Three of four WNBA games were decided by a single, solitary basket Saturday … and in the only contest that wasn’t close, Candace Parker had two points.
So two was the magic number on a crazy night where if you’re a Monarchs’ fan, you’re saying, “OK, what else can happen to us?” … if you’re a Sparks fan, you’re saying, “So when does the ‘running away with the West’ stuff start? … if you’re a Sun fan, you’re saying, “Crap, we lose to freaking Detroit again and this time I didn’t even get to heckle Laimbeer.” … and if you’re a Dream fan, you’re saying, “Another lousy last 2 minutes. Gee, where have I seen this before?”
Meanwhile, if you’re rooting for Phoenix, you’ve got to be thinking this team is looking charmed – Sacramento throws everything it has at you and you still get the win, thanks to Temeka Johnson’s buzzer-beater, 107-105. Seriously, what team, other than the Mercury, can allow its opponent to shoot 53 percent from the field, get outrebounded by six … and still win the game?
Speaking of improbability, Detroit was on the road (where it hadn’t previously won this season), didn’t have Deanna Nolan (hamstring) and picked up an astonishing four technical fouls (as only the Shock could) … but beat Connecticut 79-77 in overtime.
Sun coach Mike Thibault was left singing, “Another Saturday night, and I ain’t got no offense …” or at least not enough against a Detroit team that still needs Katie Smith to do heavy lifting – and is still getting that. She had 25 points against the Sun, which didn’t have “iron woman” Tamika Whitmore, who was out with a calf injury that ended her 204-game appearance streak.
One might say things are looking a little dire for the Sun at 5-6, except this is the Eastern Conference we’re talking about. Other than the runaway Indiana Fever, nobody is separating from the pack.
But one team – Atlanta – that is trying to pull away from the bottom two (New York and Detroit) in the East wasn’t able to contribute to that cause. Atlanta fell 71-69 at New York in a game that the Dream players should be lamenting because it slipped right through their hands. Cathrine Kraayeveld got the winning free throws for New York.
And, finally, there was Washington’s 75-63 victory over the LA Sparks. Parker’s box-score line was the kind of thing you almost never see from her: 2 points, four rebounds, zero assists and six turnovers. Alana Beard had 26 points for the Mystics.
All the talk of deuces wild, and you forget to mention what number Temeka Johnson wears?
Note from MV: Actually, I didn’t forget. I really debated mentioning it, and chose not to. It seemed too much a stretch for some reason. Since the the other winning-points scorers were Katie Smith (30) and Cathrine Kraayeveld (33). But that will teach me to debate … or to come up with stupid ideas for blogs at 2 a.m.