The Los Angeles Sparks remain the top team in this week's Power Rankings after winning eight in a row. The Detroit Shock made the biggest jump of the week moving up from the number seven spot to the second replacing the Washington Mystics, who dropped three places to the number five spot. The two last ranked teams remain the same, but that may change this week when the Sky face the Sting on Tuesday.
| 2006 WNBA.com POWER RANKINGS: Week Five | |||||
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TEAM (last) |
W/L |
NOTES | ||
| 1 |
| 11-3 | The
Los Angeles Sparks have now won eight in a row with seven straight home games
ahead of them. On Sunday, Lisa Leslie scored a career-high 41points and became
the first player in WNBA history to reach the 5,000 points as the Sparks defeated
the San Antonio Silver Stars, 105-80. Upcoming: vs. Seattle, vs. Phoenix | ||
| 2 |
| 9-4 | The
Shock move up five spots in this weeks Power Rankings thanks to Cheryl Ford's
shocking offensive performances and a five-game winning streak. On Thursday, Ford
scored a career-high 24 points in a win over Charlotte, and followed up on Saturday
scoring 18 on 8-9 shooting from the field in a win over the Mystics. With Ford's
offense struggling on Sunday, Deanna Nolan took over and scored 20 of her 26 points
in the second half to lead the Shock past the Sting for the second time in the
week. Upcoming: at San Antonio, at Indiana | ||
| 3 |
| 10-4 | The
Connecticut Sun finished their four-game week with a 3-1 record, including road
wins over the Sky and Sting. Nykesha Sales led the Sun in scoring in each of their
road games played last week. Connecticut will play four of their next five at
home. Upcoming: vs. Houston, vs. Detroit | ||
| 4 |
| 10-5 |
The Houston Comets finished the week 2-1 with their only loss
coming from the red-hot Los Angeles Sparks on Wednesday. Led by Tina Thompson's
back-to-back 20-plus games, the Comets bounced back from the loss to LA by defeating
the Sting, 85-70, on Friday and the Storm, 84-74, on Sunday. The Comets have now
won seven in a row at home.. | ||
| 5 |
| 8-5 | While
the Washington Mystics remain undefeated at home, their road record is a different
story. After losing to the New York Liberty and the Detroit Shock on the road
earlier in the week, the Mystics went back home Sunday and defeated the Connecticut
Sun 87-80. The Mystics are now 7-0 at home and 1-5 on the road. Upcoming: vs. Houston, vs. Detroit | ||
| 6 |
| 10-5 |
The Tamika's continue leading the Indiana Fever toward the
top of the Eastern Conference, well, at least most of the time.... Behind Tamika
Whitmore's 17 points, the Fever beat up on the expansion Chicago Sky on Wednesday.
Two nights later Whitmore and Tamika Catchings combined for 46 points as the Fever
defeated the Mercury 83-73. But at the end of the week, the two Tamika's did not
bring their usual one-two punch to the arena as they shot a combined 3 of 17 from
the field for a combined 12 points in a loss to the Monarchs 82-61. | ||
| 7 |
| 7-6 |
Erin Buescher and Yolanda Griffith were unstoppable in the paint
on Wednesday as the Monarchs defeated the Silver Stars 75-69. After losing to
the #1 ranked Sparks on Friday, the Monarchs shut down Indiana's two star players,
Whitmore and Catchings, as the Monarchs rolled over the Fever 82-61. | ||
| 8 |
| 7-8 |
The Storm continue to stay right around the .500 mark. Seattle
split two home games last week after bouncing back from a loss to the Mercury
with a win over the Silver Stars. But they couldn't find an answer for the Comets
in Houston on Sunday as Betty Lennox scored 29 in a losing effort. | ||
| 9 |
| 6-7 | When
something seems too good to be true, it usually is... After winning their first
five road games of the season, the Silver Stars lost three straight away from
the AT&T Center by an average of 23.7 points. Upcoming: vs. Detroit, at New York | ||
| 10 |
| 5-7 | Led
by rookie sensation Cappie Pondexter's 23 points, the Mercury capped off the week
with a 90-77 win over the Chicago Sky. Phoenix finished the week with a 2-1 record
and are slowly working their way up the Western Conference standings. Upcoming: vs. Minnesota, at Los Angeles | ||
| 11 |
| 4-9 | The
New York Liberty finally came alive last week as they won back-to-back games for
the first time this season. Led by Becky Hammon's 23 points, the Liberty defeated
the Washington Mystics 72-66 on Wednesday. Three days later, Barb Farris' career-high
20 led the Liberty past the Minnesota Lynx 93-83. Upcoming: vs. Charlotte, vs. San Antonio | ||
| 12 |
| 5-8 | Seimone
Augustus continues to drop huge scoring numbers on a nightly basis, which unfortunately
has not amounted to many Lynx wins this season. In the Lynx second loss of the
week, Augustus scored 29 points in a losing effort to the New York Liberty. Upcoming: at Connecticut, vs. New York | ||
| 13 |
| 2-11 | The
losing continues for coach Muggsy Bogues and the Charlotte Sting as the Sting
have now lost seven in a row. Five of Charlotte's next six are on the road. Upcoming: at New York, at Chicago | ||
| 14 |
| 1-13 | The
Sky still have not won a game since May 20th, their first of the season. Chicago
will have a chance to get out of the cellar this week when they face the 2-11
Charlotte Sting in a battle between the two teams with the worst record in the
league. Upcoming: vs. Charlotte, vs. at San Antonio | ||
