WNBA Storylines

July 15, 2004 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) News Release

7/15 – Charlotte (10-7, 1st in East) at Washington (8-9, 6th in East) – 11:30 a.m. ET

PRIOR MEETINGS Third of four meetings.
May 22 at Washington Sting 71, Mystics 68
http://www.wnba.com/games/20040522/CHAWAS/boxscore.html
http://www.wnba.com/games/20040522/CHAWAS/recap.html

July 10 at Charlotte Sting 67, Mystics 65
http://www.wnba.com/games/20040710/WASCHA/boxscore.html
http://www.wnba.com/games/20040710/WASCHA/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. Holdsclaw is leading the league averaging 20.4 points per game.

After going 2-for-4 from three-point range in her first two games, Washington rookie Alana Beard has missed 17 consecutive three-pointers.

Charlotte's Tammy Sutton-Brown and Charlotte Smith-Taylor rank third (49.1) and seventh (46.0) respectively in field goal percentage.

TEAM TRENDS The Sting has won eight of its last 10 games and four of its last five to move into a tie for first place in the East. Opponents are averaging 58.8 points per game during that nine game stretch and 59.0 points during the past five games.

Charlotte is third in the WNBA in field goal percentage connecting on 42.9 percent of its attempts, and fourth in defensive field goal percentage permitting opponents to connect on 40.5 percent of their attempts.

Washington plays at the third fastest pace in the league (72.0 possessions per 40 minutes) while Charlotte plays at the slowest (62.2).

The Mystics commit the fewest turnovers per game in the league (12.4) while the Sting forces the fewest turnovers per game (12.3). Both would be WNBA records should they maintain those low figures.

KEY STATISTICS
Charlotte Offensive Efficiency – 96.2, 4th Defensive Efficiency – 95.3, 8th
Scoring Differential – - 0.2, 8th Pace – 62.2, 13th
Reb Pct. – .467, 13th Off. Reb. Pct. – .286, 9th Def. Reb. Pct. – .649, 13th

Washington Offensive Efficiency – 94.7, 8th Defensive Efficiency – 96.0, 10th
Scoring Differential – - 1.6, 10th Pace – 72.0, 3rd
Reb Pct. – .495, 7th Off. Reb. Pct. – .284, 10th Def. Reb. Pct. – .706, 5th











7/15 – Seattle (11-7, 2nd in West) at Sacramento (8-10, 4th in West) – 3:30 p.m. ET

PRIOR MEETINGS Third of three 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

July 3 at Seattle Storm 75 – Monarchs 61
http://www.wnba.com/games/20040703/SACSEA/boxscore.html
http://www.wnba.com/games/20040703/SACSEA/recap.html

PLAYER TRENDS Seattle's Lauren Jackson is trying to become just the second player in WNBA history to win back-to-back league MVP awards (Cynthia Cooper, 1997, 1998). Jackson ranks second in the league in scoring (20.2), sixth in rebounding (7.1) and fourth in blocked shots (1.83)

Storm point guard Sue Bird is one of several players trying to unseat Sacramento's Ticha Penicheiro atop the league's assist chart. Penicheiro has led the W in assists per game since entering the league in 1998, but she ranks fifth this season. Bird ranks second (5.8).

Sacramento's Kara Lawson tied a WNBA record at Connecticut on July 9 when she took and made all eight of her shots. New York's Becky Hammon was also a perfect eight-for-eight from the field at Phoenix on June 21, 2001 and the Liberty's Crystal Robinson made all eight of her shots at Cleveland on August 17, 2003.

Two offseason additions are helping the Storm cause this season in the form of Betty Lennox and Sheri Sam. Lennox is third on the team in scoring (11.6), second in rebounding (5.4) and third in steals (1.38) while Sam is fourth in scoring (10.3), fourth in rebounding (4.7) and first in steals (1.56).

TEAM TRENDS The Storm got back on the winning track with a win over San Antonio at home after they lost three straight games on their recent East Coast road trip losing the games by 3, 3 and 5 points.. Seattle started the season with a league-best 10-4 mark.

Two of the top rebounding teams in the league take the floor. The Monarchs are third in the league in rebound percentage (.515) and second in offensive rebound percentage (.380) while the Storm are second in rebound percentage (.532) and third in offensive rebound percentage (.346).

Seattle's offense connects on 43.5 percent of its field goal attempts – best in the league – while the Monarchs defensive allows the opposition to make 42.8 percent of its field goal attempts – fifth best in the league.

