Ending On a High Note, V. Sparks

WNBA Playoffs... they ain't what they used to be!

Both teams out of contention, the Comets and Sparks closed out their seasons together in LA Sunday night, and the Comets came out on top, 82-72.

Tina Thompson led the scoring with 22 points and with her seven rebounds, Tina became only the fourth WNBA player (joining Margo Dydek, Yolanda Griffith and lisa leslie) to reach 2,000 career rebounds.

Turnovers: Comets 15, Sparks 20
Steals: Comets 10, Sparks 5
Blocks: Comets 2, Sparks 6
Fast Break Points: Comets 8, Sparks 4
Biggest lead: Comets 10, Sparks 10
Unanswered Points: Comets 8, Sparks 0
Lead Changes: 5
Times Tied: 4
Points in the Paint: Comets 44, Sparks 32
FG%: Comets 48.4, Sparks 43.5
3FG%: Comets 33.3, Sparks 25.0
FT%: Comets 77.3, Sparks 75
Rebounds: Comets 32, Sparks 30

And with four players in double point figures and almost everyone else both playing and scoring, the Comets played hard to the very end. (If the season was 30 days longer, I think we would definitely be in contention).

Tina Thompson 22
Hamchetou Maiga-Ba 15
Tamecka Dixon 12 (all hail that decision!)
Michelle Snow 10
Crystal Smith 6
Erin Grant (aka PeeWee) 5
Roneeka Hodges 5
Latasha Byears 3
Sancho Lyttle 2
Mistie Williams 2

Ashley Shields played but didn't score. Swoopes (in spite of rumors) and Turner didn't play.


Sherill Baker led the Sparks and scored a season-high 16 points and seven assists. And my favorite Spark, Jessica Moore, added career bests of 13 points and eight rebounds.

Comets Deluged by Sky (And TS Erin)

Tropical Storm Erin, with her predictions of "minor street flooding", wreaked havoc on Houston earlier today.

Thanks to "the Angel" and his high water rescue, I'm home safe and sound, but since my car is still high (and hopefully dry) in the parking garage at work, my game experience is by webcast tonight.

And just like TS Erin did, totally unexpectedly, the Sky wreaked havoc on the Comets tonight. Losing this one, pretty much right from the first jump. Chicago started the game by outscoring the Comets 21-2, with Houston pulling to a 41-34 lead at halftime. And that's as good as it got.

Turnovers: Comets 16, Sky 8
Steals: Comets 5, Sky 5
Blocks: Comets 4, Sky 1
Fast Break Points: Comets 7, Sky 8
Biggest lead: Comets 0, Sky 10
Unanswered Points: Comets 3, Sky 0
Lead Changes: 0
Times Tied: 0
Points in the Paint: Comets 20, Sky 24
FG%: Comets 39.1, Sky 43.1
3FG%: Comets 40.9, Sky 50.0
FT%: Comets 94.7, Sky 72.2
Rebounds: Comets 31, Sky 35

The Sky had five players in double figures, but there was a vast point spread amongst the home team Comets. Tina Thompson led the Comets and scored a season-high 33 points on 12 for 20 shooting from the field.

Tina Thompson 33
Tamecka Dixon 14
Sancho Lyttle 8
Michelle Snow 4
Crystal Smith 3
Hamchetou Maiga-Ba 3
Roneeka Hodges 3
Ashley Shields 2

Going into this game, we were already out of contention for the playoffs. Perhaps this pitiful performance was a calculated ploy for a better draft pick

(But am I the only one who has a hard time watching the success of Dominique Canty ???).

Friday's Play of the Day

An awesome fast break by Crystal Smith is tagged as "WNBA Play of the Day".

Stayin' Alive With 11th W v. Sacramento

In another tight and exciting game in Toyota Center, the Comets defeated the 17-13 (3rd in the West) Sacramento Monarchs, by a score of 83-75.

At times a dirty foul filled mess, the game was much closer than the score indicates.

