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.

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.

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.

Transactions: Comets Re-sign Erin Grant

In what seems like a rare event, today... on the 4th of July... the Houston Comets announce the signing (re-signing) of Erin Grant.

Grant, a Texas Tech graduate (receiving All-Big 12 First Team honors for two seasons), was originally drafted (39th overall) by Seattle in 2006. The Comets signed her on April 20, 2007 and after three games (51 minutes, 3 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds), waived her on May 23.

I'm a bit confused by the "trade" (for Tamara Moore), but I have no educated opinion. That just leaves one thing to say:

Welcome back, Erin!

UPDATE: The press release made it to the Houston Comets website.