The Monarchs force the most turnovers per game in the league at 17.9 while the Storm rank a respectable fourth (15.9).

KEY STATISTICS
Seattle Offensive Efficiency – 102.1, 1st Defensive Efficiency – 92.1, 2nd
Scoring Differential – +7.1, 1st Pace – 71.1, 5th
Reb Pct. – .532, 2nd Off. Reb. Pct. – .356, 3rd Def. Reb. Pct. – .708, 4th

Sacramento Offensive Efficiency – 95.7, 6th Defensive Efficiency – 95.1, 7th
Scoring Differential – +0.9, 5th Pace – 68.7, 8th
Reb Pct. – .515, 3rd Off. Reb. Pct. – .380, 2nd Def. Reb. Pct. – .650, 12th




7/15 – Minnesota (10-9, 3rd in West) at New York (9-10, 5th in East) – 7:30 p.m. ET

PRIOR MEETINGS Second of two meetings.
May 30 at Minnesota Liberty 68, Lynx 64
http://www.wnba.com/games/20040530/NYLMIN/boxscore.html
http://www.wnba.com/games/20040530/NYLMIN/recap.html

PLAYER TRENDS Minnesota's Katie Smith recently passed the 3,000 point mark in her career, and now trails Andrea Stinson of Charlotte by 51 points for third place on the all-time scoring list.

Two rookies are making names for themselves with New York. DeTrina White is second among rookies, and third on the Liberty, in rebounds per game with 4.8, and Shameka Christon's 6.1 points per game rank fifth among rookies.

Lynx rookie Nicole Ohlde leads all first-year players in rebounds per game (5.9), is second among rookies in scoring (11.0), fifth in assists per game (1.8) and first in blocked shots (1.42). Her rebound average ranks 17th in the entire league and her blocked shots average ranks tied for seventh.

New York's Elena Baranova is enjoying her second season for the Liberty. She is leading New York starters in rebounding (6.8), field goal percentage (48.2), three-point field goal percentage (46.4) and blocked shots (1.89).

New York Head Coach Patty Coyle became the 16th coach to take over her team in midseason and the ninth to start her tenure with a win and the Liberty are 2-1 with Coyle at the helm.

TEAM TRENDS The Lynx are struggling on the offensive end with the third least efficient offense in the WNBA at 90.7 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 29.6 percent of their long-range attempts. The Liberty are leading the league in defensive field goal percentage, holding the opposition to 39.3 percent shooting, and second in the W in defensive three-point field goal percentage (31.6).

Minnesota's struggles on offense are due largely to their inability to take care of the basketball – the Lynx are averaging a league-high 17.6 turnovers per game and turn the ball over on more than 25 percent of their possessions.

New York is averaging 16.4 turnovers per game (12th in the league) and they cough up the ball to their opponents on 23.4 percent of their possessions.

KEY STATISTICS
Minnesota Offensive Efficiency – 90.7, 11th Defensive Efficiency – 93.3, 4th
Scoring Differential – - 1.2, 9th Pace – 69.2, 7th
Reb Pct. – .503, 6th Off. Reb. Pct. – .329, 5th Def. Reb. Pct. – .677, T7th

New York Offensive Efficiency – 90.9, 10th Defensive Efficiency – 94.9, 6th
Scoring Differential – - 2.4, 12th Pace – 69.6, 6th
Reb Pct. – .468, 12th Off. Reb. Pct. – .272, 12th Def. Reb. Pct. – .664, 10th







7/15 – Detroit (9-9, 4th in East) at Houston (8-12, 6th in West) – 9 p.m. ET (ESPN2)

PRIOR MEETINGS Second of two meetings.
July 6 at Detroit Shock 82, Comets 63
http://www.wnba.com/games/20040706/HOUDET/boxscore.html
http://www.wnba.com/games/20040706/HOUDET/recap.html

PLAYER TRENDS Detroit forward Cheryl Ford dropped out of the top spot on the league's rebound chart this week as Sparks center Lisa Leslie now leads her by one-half of a rebound 10.0 to 9.5. After opening the season with five straight double-figure rebound games and averaging 14.2 boards per game, Ford has reached double-figures in rebounding in just three games since then, and is averaging just 7.2 rebounds over those ten games.

Houston's Tina Thompson return to the Comets after missing the previous past seven, but she has struggled in her return going 5 for 33 from the field over the past two games.

Detroit's Ruth Riley's scoring average (11.3), rebound average (6.2), steals average (1.22) and free throw percentage (.814) are all career bests.

