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Mystics name Julie Plank head coach

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 18:12:11 GMT

Per club policy, terms of the deal were not released.

Plank spent last season as an assistant coach with the Minnesota Lynx and spent the previous eight years as an assistant with the Indiana Fever in addition to being the team's director of scouting.

Mystics tab Taylor as GM

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:47:25 GMT

Taylor, who spent the last two seasons as vice president of business operations for the Minnesota Lynx, will assume her responsibilities with Washington on October 27.

The Mystics finished the 2008 campaign with the league's second worst record (10-24).

Smith leads Shock to third WNBA title

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 19:06:26 GMT

Taj McWilliams-Franklin had 13 points and eight rebounds while Deanna Nolan added 12 points and five assists for the Shock, who won their third title overall as the team also won the championship in 2003 and 2006.

"I think the best part about the Detroit Shock is that we care about each other," said Detroit coach Bill Laimbeer. "But we played hard-nosed basketball and we always come to win. We have a great coaching staff, but we also have the best players in the world." Smith was named the Most Valuable Player of the finals.

Smith, Detroit defeat Silver Stars to climb within one win of title

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 22:27:29 GMT

Nolan also grabbed seven rebounds, as the Shock shot 28-of-55 from the field to move to within one victory of claiming its third championship in franchise history.

Detroit also won titles in 2006 and 2003 and is the three-time defending Eastern Conference champion.

Los Angeles' Parker wins WNBA MVP, Rookie of the Year awards

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 20:08:48 GMT

Averaging nearly a double-double per game, Parker posted game averages of 18.5 points -- fourth in the league -- and a league-leading 9.5 rebounds. She was also second in the league in blocks.

Parker barely beat out Connecticut's Lindsay Whalen for the award, as it was the closest MVP vote in league history.

Los Angeles' Parker named WNBA Rookie of the Year

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:36:37 GMT

Parker, a unanimous choice for the award, led all rookies in scoring (18.5), rebounding (9.5), blocks (2.3) and minutes (33.6 minutes). She finished fourth overall in scoring and second in blocks.

The first overall pick in the 2008 draft, she led the league in double-doubles (17) and rebounding. She posted the best rookie debut in WNBA history with 34 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists in a win against Phoenix on May 17.

Shock make Silver Stars fade with Game 1 triumph

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 22:14:08 GMT

Smith ended with 25 points and nine rebounds for the Shock, who lost the season-series to these Silver Stars, 2-0. Kara Braxton and Deanna Nolan scored 10 points apiece for the Shock, who are in the finals for a third straight year. They won the title in 2006 and captured the opener of this series thanks to scoring the final eight points of the game.

Sophia Young tallied 21 points and nine rebounds for the Silver Stars, who ended the season with five straight victories and are playing in the franchise's first title series. Ann Wauters had 16 points and Becky Hammon 13 in defeat.

Shock slip by Liberty, reach Finals

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 21:55:13 GMT

Taj McWilliams-Franklin had 19 points and eight rebounds for the Shock, who advance to face the Silver Stars in the Finals starting Wednesday in San Antonio. Katie Smith added 16 points and three assists.

Janel McCarville picked up 21 points with five boards and dished out four assists for the Liberty, who nearly rallied from a 19-point halftime deficit before losing. Leilani Mitchell contributed 14 points off the bench while Shameka Christon had 12 points.

Hammon wills Silver Stars to Game 3 victory over Sparks

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 20:19:57 GMT

San Antonio will make its first appearance in the WNBA Finals and will face either the Detroit Shock or New York Liberty, who will play Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Monday.

Hammon also led the team with seven rebounds. Sophia Young scored 18 points in the victory for the Silver Stars, who were losing by one point after three quarters.

Nolan, Shock force Game 3 with comeback win over Liberty

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 18:22:15 GMT

The deciding Game 3 will be played in Detroit on Monday night.

Katie Smith dropped 11 points while Plenette Pierson added 10 points for the Shock, who used a 25-9 fourth quarter to overcome a seven-point deficit headed into the stanza. Taj McWilliams-Franklin grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds in the victory.

Silver Stars stay alive with wild Game 2 win over Sparks

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 18:12:47 GMT

Young led the way for the Silver Stars throughout with a game-high 21 points to go along with 11 rebounds. Becky Hammon hit two clutch three-pointers down the stretch, finishing with four triples overall and 19 points to help force Game 3, Sunday at AT&T Center.

Candace Parker had 19 points and 17 rebounds while Lisa Leslie collected 17 points and 12 boards. DeLisha Milton-Jones chipped in with 14 points and hit several key shots in the waning moments for the Sparks, who got 22 points from Leslie in an 85-70 series-opening victory over the Silver Stars.

Liberty use strong fourth quarter to top Shock

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 21:51:01 GMT

Shameka Christon added 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Liberty, who outscored the Shock 24-14 in the final frame.

Essence Carson chipped in with eight points for New York, which advanced to the conference finals by beating the Connecticut Sun in three games.

