WNBA.com Power Rankings: June 7, 2005
So much for the seeming parity that everyone predicted... at least early on. Several four-win teams have gotten out to hot starts while others continue to struggle at the bottom of the standings. In the past week, the home team began to exert its collective dominance. For teams to truly separate themselves, they must begin to win on the road. That will be the difference between playoff teams and playoff spectators in the months to come.
| 2005 WNBA.com POWER RANKINGS: Week Two | |||||
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TEAM |
REC. (last) |
NOTES | ||
| 1 |
| 4-0 | Still
unbeaten, the Shock can assure themselves a stop atop the rankings if they go
undefeated. In their only game of the week last week, the Shock held off the Liberty
in a double-OT thriller on Friday night. Deanna Nolan scored 12 of her franchise-record
34 points in overtime to lead the Shock to a 68-66 home win. Elaine Powell checked
in with 10 points for Detroit, which improved to 4-0 on the young season. The
bad news is that word from Detroit is that Swin Cash is now out indefinitely until
she is ready to go. Upcoming: vs. Seattle, vs. Charlotte | ||
| 2 |
| 4-1 | The
Monarchs dropped their first loss of the season in Indiana on Tuesday night, but
rebounded with a tremendous win in their home opener against the Sparks on ABC
on Saturday. Sacramento is one of the three 4-1 teams atop the Western Conference
standings. Chelsea Newton scored the game's opening basket, giving the Monarchs
a lead that they would never relinquish and would push as high as 28 points by
game's end. Nicole Powell led all scorers with 22 points and Yolanda Griffith
added 17. Upcoming: vs. Indiana, vs. Phoenix | ||
| 3 |
| 4-1 | Since
dropping the opening game of the season, the Storm have rebounded to win four
straight games. Lauren Jackson, Sue Bird and Betty Lennox have provided the scoring
while coach Anne Donovan has seemingly found an answer to the preseason question
of who would play the small forward. Australian center Suzy Batkovic is also close
to joining the team, which would bolter the frontcourt considerably. Jackson turned
in a dominating all-around performance to lead the Storm to a 83-77 victory over
the visiting Fever on Saturday, scoring 24 points on 11-for-11 shooting from the
line. Bird chipped in with 20 points and seven assists and Janell Burse added
15 points and 10 rebounds, but it was Betty Lennox who sparked the Storm by returning
from a back contusion. The Storm's road trip, which starts Tuesday in Connecticut
(5:00 p.m., ESPN2). Upcoming: at Connecticut, at Detroit | ||
| 4 |
| 3-1 | Like
the Storm, the Sun have not looked back since dropping their opening game of the
season. Two tough games against Western Conference teams loom for the Sun. A trio
of Sun players scored 15 points, and Margo Dydek blocked nine shots to power Connecticut
to an 80-69 win over the visiting Silver Stars on Saturday. Dydek also had the
hot hand on offense, connecting on 6-of-7 shots en route to her 15. This team
looks like is has its stuff together, which can only mean good things down the
road. Upcoming: vs. Seattle, at Houston | ||
| 5 |
| 4-1 |
The third and final 4-1 team out west, the Houston Comets. Solid guard play from
Dominique Canty, so confident that Coach Van Chancellor released veteran guard
Felicia Ragland. Sheryl Swoopes� layup in the waning moments was the difference
as the host Comets posted a 59-57 win over the Mercury on Saturday. The Comets
led 35-24 at the half before Phoenix rallied late to take a one-point lead. That
set the stage for Swoopes, whose basket made the score 58-57. Dominique Canty
led Houston with 15 points and Swoopes totaled 10. Upcoming: vs Minnesota, vs. Connecticut | ||
| 6 |
| 4-2 | The
Fever split their games last week, handing the Monarchs their first loss of the
season, before losing at Seattle over the weekend. Rookie Tan White scored 26
in her first professional start, but it wasn't enough to overcome the defending
champs. Tully Bevilaqua injured her knee last week, but the initial prognosis
is not as serious as initially feared. Continuing the theme of rookie production,
in the win against the Monarchs, Yolanda Paige�s clutch free throw with 52.4
