Flashback: There's nothing wrong with your vision. That indeed is 50-year-old Nancy Lieberman back in action. She suited up for the Detroit Shock on Thursday. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to help the Shock as they lost to the Comets in her return to the hardwood. Ned Dishman/NBAE/Getty Images
Back to the Future for a Basketball Legend
Lieberman makes Shock-ing return to WNBA: If life begins at 40, then basketball can surely thrive at 50, right? Legend of the game Nancy Lieberman took the court Thursday night for the Detroit Shock and made history. The Hall of Famer played just over nine minutes and dished out two assists, but shorthanded Detroit was no match for the Comets. Lieberman, a true class act and a great ambassador for women’s hoops, played sparingly in the first half but got some minutes down the stretch. Her only shot attempt bounced off the rim, but she did dish out some sweet no-look passes. Afterwards, Lieberman told ESPN2 that she felt good about her performance and that she never felt winded despite not getting a single minute of practice time. Lieberman was signed Wednesday, one day after the on-the-court incident between the Shock and Sparks, which left Detroit without Plenette Pierson (four-game suspension) and Cheryl Ford (knee injury). In all, Thursday was a fun night for basketball fans and one the league can be proud of.
ALSO MAKING HEADLINES ...
Sun Shines for Connecticut, not L.A.: With their stars relegated to the bench on Thursday, the Sparks had a slim chance of pulling off a road victory against the Sun. Nonetheless, Lindsay Whalen and her teammates didn’t take L.A. for granted. Whalen was superb, posting 22 points on 7-for-10 shooting as the Sun rolled to an easy 26-point victory. To be fair, the Sparks were without starters Candace Parker, Lisa Leslie and DeLisha Milton-Jones. All three were suspended for one game for their roles in Tuesday’s scuffle with the Shock. The three Olympians combined to average 48 points and 24 rebounds, something L.A. could not overcome against a Connecticut team that has won two straight after a five-game skid. Bad news for the Liberty, all three will be back in action Friday night at Madison Square Garden when the Sparks come in for a 7:30 p.m. ET game on NBA TV.
Whalen
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING
"I think the game got kind of sloppy in the second quarter. It became just a matter of getting your hands on loose balls and just finishing plays."
-- Silver Stars forward Sophia Young on a key third-quarter run that helped San Antonio knock off Chicago Thursday to move ahead of Seattle for first place in the Western Conference. Young scored 20 points in the victory.
The Lynx needed someone to step up Thursday and Seimone Augustus was more than happy to oblige. Augustus poured in 25 points and helped Minnesota pull out an overtime victory against the Fever. Early on in the contest, rookie Candice Wiggins went down with a lower back injury with 3:19 left in the first quarter and did not return. Wiggins was the third selection overall in this year’s draft. The extent of her injury was unknown late Thursday night. Wiggins, who was averaging 17.1 points coming in, hit the floor hard after being called for an offensive foul. She was taken to the locker room in a wheelchair.
FILLING THE BOX SCORE
Don’t look now, but the Sacramento Monarchs are on cruise control. Credit Rebekkah Brunson for the recent surge. Brunson posted a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds as the Monarchs won their sixth straight by beating the Mercury on Thursday. Brunson was 6-of-12 from the field. Over the last six games, Brunson averaged 11 points and seven rebounds. She also had 18 in Sacramento’s three-point victory over Detroit on July 20. The Monarchs improved to 14-11 and are one of the surprise teams this season. They’ll go for seven straight Saturday against the Fever.
July 24, 2008: Scoreboard |
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