WNBA Storylines

July 3, 2004 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) News Release

7/3 – Phoenix (8-7, 3rd in West) at Indiana (8-7, 2nd in East) – 8 p.m. ET

PRIOR MEETINGS First of two meetings.

PLAYER TRENDS The Dispersal Draft was kind to Phoenix as they picked Penny Taylor who is averaging 13.1 points per game, hitting 48.2 percent of her field goal attempts and 43.2 percent of her three pointers.

The Indiana Fever's Tamika Catchings offensive numbers have slipped slightly when compared to last season. Her scoring average is down 2.0 points per game (19.7 to 17.7) and her rebound average is down 1.4 per game. Her field goal percentage (43.2 to 40.0) and three-point field goal percentage (38.7 to 33.7) have dropped off as well.

Phoenix's Diana Taurasi has been every bit as good as advertised this season, and ranks fourth in the WNBA in scoring (18.5), 12th in three-point field goal percentage (39.6), eighth in assists (3.9), and third in minutes played (36.2).

Indiana needed a third-scoring option this year, and Kelly Miller, acquired in a trade from Charlotte in the offseason, has filled the role averaging a career-high 10.7 points per game while hitting 38.3 percent of her three-point field goals.

None of the Fever's starters is shooting better than 40.0 percent from the field – Tamika Catchings (40.0), Natalie Williams (39.7), Ebony Hoffman (33.3), Kelly Miller (37.2) and Deanna Jackson (33.6).

Mercury guard Anna DeForge is proving her 2003 season was no fluke ranking 12th in the WNBA in assists (3.5) and second in three-point field goal percentage (47.1) while averaging 13.9 points per game.

TEAM TRENDS The Mercury have the second most efficient offense in the league this season averaging 100.0 points per 100 possessions while the Fever rank third in the league at 98.5.

In last Saturday's 46-37 loss to Charlotte, the Fever hit just 18.8 percent of their shots – the second lowest field goal percentage in one game in WNBA history. Their 37 points were the fourth fewest in a game in league history.

The Fever rank first in the WNBA in rebound percentage (53.6), second in offensive rebound percentage (37.0) and fifth in defensive rebounding percentage (70.3). The Mercury rank 11th in the league in rebound percentage (47.7), and in defensive rebound percentage (66.8) and are ninth in offensive rebound percentage (28.6).

The Mercury is first in the WNBA in field goal percentage (44.4) and three-point field goal percentage (41.5). They also rank last in opponents field goal percentage, permitting the opposition to connect at a 44.4 percent clip.

KEY STATISTICS
Phoenix Offensive Efficiency – 100.0, 2nd Defensive Efficiency – 96.6, 10th
Scoring Differential – +2.3, 2nd Pace – 67.4, 10th
Reb Pct. – .477, 11th Off. Reb. Pct. – .286, 9th Def. Reb. Pct. – .668, 11th

Indiana Offensive Efficiency – 98.5, 3rd Defensive Efficiency – 96.7, 11th
Scoring Differential – +0.7, 7th Pace – 66.1, 12th
Reb Pct. – .536, 1st Off. Reb. Pct. – .370, 2nd Def. Reb. Pct. – .703, 5th


7/3 – Detroit (7-7, T3rd in East) at Minnesota (6-8, 6th in West) – 8 p.m. ET

PRIOR MEETINGS First of two meetings.

PLAYER TRENDS The top rebounder in the game takes the court in Detroit's Cheryl Ford. She is the league lead in rebounds per game at 10.1, and also ranks first all-time in rebounds per game (10.3).

Minnesota's Katie Smith recently passed the 3,000 point mark in her career, and now trails Andrea Stinson of Charlotte by 136 points for third place on the all-time scoring list. Despite reaching that plateau, Smith is struggling offensively this season. Her 16.9 points per game is 1.4 points down from 2003, and her field goal percentage is also at its lowest point (39.1) since 1999.

Detroit has four players averaging double figures in scoring – Swin Cash (18.1), Deanna Nolan (13.5), Ruth Riley (11.4) and Ford (10.7). The only other team in the WNBA with that many double-figure scorers on its roster is Connecticut.

Lynx rookie Nicole Ohlde leads all first-year players in rebounds per game (6.2), is second among rookies in scoring (11.0), fourth in assists per game (1.7) and first in blocked shots (1.29). Her rebound average ranks 16th in the entire league and her blocked shots average ranks 10th.

The Lynx Tamika Williams is attempting to become the second player in WNBA history to lead the league in field goal percentage in back-to-back seasons (2003 – 66.8, 2004 – 55.3). Murriel Page was the first to accomplish the feat (99-00).

TEAM TRENDS After winning six of seven games, the Shock looked like they were ready to run away from the pack in the East, but they have lost their last three games and four of their last five. Their last six losses have come by 1, 2, 4, 6, 2 and 3 points.

The Lynx are struggling on the offensive end with the least efficient offense in the WNBA at 87.5 points per 100 possessions.

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. Their struggles on offense are due largely to their inability to take care of the basketball – the Lynx are averaging a league-high 18.5 turnovers per game and turn the ball over on more than 26 percent of their possessions.