seconds remaining lifted the Fever to a 61-60 win. Upcoming: at. Sacramento, vs. New York | ||
| 7 |
| 3-3 | The
Sparks remain the biggest enigma of the season to date. They looked impressive
in their home opener against the Monarchs last Tuesday. Holdsclaw and Leslie seemed
to show that they are a perfect fit together. But then it all came crumbling down
on Saturday. The Sparks fell into a hole early and couldn't dig itself out, losing
81-53 to the Monarchs. Three different Sparks scored in double figures, including
Chamique Holdsclaw, who led the team with 11 points. L.A. hosts Phoenix on Wednesday,
but they struggled on defense and still have not solved their backcourt depth
problems. Upcoming: vs. Phoenix, vs. Sacramento | ||
| 8 |
| 2-3 | If
the Liberty could play the Mystics for 34 games, they might just be the best team
in the league. Two of New York's three games last week came against Washington,
one at home and another on the road, and the Liberty prevailed in both. Had it
not been for Deanna Nolan going off in overtime in Detroit on Friday, the Liberty
could very well have had a perfect week. Instead, they are hovering around the
.500 mark with games against conference foes this week. Upcoming: at Indiana, vs. Detroit | ||
| 9 |
| 2-3 | The
Lynx split their two games last week, losing in Washington and winning at home
against the Sting. That said, they must to get more out of their role players.
Katie Smith has led the team in scoring in four of the team's five games so far
this season while second-year center Nicole Ohlde has led the team in rebounding
in four of the five contests as well. However, in Minnesota's most recent win
on Saturday, Svetlana Abrosimova keyed a second-half surge for the Lynx, scoring
10 of her 15 points in the second half and putting Minnesota ahead for good with
a big 3-pointer four minutes into the second half. Upcoming: at Houston, vs. Washington | ||
| 10 |
| 2-4 | The
Mystics have gotten out to a shaky start without ever having their regular starting
lineup ready to go. With injuries shaking the team in the early going, the Mystics
were able to win at home against the Lynx, but lost two against the Liberty. The
good news is that everyone is back - Alana Beard is healthy as is DeLisha Milton-Jones.
The early injuries also gave rookie guards Temeka Johnson and Laurie Koehn quality
playing time and confidence that they can succeed in the league. Upcoming: at San Antonio, vs. Seattle | ||
| 11 |
| 1-5 | The
Mercury have been close, but remain unlucky when it comes to tallying wins in
the first column of the standings. Phoenix welcomed back forward Penny Taylor,
but still lost to Houston and Seattle. Center Kamila Vodichkova is on the verge
of returning, and rumors have surfaced that 6-8 center Maria Stepanova is contemplating
a comeback to the WNBA. However, until that happens, the Mercury remain depleted
in the middle and will continue to rely on Diana Taurasi and Anna DeForge to do
all of the scoring. Upcoming: at Los Angeles, at Sacramento | ||
| 12 |
| 1-5 | It
hasn't been an ideal start for Trudi Lacey and the Charlotte Sting, who lost both
games last week after notching a win at home against the Sparks the week before.
Even though they missed the playoffs last season, they were never out of the race.
Already, however, in 2005, the Sting are four games behind the conference leader.
Over the weekend, Charlotte's six-game winning streak over the Lynx came to an
end in a 73-67 loss. The Sting led briefly in the second half before the Lynx
took the lead for good just 3:38 into the period. Tammy Sutton Brown led the way
for Charlotte with 14 points, while Tangela Smith and Tynesha Lewis added 11 apiece.
Upcoming: at Detroit, vs. Seattle | ||
| 13 | 1-6 | The
Silver Stars got their first win of the season on Thursday, a home win against
the Charlotte Sting. In San Antonio's most recent loss, a 80-69 loss to the Sun,
forward Wendy Palmer-Daniel recorded a double-double while LaToya Thomas netted
17 points of her own. However, guard Marie Ferdinand needs to get more involved
in the scoring if the Silver Stars are going to turn their season around and make
a run to get back into the picture. Upcoming: vs. Washington, vs. Connecticut | |||
