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.

OUTRAGE

I'm hoarse today from screaming... "PUT MISTIE IN!".

And I know that I'm not the only STH who is outraged by Karleen's player selections and substitutions last night.

For the second time in her two seasons with the Houston Comets, Mistie Williams' dad... Chubby Checker attended a game in Toyota Center. And his daughter didn't play.

As in last year's game, Chubby seemed largely embarassed by the attention shown him, utterly bored by the game, and disappointed (as were we all) that his daughter didn't get one single second of playing time.

Chubby seems like a great dad with a good sense of humor. I just don't think he's a basketball fanatic. At one point, I saw him trying to gain Mistie's attention with some sort of vulcan hand signal. And I think I saw her using her hand to both block out the sight and conceal her facial expressions and laughter.

He didn't come to watch a basketball game. He came to see his daughter. I'm sure he would have cheered loudly, had she played.

SIDE NOTE: I know I'm paying special attention to Mistie, in this instance, because her dad is a celebrity... but hear me out:

Mistie is one of my favorite players, anyway. I always want to see her play. She's an academic, and I think she gets better and better with each minute she plays. She's a leader and her enthusiasm is contagious. I think she would likely be a starter on another team. Bottom line... I don't want to lose her.

I just think if we can afford for 'PeeWee' (Erin Grant) can play almost 16 minutes without scroing, we could afford at least 4 or 5 minutes to let Mistie get her feet under her.

I'm just sayin'...

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 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.

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.

Bad News for Mistie... AND Her Fans!

I just read that Mistie Williams broke her right middle finger in practice yesterday. Heal quickly!