Turnovers: Comets 19, Monarchs 11
Fast Break Points: Comets 8, Monarchs 6
Biggest lead: Comets 12, Monarchs 6
Unanswered Points: Comets 2, Monarchs 0
Points in the Paint: Comets 28, Monarchs 24
FG%: Comets 47.5, Monarchs 34.8
3FG%: Comets 50.0, Monarchs 61.5
FT%: Comets 82.8, Monarchs 82.6
Rebounds: Comets 38, Lynx 20

Terrific performances from those we've come to count upon:

Tina Thompson 25
Tamecka Dixon 19
Sancho Lyttle 14
Hamchetou Maiga-Ba 6
Crystal Smith 6
Michelle Snow 6
Latasha Byears 4
Roneeka Hodges 3

Erin Grant had 15:56 minutes, 3 rebounds and 4 assists, but didn't score. Swoopes, Turner and Williams didn't play.

Kara Lawson was lead scorer for the Monarchs, with 14 and, very sadly, Yolanda Griffith (10 points) went down with an apparent leg injury, early in the fourth quarter. No matter the rivalry or stakes on the line, I hate seeing ANY player injured.

So... at 11-19, the Comets are another game up over the 9-20 Sparks and closing in on the 14-17 Storm. However slim the chances, hope is still alive for the Comets to make the 2007 playoffs. If only we could call a 'mulligan' on the Tuesday night game against New York!

Comets Denied (by) Liberty

In a critical loss at home, the Comets came up short at 71-77 as the Liberty end their 4 game slump tonight.

The Comets had every chance but failed to put it together.

Turnovers: Comets 13, Liberty 14
Fast Break Points: Comets 2, Liberty 11 (ouch!)
Biggest lead: Comets 2, Liberty 10
Unanswered Points: Comets 0, Liberty 1
Points in the Paint: Comets 38, Liberty 28
FG%: Comets 42.2, Liberty 43.8
3FG%: Comets 20.0, Liberty 36.4
FT%: Comets 78.9, Liberty 61.9
Rebounds: Comets 31, Liberty 32

Three words: FAST BREAK POINTS! And just two more words: THREE POINTERS!

Good performances by the team... just not quit good enough:

Tina Thompson 24
Hamchetou Maiga-Ba 16
Michelle Snow 10
Tamecka Dixon 8
Erin Grant 4
Crystal Smith 3
Latasha Byears 3
Mistie Williams 2
Sancho Lyttle 1

The net result of tonight's game is a setback toward making the playoffs. And it doesn't get us even one step closer to a better draft pick.

Comets Squeak Past Lynx, Making It a Clean Sweep

After opening the game on an 11-0 run and increasing the score to 17-3 with 3:02 left, the Comets settled for a 21-12 lead after the first quarter. And it only got worse. The half closed with the Comets up by 7, at 37-30, and the Lynx returned to score the first 8 points in the third quarter to take their first lead.

Fortunately, the tired (on the road, playing last night in Houston) Tina Thompson was able to surge in the fourth quarter, and score 14 of her 26 points and 10rebounds... but she couldn't have done it without the outstanding performance of Tot Byears, off the bench with 17 points and 5 rebounds.

And by a score of 80-77, the Lynx were swept for the season.

Turnovers: Comets 19, Lynx 11
Fast Break Points: Comets 12, Lynx 10
Biggest lead: Comets 14, Lynx 8
Points in the Paint: Comets 40, Lynx 30
FG%: Comets 40.0, Lynx 31.6
3FG%: Comets 33.3, Lynx 12.5
FT%: Comets 85.7, Lynx 89.3
Rebounds: Comets 38, Lynx 38

And now for the point spread:

Tina Thompson 26
Latasha Byears 17
Hamchetou Maiga-Ba 12
Michelle Snow 9
Crystal Smith 7
Tamecka Dixon 5
Sancho Lyttle 2
Erin Grant 2

And Seimone Augustus (of course!) led the Lynx with 24.

Comets Top Sparks, In Sleeper

The Comets defeated their (historically) arch-rivals Sparks, 66-56.

It was bound to happen eventually, but I'm not sure anyone expected it: the most boring game of the year, and it was played against the LA Sparks. Another first?... I felt little competitive emotion, and to the contrary, I actually felt sorry for the Sparks... just a little bit.

The first quarter should be billed as a desparate fight for first draft pick, and while the pace picked up a bit, the overall game was still what I would term a 'sleeper'.

