Lots of Lady Tigers in matinee action today in the W

All afternoon games today in the WNBA and lots of Lady Tigers playing:

Roneeka Hodges takes San Antonio to Chicago to play against Sylvia Fowles at 11:30 AM.

Allison Hightower and Connecticut are on the road at Indiana at noon.

Atlanta travels to Minnesota to battle Seimone Augustus and the Lynx at noon.

Temeka Johnson and Phoenix host Seattle at 2:30 PM.

Follow the scores and stats at: http://bit.ly/9AhpZf

Wnba_ball

Filed under  //  Alumni   Seimone Augustus   Sylvia Fowles   Temeka Johnson   WNBA  
Posted by Bob Starkey 

Marie helps LA to road victory

Marie Ferdinand tallied 12 points in a starting role for Los Angeles as the Sparks claimed a 87-71 road victory over Tulsa.  Marie hit 5 of 10 from the floor and was 2 of 2 from the free throw line.  Scholanda Robinson scored 6 points for the Shock.

Box score: http://bit.ly/bTzP9B

Marie6

Filed under  //  Alumni   WNBA  
Posted by Bob Starkey 

Quianna Chaney -- paying forward, giving back

COACH STARKEY: Later today we will have one of our Lady Tigers post about our afternoon at the Lester Roberts Center yesterday.  We took some some of our student-athletes there as part of our partnership with BREC.  What I wanted to spend some time is Quianna Chaney who joined us yesterday.  Q is one of my all-time favorite Lady Tigers and not because of her ability to shoot the 3-ball but because she has a great understand of her role as a Lady Tiger and takes great pride in giving back.  She is a "must-have" coach each summer at our camps.  First, because she is enthusiastic in being around young people and second, because she does a great job of teaching.  I think it was special for her to be at the Lester Roberts Center because it has housed some of our great LSU Tigers.  Garrett and Collis Temple along with Glen Davis, Randy Deval and Tyrus Thomas (among others) all spend a lot of hours there playing for the Sports Academy.  Another name that we all know, Seimone Augustus also played a lot of basketball there  -- and so did Quianna Chaney. 

It didn't hit me until yesterday morning that Q might want to go with us so I send her a quick text and within 30 seconds I had a reply, "I'd love to go Coach."  And so Q joined our team and as always did a wonderful job.  She's make an excellent coach one day.

Even more testament of her love for paying forward and wanting to help young people is that this morning she is on the road to do the same thing at a school in Mississippi. 

Thanks Q -- for being you!

Filed under  //  Alumni   Camp/Clinics   WNBA  
Posted by Bob Starkey 

Lady Tigers In The WNBA Weekly Update - July 13, 2010

Lady Tigers In The WNBA Weekly Update – July 13, 2010

Every week, we will take a look at what former Lady Tigers did the past week in the WNBA.

Marie Ferdinand-Harris, Guard
Los Angeles Sparks

Last Week:

July 6 vs. Phoenix (L, 89-98) 4 pts, 4 reb, 2-of-4 FT, 18 min

This Week:

Tuesday, July 13 at Tulsa, 6 p.m. CT ESPN2

Friday, July 16 at Chicago, 5:30 p.m. CT

Sunday, July 18 at San Antonio, noon CT

Sylvia Fowles, Center

Chicago Sky

Fowles has without question put herself in the running for the MVP race. She earned the MVP award of the All-Star game on Saturday, leading Team USA with 23 points and eight rebounds. She finished 9-of-11 from the floor and scored 13 points in the third quarter alone. The following day, she returned to the Chicago Sky and grabbed a season-high 19 rebounds – 12 in the first-half – in a 57-54 loss at New York.   

Last Week:

July 6 vs.  Indiana (L, 51-58) 26 pts, 18 reb, 2 stl, 2 blk, 9-of-22 FG, 8-of-8 FT, 35 min

July 11 at New York (L, 54-57) 12 pts, 19 reb, 3 ast, 4 blk, 4-of-9 FG, 4-of-7 FT, 38 min

This Week:

Wednesday, July 14 vs. San Antonio, 11:30 a.m. CT

Friday, July 16 vs. Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m. CT

Sunday, July 18 at Washington, 3 p.m. CT


Allison Hightower, Guard
Connecticut Sun

Allison Hightower saw her most extensive action of the season last week. Hightower earned her first career start and responded with eight points in 28 minutes of action in a 108-103 loss at Atlanta.

