With less than a week remaining in the regular season, the playoff picture is starting to become more clear, but the Rankings continue to shuffle. The Eastern Conference best replaces the best of the West for the top spot overall, and the bottom three are back to what we were used to seeing for most of the season. The Silver Stars have dallen dramatically in the standings and in the Rankings while the Monarchs are back on track and near the top once again.
| 2006 WNBA.com POWER RANKINGS: Week Eleven | |||||
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TEAM (last) |
W/L |
NOTES | ||
| 1 |
| 24-6 | The
Sun have moved up from No. 3 to No. 2 to No. 1 over the past three weeks thanks
to a franchise-record 10-game winning streak. Led by Player of the Week Taj McWilliams-Franklin's
22 points and nine rebounds on Thursday, the Sun defeated the Los Angeles Sparks,
72-63, to take over the top spot in the rankings and the best overall record in
the WNBA. The Sun dominated the board last season and could finish on top again
this season Upcoming: at Chicago, at Indiana | ||
| 2 |
| 23-9 | It
seems as though the road has finally caught up to the Sparks as they have lost
a season-high three straight games. The Sparks ended an eight-game road trip with
a record of 4-4 on Saturday with a 96-80 loss to the Phoenix Mercury. However,
Los Angeles has already clinched the Western Conference and will play their remaining
two games at home to right the ship. Upcoming: vs Sacramento, vs Minnesota | ||
| 3 |
| 21-9 | Detroit
is well on its way to locking down home-court advantage in the first round after
finishing last week 3-1, including an important 70-66 win over the third place
Indiana Fever last Tuesday. The Shock are two games ahead of the Fever and three
games behind the first place Connecticut Sun. Upcoming: vs. Seattle, vs. Chicago | ||
| 4 |
| 20-11 |
The Monarchs bounced back from a three-game losing streak by
winning three in a row last week and four in a row overall. Newly named U.S.A.
World Championship Team player Yolanda Griffith led the Monarchs in scoring in
each of the Monarchs three games played last week. | ||
| 5 |
| 19-11 |
Indiana has dropped back down to the fifth spot despite finishing
the week 2-1. Despite losing to Detroit, 70-66, earlier in the week, the Fever,
who have already clinched at least the third spot in the East, still have a chance
to move up to second to gain home-court advantage as they are two games behind
the Shock with four games remaining. | ||
| 6 |
| 17-14 |
The Storm are on their way to securing a playoff spot after
winning three straight and six of their last eight. Seattle is looking to move
up even further in the standings this week. The Storm wrapped up the regular season
home schedule by beating the Sting, 87-81, on Saturday and will play their final
three games on the road, including a visit to Houston, who they currently tied
with for third place in the West. | ||
| 7 |
| 17-14 |
The Houston Comets missed an opportunity to move up to second
in the West as they were defeated by the Sacramento Monarchs, 74-62, on Tuesday.
Houston then went on to beat Minnesota, 75-73, in overtime on Friday, but lost
to the Sun, 86-67, on Sunday. The Comets are currently in third place based on
te tiebreaker, but the Storm hold the same record and can take over the third
spot with a win and a Comets loss. Each team has three games remaining. | ||
| 8 |
| 16-15 | The
Mystics remain in fourth place in the East and have dropped to three-and-a-half
games behind the third place Fever. Last week, Washington beat the first place
Los Angeles Sparks, 84-74, to win four in a row, but then went on to lose to the
Storm, 86-78, and the Monarchs, 99-95. Upcoming: vs. San Antonio, vs. Detroit | ||
| 9 |
| 14-16 |
After losing four straight and slipping in the standings to end July, the Mercury
finished last week 3-0 and are still alive in the race for the fourth postseason
position in the East. Barely. Phoenix is currently two-and-a-half games behind
the Comets and Storm for the final spot with four games remaining on its schedule.
It's going to take a lot of wins and a lot of luck for the Mercury to slide into
the playoffs. Upcoming: vs. Minnesota, at Houston | ||
| � | � | � | � | ||
| 10 |
| 10-21 | The
Lynx ended a six-game losing streak by beating the San Antonio Silver Stars, 82-68
on Sunday. Unfortunately the win didn't do much for the Lynx as they have officially
been eliminated from the playoffs and are still in last place in the West. Upcoming: at Phoenix, at Sacramento | ||
| 11 |
| 12-19 | The
Silver Stars went from being only one-and-a-half games behind the fourth place
Storm last week to five-games behind and officially eliminated from playoff contention
after losing five straight and 11 of their last 13. Upcoming: at Washington, vs. Seattle | ||
| 12 |
| 9-22 | New
York has made a late run in the season, winning five of its last seven, including
a 75-67 win over the second place Detroit Shock. Unfortunately, the Liberty had
already been eliminated from playoff contention before they made their run. Upcoming: vs. Indiana, vs. Charlotte | ||
| 13 |
| 9-22 | Charlotte
ended a four-game road trip 1-3 with their only victory coming against the Silver
Stars, 68-65, last Tuesday. The Sting will finish their season with two home games,
including Dawn Staley's final return to Charlotte, and one road game. Upcoming: vs. Houston, at New York | ||
| 14 |
| 4-26 | The
Sky have lost four in a row including a 76-49 defeat to Detroit on Friday. The
49 points was the lowest amount the Chicago have scored all season. Upcoming: vs. Connecticut, at Detroit | ||