Detroit's Achilles Heal on offense last season was turnovers, as they averaged a league-high 17.9 per game. This season, they are averaging just 13.9 turnovers per game – third lowest in the league.

KEY STATISTICS
Detroit Offensive Efficiency – 97.1, 4th Defensive Efficiency – 95.0, 9th
Scoring Differential – +1.5, 4th Pace – 71.4, 4th
Reb Pct. – .511, 4th Off. Reb. Pct. – .343, 4th Def. Reb. Pct. – .679, 7th


Minnesota Offensive Efficiency – 87.5, 13th Defensive Efficiency – 92.6, 3rd
Scoring Differential – - 3.1, 11th Pace – 70.0, 6th
Reb Pct. – .502, 6th Off. Reb. Pct. – .327, 5th Def. Reb. Pct. – .667, 8th






7/3 – Charlotte (7-7, T3rd in East) at Houston (8-8, 4th in West) – 8:30 p.m. ET

PRIOR MEETINGS Second of two meetings.

May 21 at Charlotte Comets 60 – Sting 53
http://www.wnba.com/games/20040521/HOUCHA/boxscore.html
http://www.wnba.com/games/20040521/HOUCHA/recap.html

PLAYER TRENDS Houston's Tina Thompson (on the Injured List the last six games) and Sheryl Swoopes are second (20.6) and eighth (16.7) respectively in points per game, and second (37.3) and first (37.6) in minutes per game.

Sting rookie Nicole Powell leads the WNBA in three-point field goal percentage connecting on 60.0 percent of her shots from beyond the arc. No rookie has finished in the top-10 in that category since Portland's Jackie Stiles finished sixth in 2001 (43.1).

Comets' center Michelle Snow is averaging 10.6 points and 9.4 rebounds over her last five games and has pulled down double digits in rebounds in three straight contests.

Charlotte's Tammy Sutton-Brown and Charlotte Smith-Taylor rank fifth (49.5) and tied for ninth (47.3) respectively in field goal percentage.

Comets point guard Sheila Lambert is enjoying her best WNBA season averaging career-highs in scoring (5.8), assists (2.4), field goal percentage (52.1) and three-point field goal percentage (50.0).

TEAM TRENDS Houston ranks first in the league in defensive efficiency allowing just 90.7 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).

Losses in four of their last six games have dropped the Comets to fourth in the West. The team is 10th in the league in Offensive Efficiency (90.5 points scored per 100 possessions) and has cracked the 70-point barrier just twice this season.

The Sting has won five of its last seven games holding opposing defenses to just 57.4 points per game during that stretch including a season-low 37 points allowed to the Indiana Fever on Saturday evening. Charlotte hasn't topped the 70-point plateau since the second game of the season.

Charlotte is forth in the WNBA in field goal percentage connecting on 42.8 percent of its attempts, and second in defensive field goal percentage permitting opponents to connect on 39.6 percent of their attempts.
.
KEY STATISTICS
Charlotte Offensive Efficiency – 94.4, 7th Defensive Efficiency – 95.0, 8th
Scoring Differential – - 1.1, 9th Pace – 62.0, 13th
Reb Pct. – .475, 12th Off. Reb. Pct. – .294, 8th Def. Reb. Pct. – .655, 13th

Houston Offensive Efficiency – 90.5, 10th Defensive Efficiency – 90.7, 1st
Scoring Differential – 0.0, 7th Pace – 67.8, 9th
Reb Pct. – .482, 10th Off. Reb. Pct. – .268, 12th Def. Reb. Pct. – .696, 6th






7/3 – Sacramento (6-7, 5th in West) at Seattle (9-4, T1st in West) – 10 p.m. ET

PRIOR MEETINGS Second of four meetings.

June 5 at Sacramento Storm 65 – Monarchs 63
http://www.wnba.com/games/20040521/HOUCHA/boxscore.html
http://www.wnba.com/games/20040521/HOUCHA/recap.html

PLAYER TRENDS The Monarchs 34-year-old Yolanda Griffith is 11th in the league in scoring (14.7), third in field goal percentage (50.4), fourth in rebound per game (8.0), sixth in blocks per game (1.46) and second in steals per game (2.38).

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 (13.5) and rebounding (5.8). Sam is fourth on the team in scoring (10.3) and in rebounding (5.0), and the pair respectively ranks second (1.50) and first (1.54) on the team in steals.

Sacramento's Ticha Penicheiro has led the W in assists per game in each of her six seasons on the league, but she currently ranks fifth in the league with just 4.8 assists per game.

Seattle point guard Sue Bird among the league leaders in three-point field goal percentage this year (5th at 44.4), and is also ranked ninth in the league in field goal percentage (47.3) and third in assists per game (5.3).

The Storm's Lauren Jackson is posting MVP-like numbers again ranking third in the W in points per game (18.7), 10th in rebounds (6.7), third in blocks (2.00) and a career-best 42.6 percent from beyond the arc (9th in the league).

TEAM TRENDS The Storm has the most efficient offense in the league this season averaging 103.2 points per 100 possessions while Sacramento ranks eighth at 94.2.

