WNBA.com Power Rankings: June
6, 2006
Now that each team has played more than a few games, we can actually take a more accurate look at each team as they compare to the others. Of course it is still early, but San Antonio has moved up the bog board this week on the strength of its four road wins. But it is another team in Texas, the Houston Comets, who hold the top spot in Week Two. The Comets have won five games in a row and are looking to be as strong as we predicted in the preseason.
| 2006 WNBA.com POWER RANKINGS: Week Two | |||||
|
|
TEAM (last) |
W/L |
NOTES | ||
| 1 |
| 5-1 |
Don't look now, but the oldest team in the WNBA is also playing the best. Experience
comes with age, apparently. The Comets went 3-0 last week and have run their win
streak to five games. Michelle Snow led five players in double figures with a
career-high 24 points as Houston coasted to an 85-62 home win over Minnesota on
Sunday. Tina Thompson scored 16 and Sheryl Swoopes had 13 and eight rebounds before
leaving in the fourth quarter with an injury. Upcoming: at Washington, vs. New York | ||
| 2 |
| 4-1 | After
a tough loss to the Detroit Shock at home last week, the Sun bounced back to go
2-0 last week, sweeping the Charlotte Sting in a home-and-home series. Most recently,
the Sun posted a 89-71 victory on Saturday afternoon. Margo Dydek led the way
with 17 points and Taj McWilliams-Franklin added 12 with 15 rebounds for the Sun.
dydek posted 16 points and 15 rebounds in the first game on Thursday. Upcoming: at New York, vs. Seattle | ||
| 3 |
| 3-1 | The
Washington Mystics beat the Detroit Shock in their only game last week. This was
a rested team as DeLisha Milton-Jones scored 15 of her 21 points in the third
quarter and Alana Beard added 18 as the Mystics opened up a big lead and cruised
to a 92-68 home win over the Shock on Saturday. Upcoming: vs. Houston, at Indiana | ||
| 4 |
| 4-2 | The
Shock went 2-1 last week, losing to Washington in between victories over New York
and Chicago. After falling to Washington on Saturday, Detroit worked its way out
to a nine-point halftime lead over Chicago on Sunday and held on for an 81-66
road victory. Katie Smith scored 21, nailing 3-of-6 from downtown. Deanna Nolan
added 13 and Ruth Riley posted 12 points, two blocks, and a career-high 14 rebounds.
Upcoming: at Los Angeles, at Phoenix | ||
| 5 |
| 4-2 | After
starting the season 4-0 and looking like a worthy contender to stay atop the board
for a few weeks, star forward Tamika Catchings went down with an injury and finished
the week 1-2. They won at home against New York, but lost in Houston and Minnesota.
The Fever nearly erased a 10-point deficit in the final two minutes before dropping
a 92-87 decision at Minnesota on Friday. Tamika Whitmore has continued to be a
great addition and finished with a season-high 26. | ||
| 6 |
| 4-2 | The
Silver Stars went 3-0 last week and have now won four games in a row on the road.
My most improved pick is looking just that. Undefeated in their last three games,
Dan Hughes' young squad is healthy (mostly) and coming together. They have also
won back-to-back games against the past two champions. On Sunday night, they trailed
by 14 points before storming back for an 89-87 victory in Seattle. LaToya Thomas
scored 15 and Sophia Young had 14 points and 11 rebounds, including a key offensive
board late. Upcoming: vs. Minnesota, vs. New York | ||
| 7 |
| 3-2 | After
starting out 2-1, the Monarchs have come back down to earth and look anything
but invincible. They have already lost two games at home after losing only one
in 2005. The defending champs went 1-1 last week, beating Seattle by 21 points
but losing at home to San Antonio. Upcoming: at Phoenix, vs. Chicago | ||
| 8 |
| 3-3 | After
the Seattle Storm went 1-2 last week, it became abundantly clear that no one knew
which Storm team would show up on any given night. The Storm lost by 21 points
in Sacramento, then scored 97 points in a win in Phoenix, but lost at home to
San Antonio on Sunday without Wendy Palmer. sje has a partially torn achillies
tendon and will miss a month. Upcoming: vs. Chicago, at Connecticut | ||
| 9 |
| 3-3 | The
Sparks went 1-2 last week, most recently losing an overtime thriller in New York
on Saturday. Their season-opening road trip without Chamique Holdclaw is now over
and the Sparks returrn home and Holdclaw returns to the team. Yet even with two
All-Stars in Liesa Leslie and Holdsclaw, the Sparks will need greater offensive
production out of the rest of the starters. Upcoming: vs. Detroit, vs. Chicago | ||
| 10 |
| 2-4 | After
starting the season 0-3, the Lynx got on the board this week and went 2-1 last
week. Player of the Week Seimone Augustus continues to live up to the billing
and currently leads the WNBA in scoring with more than 22 points per game. The
Lynx also put together one of the best team performances on WNBA history, scoring
114 points against the Sparks last week and setting several new WNBA records.
Despite losing to Houston on Sunday, the Lynx have gotten the WNBA's attention
. Upcoming: at San Antonio, vs. Houston | ||
| 11 |
| 1-4 | The
Sting went 0-2 last week. They found themselves taking on the back-to-back defending
Eastern Conference Champion Sun two times this week, coming up short in both contests.
Charlotte struggled coming out of halftime and could not recover in an 89-71 loss
on Saturday. Kelly Mazzante scored 13 points and Helen Darling added 11. Upcoming: vs. Indiana, at Washington | ||
| 12 |
| 1-5 | The
Sky failed to win a game last week, going 0-3. After winning the first game of
the season, the Sky have struggled on both the offensive and defensive end. Chicago
trailed by nine at the half before dropping an 81-66 home decision to Detroit
on Sunday. Amanda Lassiter scored a career-high 20 points, while Candice Dupree
added 18 points and seven rebounds. Upcoming: at Seattle, at Los Angeles | ||
| 13 |
| 1-4 | The
once-feared New York Liberty got off to an 0-4 start on the road this season before
finally winning their home opener against the Los Angeles Sparks in overtime on
Saturday. Cathrine Kraayeveld hit a clutch 3-pointer with 4.6 seconds left in
regulation and Shameka Christon scored the first five points of overtime. Becky
Hammon led the way with 24 points, shooting a perfect 11-of-11 from the line. Upcoming: vs. Connecticut, at Houston | ||
| 14 |
| 0-4 | While
their offense got better this season, their defense got worse. The Mercury are
giving up the most points in the WNBA and are the only team in the WNBA yet to
win a game. The guard tandem of All-Star Diana Taurasi and rookie Cappie Pondexter
are scoring a combined 43 points per game, but even that has not been enough to
overcome their opponents. Upcoming: vs. Sacramento, vs. Detroit | ||
