999 and 2000.

TEAM TRENDS The Comets have won three games in a row to pull to within a game of first-place Seattle. Houston has given up just 61.3 points per game during that three-game stretch.

The Lynx perimeter defense is leading the WNBA in opponents three-point field goal percentage permitting the opposition to connect on just 29.8 percent of their long-range attempts. Minnesota opponents are also hitting a league-low 69.4 percent of their free throw attempts.

Houston once again is among the best defensive teams in the WNBA, leading the league by allowing just 90.3 points per 100 possessions. They ranked second in the WNBA in 2003 (94.1), first in 2002 (88.4), third in 2001 (92.4), first in 2000 (91.0), first in 1999 (92.4), first in 1998 (88.3) and third in 1997 (90.5).

Minnesota's struggles on offense are due largely to their inability to take care of the basketball – the Lynx are averaging a league-high 18.6 turnovers per game which is 2.8 turnovers more than their closest competition.

KEY STATISTICS Houston Offensive Efficiency – 91.9, 10th Defensive Efficiency – 90.3, 1st Scoring Differential – +0.9, 5th Pace – 69.2, 8th Reb Pct. – .471, 10th Off. Reb. Pct. – .249, 13th Def. Reb. Pct. – .693, 6th

Minnesota Offensive Efficiency – 89.2, 12th Defensive Efficiency – 90.8, 2nd Scoring Differential – -0.9, 8th Pace – 71.1, 6th Reb Pct. – .502, 7th Off. Reb. Pct. – .336, 6th Def. Reb. Pct. – .669, 8th

6/20 Los Angeles (6-4, T2nd in West) at Charlotte (4-5, T4th in East)

PRIOR MEETING Second of two meetings

June 8 at Los Angeles Sparks 82 – Sting 68 http://www.wnba.com/games/20040609/CHALAS/boxscore.html http://www.wnba.com/games/20040609/CHALAS/recap.html

PLAYER TRENDS One of the best point guards in the history of women's basketball squares off against one of the best young point guards in the game in the form of Dawn Staley (Cha) and Nikki Teasley (LA). Staley has more assists in her professional US career than any player in history with 1,523 (606 in the ABL, 917 in the WNBA). This season, however Staley ranks just 14th in the league in assists per game (3.7) while Teasley leads the WNBA with 61.

Sparks forward DeLisha Milton-Jones injured her knee while training with the US Senior National Team in the spring, but you can't tell from her performance to date. She is averaging 10.5 points and 5.3 rebounds while connecting on 40.9 percent of her three-pointers on the year.

The Charlotte Sting boast two of the three best field goal shooters in the league with Charlotte Smith-Taylor (.582) and Tammy Sutton-Brown (.563) who are ranked second and third respectively.

Laura Macci moved into the starting lineup three games ago and is averaging 10.0 points per game while hitting 50.0 percent of her field goals over that time.

TEAM TRENDS Los Angeles has won three games in a row after and five of its last seven games. The Sparks allowed an average of 84.7 points per game in its first three games, but just 67.1 points per game over the next seven.

The Sting has won two in a row after ending a four-game slide. Over those two games, Charlotte has held opposing defenses to just 54.0 points per game.

Charlotte is leading the WNBA in field goal percentage connecting on 46.2 percent of its attempts.

Los Angeles is the second best three-point shooting team in the WNBA, hitting 41.4 percent of its attempts from beyond the arc, and the best defensive rebounding team in the league, grabbing 72.6 percent of all defensive rebounds.

KEY STATISTICS Los Angeles Offensive Efficiency – 94.2, 8th Defensive Efficiency – 95.0, 7th Scoring Differential – -0.4, 6th Pace – 76.4, 1st Reb Pct. – .503, 8th Off. Reb. Pct. – .280, 9th Def. Reb. Pct. – .726, 1st

Charlotte Offensive Efficiency – 96.3, 4th Defensive Efficiency – 98.3, 12th Scoring Differential – -2.0, 11th Pace – 62.9, 13th Reb Pct. – .468, 11th Off. Reb. Pct. – .277, 10th Def. Reb. Pct. – .659, 11th

6/20 Washington (4-5, 4th in East) at Connecticut (4-6, 6th in East)

PRIOR MEETINGS Second of four meetings.

June 4 at Washington Sun 72 – Mystics 63 http://www.wnba.com/games/20040604/CONWAS/boxscore.html http://www.wnba.com/games/20040604/CONWAS/recap.html

PLAYER TRENDS Washington's Chamique Holdsclaw is trying to become just the third player in WNBA history to score 20 or more points in back-to-back seasons. Cynthia Cooper accomplished the feat in 1997-99 and Katie Smith duplicated the feat in 2000-01.

Two of the top rookies in the league play one another as Lindsay Whalen (Ct) and Alana Beard (Wash) square off. Whalen leads all rookies in assists per game (4.3) and is tied for third ins coring (8.1). Beard is tied for third with Whalen among WNBA rookies in scoring (8.1), fourth in rebounding (3.7) and third in assists (2.3).

Three of the best three-point shooters in the league will also be on display tonight in the form of Washington's Kiesha Brown (3rd - .533), and Connecticut's Katie Douglas (6th - .488) and Lindsay Whalen (9th - .462).

Connecticut's Asjha Jones is one of two players in the WNBA who are still perfect from the charity stripe (among players with the minimum number of attempts to qualify). She is 11-for-11 on the season, and NY's Elena Baranova is 14-for-14.

TEAM TRENDS The Sun are 1-4 over their last five games, allowing 73.8 points per game over that stretch, compared to 66.2 points during their 3-2 start to the season.

Women's National Basketball Association Stories from June 18, 2004

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• American Idol finalist to sing anthem tonight - Phoenix Mercury

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