Turnovers: Comets 19, Sparks 11
Fast Break Points: Comets 2, Sparks 13
Biggest Lead: Comets 12, Sparks 0
Points in the Paint: Comets 28, Sparks 20
FG%: Comets 32.8, Sparks, 28.6
3FG%: Comets 25.0, Sparks 14.3
FT%: Comets 71.4, Sparks 73.7
Total Rebounds: Comets 50, Sparks 37

Tina Thompson led with 13 points (10 rebounds), and Tamecka Dixon was the only other Comet with double points, with 12 (7 rebounds).

Tina Thompson 13
Tamecka Dixon 12
Sancho Lyttle 9
Michelle Snow 9
Hamchetou Maiga-Ba 6
Roneeka Hodges 5
Crystal Smith 4
Erin Grant 4
Barbara Turner 2
Mistie Williams 2 (yippeeeeee!)

Mwadi Mabika (who if history is any predictor, will soon play for the Comets) was lead scorer and the only Spark in double points, with 10.


*Game Side Note: I had the sincere pleasure of meeting L.A. Forward-Center Jessica Moore's mother tonight. And after visting with 'Mom'... Jessica has a new fan!

*Photo Credit: Bob Levy, Houston Chronicle: Michelle Show shoots over Taj McWilliams-Franklin.

Mercury Defeat Comets... Again

In an excitement filled nail biter, the Mercury defeated the (Jekyll and Hyde) Comets 76-74 tonight, making it a clean sweep for the season.

It was a tight game, with the exception of the Comets jumping out to a 12-0 lead. The Mercury answered, however, with 14 straight points. There were 9 lead changes, and the score was tied 10 times. It truly wasn't over until the buzzer sounded.

Turnovers: Comets 21, Mercury 22
Fast Break Points: Comets 2, Mercury 22 (OUCH!)
Biggest Lead: Comets 12, Mercury 6
Points in the Paint: Comets 36, Mercury 34
FG%: Comets 37.3%, Mercury 45.9%
3FG%: Comets 26.7%, Mercury 31.6%
FT%: Comets 73.7%, Mercury 87.5% (*See the difference it makes!)
Total Rebounds: Comets 44, Mercury 27

The "on again" Michelle Snow showed up to play tonight, and lead scoring with 21 points, but there was a nice distribution of points:

Michelle Snow 21
Sancho Lyttle 15
Tamecka Dixon 14
Tina Thompson 12
Crystal Smith 8
Hamchetou Maiga-Ba 2
Barbara Turner 2

Lead scorers for the Mercury: Diana Taurasi led the Mercury with 19 (awesome) points, and Cappie Pondexter had 14.

It was a tough loss, but for those of us who suffered through watching Sunday's pitiful performance... it was also a relief!

*Game Side Show Side Note: Sheryl Swoopes was on the bench, looking very fresh and attractive, in a brief but simple and beautiful buttery yellow dress.

Most Imporatant Win So Far, Over SASS

Or should this post be titled, "Thank You, Tamecka Dixon!".

Tonight, (drum roll...) our Houston Comets both defeated their I-10 rivals and West's best San Antonio Silver Stars 69-63, and rise to 8-16, a half game out of fifth place in the West.

Turnovers: Comets 18, SS 15
Fast Break Points: Comets 13, SS 4 (wow)
Biggest lead: Comets 13, SS 3
Unanswered Points: Comets 1, SS 0
Points in the Paint: Comets 30, SS 20
Field Goals Made-Attempted: Comets 26-57, 45.6%, SS 21-70, 30.0%
3 Pointers Made-Attempted: Comets 4-11, 36.4%, SS 5-25.0%
Free Throws Made-Attempted: Comets 13-20, 65.0%, SS 16-21, 76.2%
Total Rebounds: Comets 34 , Sun 39

It was an exciting and comfortable game to listen to, and the Comets seemed to rise once again to their potential.

Tamecka Dixon 21 (helloooo!)
Tina Thompson 17 (with people all over her!)
Hamchetou Maiga-Ba 8
Crystal Smith 8
Michelle Snow 7
Roneeka Hodges 6
Barbara Turner 2

Points don't always tell the story of who contributes to a win. Becky Hammon was held to 11 points. Rebounds and assists played an important part, too:

Tina Thompson 8, 3
Hamchetou Maiga-Ba 7, 2
Sancho Lyttle 7, 0
Michelle Snow 5, 2
Roneeka Hodges 4, 1
Tamecka Dixon 3, 2
Crystal Smith 0, 4

We established excellent momentum to take on the Sky on Sunday afternoon!