Leslie paces Sparks over Silver Stars in West finals opener

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 01:13:46 GMT

Candace Parker tallied 14 points, 12 boards and three blocks for the Sparks, who also got 14 points apiece from Marie Ferdinand-Harris and Temeka Johnson.

Ann Wauters had 18 points and Sophia Young ended with 16 for the Silver Stars, who also received 10 from Vickie Johnson.

Lynx guard Wiggins named WNBA's top reserve

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 16:23:39 GMT

Wiggins received 27 votes from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters to earn the award.

Detroit Shock forward Plenette Pierson, the inaugural Sixth Woman of the Year in 2007, finished second with 10 votes while Seattle Storm guard Tanisha Wright finished third with two votes.

Lynx guard Wiggins has surgery

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 14:12:00 GMT

The procedure took place on Monday at the Stanford University Medical Center, the team said in a release Thursday. She has already begun a rehabilitation program at Stanford while she takes classes to finish her undergraduate degree.

Wiggins is expected to be fully recovered for the start of training camp next May.

Sparks hold off Storm to move to West finals

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 23:44:56 GMT

Lisa Leslie had 15 points and seven rebounds before fouling out for the Sparks, who advanced to the conference finals to take on the Silver Stars, starting Thursday night in Los Angeles.

Marie Ferdinand-Harris tallied 12 points for the Sparks, who overcame a 1-of-9 shooting night by DeLisha Milton-Jones.

Nolan helps Shock dominate Fever, win series

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 21:27:54 GMT

The Shock will match up with the New York Liberty in the conference final, after the Liberty won their series with the Connecticut Sun, 2-1. Detroit won three of the four regular-season games with New York.

Katie Smith added 15 points while Kara Braxton chipped in 12 points and seven rebounds for the Shock.

Young, Silver Stars move on to Western Conference finals

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 23:52:44 GMT

Becky Hammon contributed 14 points and Edwige Lawson-Wade added 13 points and six rebounds for the victorious Silver Stars.

Nicole Powell scored 21 points with seven rebounds and Kara Lawson added 16 points and seven assists for the Monarchs, who saw their season come to an end.

Liberty edge Sun in Game 3, advance to East finals

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 21:27:16 GMT

Shameka Christon added 13 points and Janel McCarville tallied 12 to go with seven rebounds and four blocks for the Liberty, who won the series in the deciding game at Mohegan Sun Arena. New York will play either Detroit or Indiana in the conference finals.

Ashja Jones scored 18 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for the Sun, whose top offensive producer was Lindsay Whalen with 19 points.

Mystics fire GM Hargrove

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 14:53:08 GMT

Hargrove had been the GM in Washington since the 2005 season.

"We are extremely grateful to Linda for all of her hard work and her dedication to the Mystics organization during the past four years," Mystics CEO Greg Bibb said. "No one has been more committed to bettering our organization than Linda. At this point, however, we felt it was best to make a change and move in a different direction in regards to our general manager position." The Mystics finished the 2008 season 10-24, fifth in the Eastern Conference and missed the playoffs for the second consecutive year.

Bird helps Storm even series with Sparks

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 19:59:27 GMT

Sheryl Swoopes donated 16 points while Camille Little added 13 points for the Storm, who are hoping to avoid elimination in the first round of the playoffs for the fourth straight year.

Lisa Leslie had 11 points and 11 rebounds for Los Angeles. DeLisha Milton- Jones scored 11 points and rookie Candace Parker had 10 along with eight rebounds.

Fever upend Shock, force Game 3

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 18:19:06 GMT

Game three is set for Tuesday in Detroit, though the Shock will be without Plenette Pierson, who suffered a shoulder injury in the loss and will not be available for the deciding game.

Tammy Sutton-Brown added 19 points for the Fever, who were eliminated from the playoffs by the Shock for the past two seasons. Ebony Hoffman tallied 15 points and 12 boards in the win.

Sun get by Liberty to even series

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 00:32:53 GMT

Lindsay Whalen chipped in 15 points and four assists for the Sun, who evened the series and forced a deciding Game 3.

Loree Moore had 16 points for the Liberty, who got 11 points each from Shameka Christon and Janel McCarville.

Kelly, Monarchs tie series with Silver Stars

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 23:54:49 GMT

Nicole Powell added 17 points for the Monarchs, who dropped Game 1 at home before rebounding to down the top-seeded Silver Stars on their home court.

Ticha Penicheiro scored 12 points and doled out nine assists for Sacramento, which will try to upset San Antonio and advance to the conference finals with a win on Monday at the AT&T Center.

Sparks sizzle in Game 1 win over Storm

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 01:13:04 GMT

Candace Parker, DeLisha Milton-Jones and Marie Ferdinand-Harris had 11 points apiece while Kiesha Brown and Lisa Leslie scored 10 each for the Sparks, who were 6-of-13 from beyond the arc.

Sue Bird netted 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting and again valiantly helped fill the void left by an injured Lauren Jackson, who had to undergo surgery after injuring her ankle during the Beijing Olympics. Tanisha Wright chipped in with 13 points for the Storm, who shot only 39.3 percent from the field.