Comets point guard Sheila Lambert is enjoying her best WNBA season averaging career-highs in scoring (6.0), assists (2.2) and field goal percentage (49.5).

TEAM TRENDS The Shock didn't lose their ninth game of the season last year until August 15 and they finished the regular season with only nine losses (25-9). This year's ninth loss came on July 12. Seven of the Shock's nine losses have come by eight points or less. In four of those eight losses, Detroit squandered double-digit leads. The dubious record for most losses by a WNBA Championship team the year after winning the title is 13 by the Houston Comets in 2001.

Houston leads the league in defensive efficiency allowing just 91.3 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).

The Comets have lost five straight and eight of its last ten games. They have averaged just 59.7 points per game over that ten-game stretch while giving up 65.1.

Detroit is just 1-4 in games decided by three points or less this season after going 6-2 in those games a year ago.


KEY STATISTICS
Detroit Offensive Efficiency – 95.9, 5th Defensive Efficiency – 94.3, 5th
Scoring Differential – +1.2, 3rd Pace – 72.1, 2nd
Reb Pct. – .513, 4th Off. Reb. Pct. – .350, 4th Def. Reb. Pct. – .677, T7th

Houston Offensive Efficiency – 88.7, 13th Defensive Efficiency – 91.3, 1st
Scoring Differential – - 2.3, 11th Pace – 68.6, 9th
Reb Pct. – .481, 10th Off. Reb. Pct. – .270, 13th Def. Reb. Pct. – .693, 6th








7/15 – Connecticut (11-9, 2nd in East) at San Antonio (5-14, 7th in West) – 9 p.m. ET

PRIOR MEETINGS First of two meetings.

PLAYER TRENDS Silver Stars guard Marie Ferdinand was having another All-Star season before suffering a dislocated right elbow on July 2. She was averaging 11.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.88 steals while connecting on 37.0 percent of her three pointers.

Sun rookie Lindsay Whalen is currently third in the league in assists per game with 5.5 and is hitting 39.3 percent of her three-point field goal attempts.

San Antonio's 37-year-old forward Adrienne Goodson is leading the team in rebounds per game (6.9) and is third on the team in scoring (9.6).

Silver Stars point guard Shannon Johnson is averaging career lows in scoring (8.6), field goal percentage (.351) and rebounds (2.5) and her 4.1 assists per game are the second lowest average of her career.

After hitting 39.5 percent of her field goal attempts and 21.7 percent of her three-pointers in 2003, Wendy Palmer is connecting on 43.5 percent of her field goal attempts and 35.5 percent from beyond the arc in 2004. She is also averaging more rebounds per game (6.5) than she has since 2001.

TEAM TRENDS The Sun has won seven of its last nine games and look to get back on the winning track after a three-point loss to Minnesota. Four of the team's past ten games have gone into overtime, with the team splitting those four decisions.

Seven of San Antonio's 13 losses have been by ten points or more. Last season, 13 of the team's 22 losses were by double-digits. Seattle, on the other hand, is a perfect 6-0 in games decided by ten points or more this season.

Connecticut plays at the fourth fastest pace in the league (71.6 possessions per 40 minutes), while San Antonio is the 11th fastest (67.4).

The Silver Stars had the most Blow Out Losses (games decided by 10 or more points) in the league last year with 13, and they lead the league in that category this season as well with eight Blow Out Losses.

KEY STATISTICS
Connecticut Offensive Efficiency – 95.5, 7th Defensive Efficiency – 95.4, 9th
Scoring Differential – +0.3, 7th Pace – 71.6, 4th
Reb Pct. – .494, T8th Off. Reb. Pct. – .282, 11th Def. Reb. Pct. – .706, T4th

San Antonio Offensive Efficiency – 89.9, 12th Defensive Efficiency – 97.9, 13th
Scoring Differential – - 5.5, 13th Pace – 67.4, 11th
Reb Pct. – .494, T8th Off. Reb. Pct. – .311, 6th Def. Reb. Pct. – .677, T7th













7/16 – Detroit (9-9, 4th in East) at Indiana (11-9, T2nd in East) – 8 p.m. ET

PRIOR MEETINGS Fourth of four meetings.
June 9 at Indiana Shock 83 – Fever 79
http://www.wnba.com/games/20040609/DETIND/boxscore.html
http://www.wnba.com/games/20040609/DETIND/recap.html
June 12 at Detroit Shock 72 – Fever 68
http://www.wnba.com/games/20040612/INDDET/boxscore.html
http://www.wnba.com/games/20040612/INDDET/recap.html
June 29 at Detroit Fever 69 – Shock 68
http://www.wnba.com/games/20040629/INDDET/boxscore.html
http://www.wnba.com/games/20040629/INDDET/recap.html

