HAPPY "HUMP" DAY FROM CARDINAL COUPLE !
We cover today...
-Dream goes down to Seattle
-Juneau leads Cards to 4th place finish
Seattle took control of the WNBA Finals with a 87-84 win over the Atlanta Dream last night in Key Arena. The homestanding Storm has won both games so far in the series and travels to Atlanta for Game 3 (and hopefully 4) in the best out of five series.
It was another dose of Lauren Jackson, Swin Cash and Sue Bird for Angel & company...with a little Camille Little and Tanisha Wright added for effect.
The effect was tremendous. The Seattle defenders kept McCoughtry baffled and off balance all evening...limiting her to 21 points on 7 of 23 shooting. Angel, it seems...never plays well against the Storm...and last night was no exception. She began the game 1-11 from the field. It was getting tough to stay with this one...with NCIS-Los Angeles on at the same time...but Atlanta rode Iziane Castro-Marquez and her unique one handed driving distance layup/shot/whatever you want to call it...to rally back and make this one a 49-47 Storm lead at half....after Atlanta was down by as many as eight in the second quarter. "Izzy" finished with 21 points also.
McCoughtry didn't fare much better in the final half. Her only major scoring burst came in the final 30 seconds of the game...with five points to draw the Dream within three. A missed Seattle free throw attempt with three seconds left gave Atlanta a last gap chance to tie...but Coco Miller couldn't get a shot off as time expired.
Lauren Jackson told sideline reporter Heather Cox after the game that she was 'very scared' about having to go play in Atlanta.
News flash. Atlanta should be very scared when Jackson gets off the plane. When she is on her game...she and the Storm are money. The physical Storm gets their licks in. McCoughtry took three stitches in the forehead during Game One of the series and Castro-Marquez spent time last night on the bench with an ice pack attached to her nose following an "errant" Seattle elbow.
The teams face off again Thursday Night. For Atlanta, it's win or the end of the season.
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Speaking of announcers...Finally! An announcing crew worth listening to. Terry Gannon and Doris Burke know their stuff. Adding Cox and my favorite sideline reporter of all time Rebecca Lobo to the mix may be a bit of overkill...but for once I didn't have to hit the remote control mute button while watching the Dream.
(Just kidding about Lobo. She's currently 12th on my list of 12.) Cox...I dig. She does football well, too. Lobo should stick to UConn games...where she's in her comfort zone with Geno.
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McCoughtry selected to the 2nd squad WNBA team? You gotta be kidding...The Atlanta Dream are in the playoffs...hello...and Angel is the main reason they are. I have no problem with Lauren Jackson being MVP. Happy to see Cappie as a first team pick. Taurasi the Turtle and Tamika Catchings...fine, whatever. They're deserving. But leaving Angel off the first squad is like excluding Mick Jagger from a Rolling Stones reunion tour. Big Syl didn't take the Chicago Sky to the playoffs. Yet, she got the 1st team honors, the $10,000 bonus and the Tiffany & Co. trophy.
The 1st team squad:
Lauren Jackson (Seattle Storm)
Tamika Catchings (Indiana Fever)
Cappie Pondexter (New York Liberty)
Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury)
Sylvia Fowles (Chicago Sky)
2nd team:
Sue Bird (Storm)
Angel McCoughtry (Atlanta Dream)
Crystal Langhorne (Washington Mystics)
Tina Charles (Connecticut Sun)
Katie Douglas (Indiana Fever)
Really? On Katie? Gotta chalk that one up to Candace Parker going down early in the season with a year ending injury. Izzy or Swin Cash would have gotten my vote here.
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The University of Louisville women's golf team finished up the final day of action by climbing to a fourth place finish in the Ptarmigan Ram Classic in Fort Collins, Colorado and Sara-Maude Juneau took fifth place individual honors with a closing round 71. Her three day score was 213.
Anna-Karin Ljungstrom fired a 72 to finish 12th overall...totaling out at 216. Candace Wiley duplicated the 72 in round 3 to finish 22nd with a 220. Maria Castellanos finished with a 73 to end up 53rd. at 228. Tara Lyons used a 78 on the final day to finish 76th...carding a three day total of 236. Maike Klein competed as an individual in the event and the freshman took 78 strokes on day three to end up with a 235...good for 72nd.
The Cards tee it up next in the Oct 2nd. W.K. Warren Irish Invitational in South Bend, IN.. Wonder if they'd like to join my amateur Putt-Putt team in the meantime?
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