Sacramento is 12th in the WNBA in three-point field goal percentage (30.5) and 10th in field goal percentage (40.8).

Seattle got back on the winning track after a two-game slide. After averaging 59.5 points in their two losses, they bounced back by scoring 76 points in a 24-point win over San Antonio.

The Monarchs force the most turnovers per game at 17.9 while Seattle forces the third most with 16.5.

Both teams are among the best in the league at rebounding – Sacramento ranks third in rebound percentage (52.7) and first in offensive rebound percentage (38.7), while the Storm rank second in rebound percentage (52.8), third in offensive rebound percentage (34.9) and fourth in defensive rebound percentage (70.6).

KEY STATISTICS
Sacramento Offensive Efficiency – 94.2, 8th Defensive Efficiency – 93.2, 5th
Scoring Differential – +1.2, 5th Pace – 68.7, 8th
Reb Pct. – .527, 3rd Off. Reb. Pct. – .387, 1st Def. Reb. Pct. – .667, 12th

Seattle Offensive Efficiency – 103.2, 1st Defensive Efficiency – 91.5, 2nd
Scoring Differential – +8.3, 1st Pace – 71.2, 5th
Reb Pct. – .528, 2nd Off. Reb. Pct. – .349, 3rd Def. Reb. Pct. – .706, 4th


EXPLANATION OF STATISTICS

OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE EFFICIENCY – Points Scored and Allowed per 100 Possessions
Points Per Game and Points Allowed Per Game can be greatly influenced by the pace at which a team plays leading to inaccurate representations of team's strengths and weaknesses. Using Points Scored Per 100 Possessions (Offensive Efficiency), or conversely, Points Allowed Per 100 Possessions (Defensive Efficiency), takes the pace at which a team plays out of the equation, illuminating which teams are the most efficient at using their offensive and defensive possessions.

Points Per 100 Possessions is used rather than Points Per Possession because it has more of a traditional Points Per Game look to it.

PACE – Possessions Per 40 Minutes
Different teams play at different paces whether it is the run-and-gun style of Bill Laimbeer's Detroit Shock, the more methodical pace that has characterized many of the recent Charlotte Sting teams, or somewhere in between.

Beginning with the 2004 WNBA Season, official Possessions Per 40 Minutes statistics are available. The per-40-minutes version of the statistic is used as opposed to the per-game version to eliminate the additional possessions that are accumulated in overtime games.

OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE REBOUND PERCENTAGE
Offensive Rebound Percentage is defined by the following formula . . .

TmOReb / ( TmOReb + OppDReb )

Defensive Rebound Percentage is defined by the following formula . . .

TmDReb / ( TmDReb + OppOReb )

Using a percentage, rather than total number of rebounds is a much more effective way to determine which teams are winning the rebound battle.

The reason for this is simple. A team can only get a rebound if somebody misses a shot. Here is an example to illustrate that point.

Team A misses 100 shots vs. Team B. They grab 35 of those possible offensive rebounds. Team B, on the other hand, not only is a great shooting team, but they grab all 25 of their missed shots vs. Team A.

Ranking Team A and Team B by total offensive rebounds would give us the following leader-board.

Team A 35 Team B 25

Team B, despite the fact that they grabbed every single available rebound, would be ranked behind Team A. If we rank the teams by Offensive Rebound Percentage, however, we get the following . . .

Team B 1.000 Team A .350

And Team B assumes its rightful place at the top of the list.

REBOUND PERCENTAGE
Rebound Percentage is determined by averaging Offensive Rebound Percentage and Defensive Rebound Percentage



WNBA Offensive Efficiency Rankings

Offensive Efficiency
Team OER (Lg. Avg. - 94.5)
Seattle 103.2
Phoenix 100.0
Indiana 98.5
Detroit 97.1
Los Angeles 95.3
Connecticut 94.7
Charlotte 94.4
Sacramento 94.2
Washington 93.5
Houston 90.5
San Antonio 90.2
New York 89.8
Minnesota 87.5

Defensive Efficiency
Team DER (Lg. Avg. - 94.5)
Houston 90.7
Seattle 91.5
Minnesota 92.6
Los Angeles 93.2
Sacramento 93.2
Connecticut 93.9
New York 94.4
Charlotte 95.0
Detroit 95.0
Phoenix 96.6
Indiana 96.7
Washington 96.9
San Antonio 97.3

WNBA Pace Rankings (Possessions Per 40 Minutes)

Team Poss/40Min (Lg. Avg. - 69.1)
Los Angeles 73.2
Washington 72.6
Connecticut 71.6
Detroit 71.4
Seattle 71.2
Minnesota 70.0
New York 69.5
Sacramento 68.7
Houston 67.8
Phoenix 67.4
San Antonio 67.3
Indiana 66.1
Charlotte 62.0

Women's National Basketball Association Stories from July 3, 2004

• Silver Stars guard Marie Ferdinand dislocates right elbow - San Antonio Stars
• WNBA notes - WNBA
• Richie Adubato relieved of coaching duties - New York Liberty
• WNBA Storylines - WNBA

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.