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 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!).

O(UCH) and 6!

Up by 16 at the half, and we blew it.

The Chronicle calls us "consistent". After all, for the fourth time this season, we have held a double digit lead... and allowed it to slip away.

Michelle (with 22) and Tina (with 19) showed up to play. Byears even showed pretty well with 14. As for the rest, not so much so.

Photo by Melissa Phillips, Chronicle/AP , showing Nykesha Sales driving to the basket and sending Ashley Shields flying.

OH and 5!

Just when you thought it couldn't get worse... it does.

The Fever soundly... make that SOUNDLY defeated the Comets, 84-59.

Michelle Snow snagged 15, Barbara Turner got 13, Tina got 6 as did Hamchetou Maiga-Ba and Dee Davis, Tamara Moore got 5 and Ashley Shields and Latasha Byears got 4 each. Does that add up to a whopping 59? Dunno... and it doesn't really matter.

Sad, really.