TEAM | STATS | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | Injuries plagued the Silver Stars throughout 2010 NBAE/Getty Images

In 2010 Becky Hammon did what Becky Hammon does, averaging 5.4 assists per game (fourth in the league) and shooting a league-best 96 percent from the free throw line. She also finished second on the team in scoring with 15.1 ppg. During the Stars at the Sun break, teammates Michelle Snow and Sophia Young both suggested there were times when Hammon was playing through injuries (she strained her hip flexor against the Lynx prior to the break), but having known her reputation over the previous 11 seasons there was no question as to whether she’d be able to soldier on through it all.

Young just slightly edged out Hammon in the scoring department, tallying a team-high 15.3 ppg and stood as the only player on the Silver Stars to start in all 34 games.

To elaborate on the injuries a bit more, the Silver Stars were without Appel to start the season, lost Hammon for two games with a quad injury, Holdsclaw for the remainder of the season following a ruptured Achilles on August 15 and Ruth Riley for 14 games with a broken finger. And yet, despite all that, the team managed to crack the Top 4 and advance to the playoffs. Granted it wasn’t ideal as the team failed to get past the first round, but the Stars found a way to make it work during the regular season. If that’s not a testament to San Antonio’s ability to overcome the injury bug then nothing is. Perhaps it’s not so much a milestone as it is an achievement. Regardless, I think I’m safe in assuming it’s not something the Stars would like to repeat next year.

San Antonio really didn’t find its rhythm at any point during the regular season and ultimately finished the season with a 14-20 record and advanced to the postseason as the No. 3 seed. At times throughout 2010 it seemed like the Silver Stars were following a win-one, lose-one pattern. At no point did San Antonio tally more than two wins in a row but they did register a season-worst four losses in a row during the early part of the season.

The progress of rookie Jayne Appel was slow and steady for the Silver Stars. After starting the season still recovering from an ankle injury sustained during the NCAA Finals, Appel slowly but surely worked her way into the Silver Stars’ lineup, while veteran post players like Michelle Snow and Sophia Young took care of business in the paint. With additional help from Hammon on the point and Holdsclaw working the inside game, the Stars could afford to give Appel plenty of time to heal up. She’d ultimately need only six games, but at no point during the season did she surpass the 20-minute mark in any of them.

Losing Holdsclaw for the year to a torn Achilles didn’t help matters much, but the Silver Stars were still able to find a spot in the playoffs, but time in the postseason was not kind to the Stars as they were swept by the Mercury in the first round.

Following the WNBA Finals, San Antonio announced that it will not be renewing the contracts of coaches Sandy Brondello and Olaf Lange for the 2011 season. This presents a bit of a question mark as the team looks ahead, but there is still plenty of time for the Stars to get settled in during the offseason.