Sixteenth Loss: Outshined by the Sun

The lead changed five times in the 4th quarter, but the only lead that counts is the final one. So it was another heart stopping close call as the Comets fell to the Sun, 79-81 this afternoon in Connecticut.

If you analyzed the team stats, without counting up the points, you would likely draw the conclusion that Houston pulled off the win:

Turnovers: Comets 12, Sun 14
Fast Break Points: Comets 6, Sun 2
Biggest lead: Comets 6, Sun 6
Unanswered Points: Comets 0, Sun 4
Points in the Paint: Comets 36, Sun 22
Field Goals Made-Attempted: Comets 30-69, 43.5%, Sun 30-65, 46.2%
3 Pointers Made-Attempted: Comets 6-10, 60.0%, Sun 6-16, 37.5%
Free Throws Made-Attempted: Comets 13-15, 86.7%, Sun 15-18, 83.3%
Total Rebounds: Comets 36, Sun 31

The 12-11 Sun (4th in the Eastern Conference), however, were able to close out their sixth win in a row. And the Comets fall to 7-16 (6th of 7 in the Western Conference).

Thompson and Dixon had a great game. And Turner came off the bench to make a huge difference.

Tina Thompson 18
Tamecka Dixon 18 (hellooooo!)
Barbara Turner 15 (nice surprise!)
Sancho Lyttle 10
Michelle Snow 6
Hamchetou Maiga-Ba 4
Crystal Smith 4
Ashley Shields 4

Katie Douglas led for the Sun with 25 and Asjha Jones had 22.

Up next for the Comets... Silver Stars in San Antonio, Friday night.

7th Win: Comets Snag One in New York

Madison Square Garden... how sweet it is to snag our second road win of the season against the Liberty, 80-74.

The Comets were ahead much of the game (5 lead changes, 6 ties) but it felt mostly neck-and-neck. Our largest lead was 10 points, but we scored only 3 unanswered points. We outrebounded them 33 to 28, and had one more turnover than the Liberty, 17 to their 16.

Tina Thompson 26
Tamecka Dixon 20 (hello!)
Hamchetou Maiga-Ba 10
Sancho Lyttle 6
Michelle Snow 5
Erin Grant 4
Crystal Smith 3
Barbara Turner 2
Mistie Williams 2 (!)
Ashley Shields 2
Roneeka Hodges 0

Cathrine Kraayeveld led for the Liberty, with 31 points!

SIDE NOTE: I can't help but notice that Sheryl Swoopes didn't even appear on the roster, injured, DNP or otherwise. Maybe that's because it was a road game. Or maybe not.

Second Half Lead Blown, Mystics Outwit Comets

Up by 14 points at halftime, their lead was still strong, at 57-48 when Tina Thompson scored with 5:59 left. And then it all fell apart.

The Mystics outscored us 17-1, including 11 unanswered points, in the closing minutes. Tina Thompson (14) and Crystal Smith (12) were the only Comets in double figures. Turnovers were even at 16. and the Mystics outrebounded us 43 to 39.

And the Comets lost their 8th (out of 9) game on the road, 58-65.

With that, we maintain our position in the WNBA underground, and head to New York to meet the (4th in the Eastern Conference with 10-10) Liberty.

PERSONAL NOTE: This was a day game in D.C., and I stayed in at lunch to listen to the fourth quarter. In hindsight, I should have left for a pleasurable lunch!

Comets Find the Missing Link: 6th Win Against Lynx

Winning their 6th game, 87-77, in a rough and tumble game against the Minnesota Lynx.

It's true that the Lynx reside with the Comets at the bottom of league standings, but this game was important. And the Comets hustled and fought hard for four solid quarters.

It was Kids Day at Toyota Center, and the little ones got to see everyone (who was dressed to) play... and most of them scored:

Michelle Snow 24 (career high tie)
Tina Thompson 22

Tamecka Dixon 15 (take that, ye with little faith)

Ashley Shields 10 (how about that from a community college graduate?)

