NEWS ON EVERY BASKETBALL CHANNEL MAY 15

WNBA:In the last exhibition today, the Lynx bench lead the way in beating Chicago, 82-61.Sparks media day photos.Today's transactions.......May 15The Washington Mystics signed Jessica BrelandThe San Antonio Silver Stars waived Kalisha KeaneThe Connecticut Sun waived Dawn EvansThe Tulsa Shock waived Amber Hold and Shanna ZolmanThe league really needs to form a couple of expansion teams. This is ridiculous, and will only get worse by Thursday, when final cuts are due.NCAA:The Black Coaches and Administrators have named South Carolina Coach Dawn Staley their female coach of the year.Louisville's Tia Gibbs and Monique Reid have been granted medical hardship waivers, and will return next season.Baylor center Brittney Griner is still on cloud nine.Tennessee Tech Coach Sytia Messer has resigned to be associate head coach at Georgia Tech.Coach Suzie McConnell-Serio has been given a four-year extension at Duquesne.Former Saint Louis University coach Shimmy Gray-Miller will be an assistant coach [Read More]

published May 15, 2012 at 9:36pm EDT

TULSA SHOCK ROSTER DOWN TO 11 AFTER VETERAN CUTS: AMBER HOLT, SHANNA ZOLMAN RELEASED

The Tulsa Shock have released a pair of five-year league veterans in Amber Holt and Shanna Zolman, announced today. Last season Holt was a staple in the starting lineup, starting in 24 of the 26 games in which she played. She averaged 6.7 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists in Tulsa's trying season. Holt's came to Tulsa in a 2010 Draft Day trade with the Connecticut Sun. Shanna Zolman and#40;formerly Crossleyand#41; was a face on many a Shock broadcast last year as she took her position behind the mic after sustaining a season-ending knee injury. Zolman's contribution to the offense ranked her third on the team in points per game and#40;9.7and#41; in 2010. She sunk an easy 42.2 percent of her 3-point attempts as she put her nickname "Layup" on display. With the cuts, the Tulsa Shock roster is down to 11. Three rookies - Glory Johnson, Riquna Williams and Lynetta Kizer - join the fold in the youthful organization. Tulsa will have to drop someone off the roster after the 2012 Olympic break t [Read More]

published May 15, 2012 at 3:47pm EDT

DISORGANIZED LIBERTY ROUTED BY SKY

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Five Chicago players went into double figures, led by Epiphanny Prince's 15 points, and the Sky never trailed as they knocked out the New York Liberty 89-57 in a preseason matchup. Shey Peddy and Carolyn Swords each had 14 off the bench for the Sky, with Swords notching a double-double with ten rebounds. Plenette Pierson led the Liberty with 14 points. For a lack of chemistry, a need for nametags, the urge to go bra shopping, OH GOD MY EYES, and a cute kid in a Kym Hampton jersey, join your intrepid and successfully caffeinated blogger after the jump. andnbsp; andnbsp; Slower than the MTA at rush hour! More ponderous than a locomotive in molasses! Able to leap to giant conclusions in a single game! It's... the Game Notes of Doom, back from their brief hibernation and cranky like a night owl in the morning! So far, I am pleased with their choice of the center sections, or at least part of them, for the season ticket holders. We were placed pretty much dead [Read More]

published May 14, 2012 at 4:27pm EDT

PRE-SEASON ACTION: STORM 61, SPARKS 60

Rookie Shekinna Stricklen lead the Seattle Storm to a one-point victory today over the Sparks, with 15 points. The Storm were missing Sue Bird, and the Sparks Candace Parker, because both were at USA Basketball practice. Game box score.Just after the game, the Sparks announced that the home opener, featuring another matchup with Seattle, will be bumped to May 22 to accommodate the playoff schedules of three of LA's male pro teams. The Storm just waived centers Lindsay Taylor and Ashley Gayle, which brings the roster to 14. The Sparks have been mysteriously waive-less lately.Related:USA Basketball was a time to see who jelled.ESPN discusses USA's win over China last night.Remaining Storm Center Ann Wauters is yet another athlete who balances basketball and motherhood.Other WNBA news:The league previews the Connecticut Sun and previews the San Antonio Silver Stars. [Read More]

published May 13, 2012 at 10:56pm EDT

SUMMARIZING THE U.S. WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM'S STOP IN SEATTLE AND OTHER WNBA TRAINING CAMP NEWS

With Mother's Day yesterday, you should be forgiven if you missed some of the major WNBA news and#40;as I didand#41;. We'll help you catch up with links that contained some of the more interesting tidbits of information, but feel free to add your own links in the comments. Jayda Evans of the Seattle Times reports that rookie Shekinna Stricklen's focus on defense and hustle throughout training camp paid off in the Seattle Storm's 61-60 win over the Los Angeles Sparks yesterday. Stricklen scored a team-high 15 points, but it was hustle at the end that sealed the game for the Storm. Read more andgt;andgt;andgt; Evans of the Seattle Times also reported that the Seattle Storm cut centers Ashley Gayle and Lindsay Taylor after yesterday's win. The roster currently stands at 14 players, but the decision of who to cut is complicated by point guard Silvia Dominguez's visa issues and the prospect of signing veteran guard Svetlana Abrosimova. Read more andgt;andgt;andgt; Mark Remme of MinnesotaLynx.com re [Read More]