PLAYER TRENDS Detroit forward Cheryl Ford dropped out of the top spot on the league's rebound chart this week as Sparks center Lisa Leslie now leads her 10.0 to 9.5 boards per game. After opening the season with five straight double-figure rebound games and averaging 14.2 boards, Ford has reached double-figures in rebounding in just three games since then, and is averaging just 7.2 rebounds over those ten games.

The Indiana Fever's Tamika Catchings offensive numbers have slipped slightly when compared to last season. Her scoring average is down 1.8 points per game (19.7 to 17.9) and her rebound average is down 0.9 per game (8.0 to 7.1). Her field goal (43.2 to 39.1) and three-point field goal percentages (38.7 to 34.6) have dropped off as well.

Detroit's Ruth Riley's scoring average (11.3), rebound average (6.2), steals average (1.22) and free throw percentage (.814) are all career bests.

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 10.5 points per game while hitting 36.7 percent of her three-point field goals.

The only member of the Indiana Fever who is shooting better than 42.5 percent from the field is Kelly Schumacher. Natalie Williams (42.5) and Stephanie White (41.0) are the only other players shooting better than 40.0 percent.

TEAM TRENDS The Shock didn't lose their ninth game of the season last year until August 15. This year's ninth loss came on July 12. Seven of the Shock's nine losses have come by eight points or less. In four of those eight losses, Detroit squandered double-digit leads. The record for most losses by a WNBA Championship team the year after winning the title is 13 by the 2001 Houston Comets.

The Fever have alternated wins and losses for the past ten games. They have two two-game winning streaks on the season and one two-game losing streak. No team has ever gone through an entire WNBA season without at least one three-game winning streak or three-game losing streak.

Two of the top rebounding teams in the league take the floor. The Fever are first in the league in rebound percentage (.518), offensive rebound percentage (.383) and defensive rebounding percentage (.712) while the Shock are fourth in rebound percentage (.513) and fourth in offensive rebound percentage (.350).

KEY STATISTICS
Detroit Offensive Efficiency – 95.9, 5th Defensive Efficiency – 94.3, 5th
Scoring Differential – +1.2, 3rd Pace – 72.1, 2nd
Reb Pct. – .513, 4th Off. Reb. Pct. – .350, 4th Def. Reb. Pct. – .677, 9th

Indiana Offensive Efficiency – 97.8, 3rd Defensive Efficiency – 96.5, 11th
Scoring Differential – +0.8, 6th Pace – 66.4, 12th
Reb Pct. – .547, 1st Off. Reb. Pct. – .384, 1st Def. Reb. Pct. – .709, 2nd
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 Efficiency Rankings

Offensive Efficiency
Team OER (Lg. Avg. - 94.7)
Seattle 102.1
Phoenix 98.6
Indiana 97.8
Charlotte 96.2
Detroit 95.9
Sacramento 95.7
Connecticut 95.3
Washington 94.7
Los Angeles 94.6
New York 90.9
Minnesota 90.7
San Antonio 89.9
Houston 88.7
Defensive Efficiency
Team DER (Lg. Avg. - 94.7)
Houston 91.3
Los Angeles 92.1
Seattle 92.1
Minnesota 93.3
Detroit 94.3
New York 94.9
Sacramento 95.1
Connecticut 95.3
Charlotte 95.3
Washington 96.0
Indiana 96.5
Phoenix 96.8
San Antonio 97.9

WNBA Pace Rankings (Possessions Per 40 Minutes)

Team Poss/40Min (Lg. Avg. - 69.2)
Los Angeles 73.2
Detroit 72.1
Washington 72.0
Connecticut 71.5
Seattle 71.1
New York 69.6
Minnesota 69.2
Sacramento 68.7
Houston 68.6
Phoenix 67.8
San Antonio 67.4
Indiana 66.4
Charlotte 62.2

Women's National Basketball Association Stories from July 15, 2004

• WNBA All-Star Starters Named for WNBA vs. USA Basketball: The Game at Radio City - WNBA
• WNBA Storylines - WNBA
• Charlene Curtis Added To Charlotte Sting Coaching Staff - Charlotte Sting

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