Hamchetou Maiga-Ba 7
Crystal Smith 5
Latasha Byears 4

In a way, it was disappointing that Minnesota rookie guard from Cy-Fair, Lindsey Harding, wasn't able to play before a "home" crowd. It was learned, just before the game, that Harding will miss the rest of the season with a torn ligament in her knee.

Seimone Augustus (awesome to watch when you're not playing against her!) led the Lynx with 24. Essentially, if she shot the ball, she scored.

"You can't stop her from scoring," Maiga-Ba said. "But we were able to contain her a little and have a hand in her face for every shot."

I really like this Comets team. The bench is deep and mostly young, and our confidence continues to build!

Photo by Megan True, Houston Chronicle.

Closer Than the Score Indicates: Fever 79 Comets 77

The Comets fell just short (77-79) of defeating the league's best, Indiana Fever.

And it wasn't that the Fever played poorly. The Comets played to their potential. Ahead much of the game, and leading by as many as 12 points in the first half, the game ultimately slipped away from them in the final seconds... with 3.8 seconds left, and a half-court shot shot from Tamecka Dixon, the final buzzer sounded.

Detractors, nay-sayers and ye with little faith had to swallow some pride as OLD GALS and l.a. CASTOFFS, Dixon and Byears, really contributed to this win. And notably, for the first time this season, five Comets scored in double figures:

Latasha Byears 15
Tina Thompson 13
Hamchetou Maiga-Ba 12
Tamecka Dixon 12
Sancho Lyttle 10
Crystal Smith 9
Michelle Snow 6

Quotable quotes:

Coach Karleen Thompson: "I saw some really good things again." I thought we'd pull it out. I really feel this loss."

Fever forward Tamika Catchings (lead scorer with 23 points): "They've come on really strong and have so much talent. After the way they played tonight for most of the game, I can't imagine how they are on the bottom of the standings in this league."

Photo by Kevin Fujii, Houston Chronicle.

Comets Collide with Mercury, Planet Wins

We got third, alright... third quarter, that is.

Up by 8 at the end of the third, the Comets lose by 5.

Something is clearly wrong with Tina, with tepid performance and uber-taped leg. Michelle Snow was all but MIA, but our new gals really stepped up their performances.

Smith... 18
Maiga-Ba... 16
Shields... 16
Thompson... 10
Hodges... 8
Lyttle... 7
Byears... 4
Snow... 4
Moore... 2
Williams... 0

I thought, at times, they looked great and together... and at others, tired, flat footed and inexperienced.

Comets Fire Up First Win Against Sparks

We did it! We really did it!

Not only did the Comets log their first W, but they soundly defeated l.a. in the process!

The final score was 74-64 and while Michelle Snow (21, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 turn overs) and Tina Thompson (20, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 turnover) led by far in points, almost everyone who played, scored:

Hodges (9, 4 assists, 1 turn over)
Smith (8, 1 rebound, 4 assists)
Byears (5, 2 rebounds, 1 assist)
Maiga-Ba (5, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 6 turnovers)
Moore (5, 3 rebounds, 3 assists)
Shields (1)

The exceptioins: Sancho Lyttle started, played 13:40, snatched 6 rebounds, caused 3 turnovers and didn't score. Tari Phillips played 3:09 and didn't score but didn't cause any turnovers.

In a game that was equal parts lackluster and brilliance (because we never fell behind), our girls came out and played four complete quarters. They actually got the crowd in the game, for the first time all season. And when the final horn sounded, you would have thought we had won the Championship!

Congratulations Karleen and Hilton... on your first win. (I heard on the radio that Hilton got the game ball. I'm thinking he deserves it because the checks must have cleared!).

Crystal Smith Joins the U.S.S. Houston Comets

Plucked directly from the Comets' press release:

(HOUSTON – June 13, 2007) – The Houston Comets today announced the signing of
guard Crystal Smith.

During her rookie season with the Phoenix Mercury,
Smith played in 23 games, averaging 2.6 points per game, 1.0 assist per game and
earning a .917 free throw percentage.

In the 2006 WNBA Draft, Smith was
picked 32nd overall by Phoenix. She spent her college career as point guard for
the University of Iowa and during her senior year (2006) earned a spot on the
All-Big Ten First Team and the Big Ten All Defensive Team.

Wow... 2.6 ppg, really?!

What does U.S.S. stand for? I'm not sure you want to know.