published May 14, 2012 at 8:01am EDT

THREE THINGS THE WNBA COULD DO BETTER

The WNBA has many fine qualities and for the most part does a good job of maintaining and promoting the teams, games, and players. However, there are areas in which it could improve. Now, most articles like this focus on things that cost money. Wouldn't it be great to pay salaries competitive with those in Europe, have the players flown on chartered jets, and have massive advertising blitzes during the NCAA tournament, and so on. The WNBA doesn't have tons of money, so today we're going to focus on things they can do that cost nothing. 1 Eliminate the lottery Tulsa coach Gary Kloppenburg suggested this earlier in the year, and while it smacks of enlightened self interest coming from the leader of a team that went 3-31 a season ago his reasoning is sound. The reason the WNBA has a lottery is that the NBA has a lottery and the W wants to emulate the men's league as closely as possible. The NBA created its lottery to eliminate the perception that out of contention teams would inte [Read More]

published May 11, 2012 at 12:25pm EDT

LYNX, SKY CLAIM PRESEASON WINS; SEATTLE PREPARES FOR USA BASKETBALL

There were three games on the schedule last night and the Storm play their first tonight. Thus, there are links. John Altavilla of the Hartford Courant recapped the Connecticut Sun's 87-85 loss to the Minnesota Lynx in Uncasville, CT writing that the biggest roster battle for the Sun is now between guard Dawn Evans and post Chay Shegog. Unfortunately, Shegog got into early foul trouble and only played four minutes in the first half. Read more andgt;andgt;andgt; Mike Peden of the St. Paul Sports Examiner writes that the combination of an Amber Harris injury and a solid performance by Julia Wojta were the two significant developments of the evening in the Lynx' win. He wonders whether an extended absence for Harris would open an opportunity for Wojta, who's expected to be cut, to make the roster. Read more andgt;andgt;andgt; Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune recapped the Chicago Sky's 73-68 win over the Washington Mystics, which was more about individual development for coach Pokey Chatma [Read More]

published May 11, 2012 at 8:01am EDT

FEVER SCORE A PRESEASON SWEEP OF SILVER STARS, WNBA ROSTER BATTLES CONTINUE AND SOME SEATTLE HISTORY

A quick look at the media coverage of the WNBA this morning gives us a good mix of game-related news, factors that might go into roster decisions, and a bit of a history lesson from Jayda Evans. The San Antonio Express-News recapped the Indiana Fever's 78-69 win over the San Antonio Silver Stars, a preseason sweep for the Fever. Silver Stars rookie Shenise Johnson had a team-high 15 points on 7-for-8 shooting. There is still no boxscore available for their first game. Read more andgt;andgt;andgt; Kristopher Habbas of SB Nation Arizona provided a summary of the roster implications from the Phoenix Mercury's 100-73 win over the Japanese National Team on Tuesday night, noting that "everyone had a good game, but it could have been a lot better." Habbas writes that rookie point guard Samantha Prahalis, the #6 pick in the 2012 WNBA Draft, experienced a few rookie jitters in her first time on the court in a WNBA uniform. Read more andgt;andgt;andgt; Michelle Smith of espnW reports that the Washing [Read More]

published May 10, 2012 at 8:00am EDT

BAYLOR STAR BRITTNEY GRINER BREAKS WRIST

Baylor center Brittney Griner broke her right wrist skateboarding. Picture. Guess it all worked out that she opted out of the Olympics.......Other NCAA news:The NCAA has established a new position - the vice president of women's basketball championships. Duties:The vice president of womenandrsquo;s basketball championships will oversee the strategic direction, operation and management of the following:andbull; The Division I, II and III womenandrsquo;s basketball championships.andbull; The relationship between the NCAA and the Womenandrsquo;s Basketball Coaches Association.andbull; The performance of other functions assigned by the executive vice-president.Jen Hoover will take over at Wake Forest.Recruiting:To prepare for the summer evaluation period, give yourself a spring report card. [Read More]

published May 9, 2012 at 11:38pm EDT

MERCURY MAKE ROSTER MOVES PRIOR TO BEATING JAPAN; LOTTERY PICKS CONTINUE TO ADJUST

The Phoenix Mercury were active yesterday in both making roster moves by day and beating Japan by night. Elsewhere, there was plenty of media coverage of the Minnesota Lynx and Seattle Storm. Kristofer Habbas of SB Nation Arizona reported that the Phoenix Mercury released 2012 draft picks C'eira Ricketts and Christine Flores prior to last night's 102-73 win over the Japanese National Team. Read more andgt;andgt;andgt; Habbas of SBN Arizona also mentioned that last night's game was an important one for the Mercury as they have to get the roster down to 10 players with the injured Penny Taylor holding one spot. With the point guard battle continuing after Ricketts' departure, Alexis Gray-Lawson came up big with 34 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists while rookie Samantha Prahalis had 7 points, 7 assists, and 4 turnovers. Read more andgt;andgt;andgt; Jayda Evans of the Seattle Times offers more thoughts on the Svetlana Abrosimova situation in her mailbag on her blog. She quotes Abrosimova as [Read More]

published May 9, 2012 at 8:00am EDT