Sophomore slump. Flash in the pan. Last year was a fluke. Teams figured her out.

Many phrases can describe a lackluster second season after players show great promise in their first year in the league. The rookie class of 2006 has avoided all of these idioms as they continue to be a force in the WNBA.

Take a close look at the current league statistics and you will see the abundance of second-year players near the top of the list. Three of the league’s top eight scorers are sophomores, including reigning Rookie of the Year Seimone Augustus, whose 22.2 points per game ranks her second in the WNBA behind Seattle’s Lauren Jackson.

	Seimone Augustus - Minnesota Lynx
	Year	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
	2006	33.1	.456	.353	.897	3.8	1.5	21.9
	2007	32.6	.502	.444	.836	3.7	2.2	22.2

Jackson’s class of 2001 is the only group that matches the class of 2006 with four players in the top 15 in scoring. However, if you break down the numbers, the four sophomores combine to average 73.8 points, while the seventh-year players combine for 69.2.

	Candice Dupree - Chicago Sky
	Year	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
	2006	30.4	.457	.000	.779	5.5	1.8	13.7
	2007	34.1	.522	.000	.778	7.8	1.6	19.6

Not only have the sophomores not slumped, most of them have increased their production. The biggest leap belongs to Chicago’s Candice Dupree. As a rookie for the first-year team, the forward averaged 13.7 points and 5.5 rebounds. This season Dupree’s numbers have jumped to 19.6 points and 7.8 rebounds, making her the fifth-leading scorer and fourth-leading rebounder in the WNBA. The team’s numbers have jumped right along with Dupree, as the Sky (6-8) have already eclipsed last season’s win total of five.

''I don't necessarily pay attention to comparing seasons,” Dupree told the Chicago Sun-Times after the team won its fifth game this season.” What's important is that we're looking to win a whole lot more than five games this year.''

	Sophia Young - San Antonio Silver Stars
	Year	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
	2006	31.1	.416	.000	.730	7.6	1.5	12.0
	2007	31.6	.500	.000	.722	5.7	1.7	14.2

	Shanna Crossley - San Antonio Silver Stars
	Year	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
	2006	16.1	.379	.378	.667	1.2	1.0	6.6
	2007	14.7	.370	.423	.800	0.8	0.4	8.3

Another team on the rise is the San Antonio Silver Stars, who currently sit second in the Western Conference with an 8-5 record. Along with the additions of Becky Hammon, Ruth Riley and Erin Buescher, the play of sophomores Sophia Young and Shanna Crossley has helped the Silver Stars improve on last season’s 13-21 mark.

Young and Crossley have both increased their scoring and field goal shooting this season for the Silver Stars. Young's points per game are up from 12.0 to 14.2 and Crossley's numbers have improved from 6.6 to 8.3. Young said she noticed teams playing her to drive to the basket last season, so she worked on her outside shooting in the offseason. The result has been an eight percent increase in her shooting percentage from 42 percent to 50 percent.

“I’ve gotten more used to the system now,” said Young, comparing this season to her rookie year. “Coming in last year, it was just really new and you really don’t know what to expect. So having one year under my belt makes me more confident. Now I know exactly what to expect from the game."

	Monique Currie - Washington Mystics
	Year	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
	2006	25.0	.332	.291	.810	3.9	2.6	10.0
	2007	22.1	.441	.304	.831	3.4	1.7	11.4

	Tamara James - Washington Mystics
	Year	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
	2006	7.4	.388	.250	.889	0.8	0.1	2.7
	2007	17.7	.400	.379	.800	1.9	1.6	7.6

The Washington Mystics have won four of their last six games and the play of sophomores Monique Currie and Tamara James have been key to the team getting back into the playoff picture.

Currie, acquired from the Chicago Sky on May 24, has split time with James at the forward spot for interim coach Tree Rollins. Currie is averaging 10.8 points for Washington on 50 percent shooting and has led the team in scoring twice in this six game stretch. James has seen her minutes increase since Rollins took over coaching duties and has improved her scoring to 7.6 points per game, up from 2.7 a year ago.

	Cappie Pondexter - Phoenix Mercury
	Year	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
	2006	33.3	.442	.373	.853	3.3	3.1	19.5
	2007	32.7	.423	.264	.761	3.6	3.8	17.8

One of the few sophomores that has seen her point production slip in her sophomore season is Phoenix’s Cappie Pondexter. She finished the 2006 season as the fourth-leading scorer in the WNBA with an average of 19.5 points, a number that would definitely be difficult to repeat while playing with defending scoring champ Diana Taurasi. Pondexter is still averaging an impressive 17.8 points in 2007, but has been hampered by an upper leg injury that has forced her to miss the Mercury’s last three games.

Pondexter, Young, Dupree and Augustus were all named All-Stars in their rookie campaigns. While we’ll need to wait a couple of weeks before we see how the fan and coach voting shakes out, all of them have made a strong case to be in Washington, D.C. on July 15.

“Cappie didn’t play like a rookie last year” said Mercury coach Paul Westhead. “She’s playing like a veteran now and she was playing like one last year as well.”

With the class of 2006 playing like seasoned veterans at such a young age, the WNBA's future is in good hands.