Last Week:

July 6 at San Antonio (L, 66-79) 4 pts, 2 reb, 1ast, 2-of-5 FG, 12 min

July 7 at Atlanta (L, 103-108) 8 pts,  2 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 2-of-3 FT, 28 min

This Week:

Wednesday, July 14 at Indiana, 1 p.m. CT

Saturday, July 17 at Atlanta, 7 p.m. CT


Temeka Johnson, Point Guard
Phoenix Mercury

Last Week:

Tuesday, July 6 at Los Angeles (W, 98-89) 5 pts, 6 reb, 6 ast, 1 stl, 1-of-3 3FG, 24 min

This Week:

Wednesday, July 14 vs. Seattle, 12:30 p.m. CT

Saturday, July 17 vs. Tulsa, 7 p.m. CT


Scholanda Robinson, Guard
Tulsa Shock

Last Week:

July 8 at Indiana (L, 72-100) 4 pts, 1 stl, 1 blk, 14 min

This Week:

Tuesday, July 13 vs. Los Angeles, 6 p.m. CT

Friday, July 16 at San Antonio, 7 p.m. CT

Saturday, July 17 at Phoenix, 9 p.m. CT

Seimone Augustus, Guard-Forward
Minnesota Lynx

Seimone Augustus scored 15 points in the Lynx only game last week.

Last Week:

 July 8 vs. San Antonio (W, 89-66) 15 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl, 6-of-11 FG, 1-of-3 3FG, 2-of-3 FT, 28 min

This Week:

Wednesday, July 14 vs. Atlanta, noon CT

Saturday, July 17 vs. Seattle, 2:30 p.m. CT 

Posted by Bill Martin  

Mone, Syl, Team USA to play exhibition games in September

In its final domestic tune-up prior to the 2010 FIBA World Championship, the USA Basketball Women’s National Team will host Australia and Spain in a pair of exhibition contests at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn., on Sept. 10 and 12, USA Basketball and the XL Center today announced. The U.S. will take on defending world champion Australia on Sept. 10 at 7:30 p.m. (all times EDT) and Spain, the No. 5-ranked women’s program in the world, on Sept. 12 (time TBD). Tickets will go on sale this Friday, July 16 at 10:00 a.m. and will be available online at www.ticketmaster.com, through Ticketmaster charge by phone at 1-800-745-3000 and in person at the XL Center box office. Ticket prices range from $75, $50, $30, $20 and $10 respectively, additional fees may apply.   

In addition to the USA exhibition games, the University of Hartford will play host to an exhibition between Australia and Spain on Sept. 11 at 2:00 p.m.

“One of the things you always want to do is to try to play some really good competition leading up to the (FIBA) World Championship,” said 2009-12 USA Basketball Women’s National Team and University of Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma. “Usually those games are held overseas where we don’t have a lot of fans. It’s fortunate for us that we’re able to get teams of the caliber of Spain and Australia, two of the top five teams in the world, to come to Hartford and play exhibition games. I think people here in the Hartford area, in Connecticut especially, appreciate women’s basketball as much, if not more, than any other place in the country. I think those two teams will get a great reception and people will get a chance to see what we’re going to be seeing in the Czech Republic. I’m excited for our team. I’m excited for our fans. I’m excited for the city of Hartford, and I’m really appreciative of the XL Center for working with us to put that together.”

The U.S. has faced Australia 14 times in exhibition games and official FIBA events over the past decade. In addition to the USA’s victories over Australia in each of the last three Olympic gold medal games, the U.S. in 2002 defeated Australia 71-56 in the FIBA World Championship semifinal contest, and owns an 8-2 record over Australia in various exhibition games since the turn of the century.

The USA and Spain are less familiar as the teams have played each other just five times since 2000. The USA topped Spain 90-56 and 94-55 at the 2006 and 2002 FIBA World Championship, respectively, collected a pair of Olympic victories over Spain in 2004 (71-58) and 2008 (93-55), and defeated Spain 77-61 in a 2004 pre-Olympic exhibition game.

Members of the 2009-12 USA Basketball Women’s National Team are Seimone Augustus (Minnesota Lynx), Alana Beard (Washington Mystics), Sue Bird (Seattle Storm), Swin Cash (Seattle Storm), Tamika Catchings (Indiana Fever), Tina Charles (Connecticut Sun), Shameka Christon (Chicago Sky), Candice Dupree (Phoenix Mercury), Sylvia Fowles (Chicago Sky), Lindsey Harding (Washington Mystics), Asjha Jones (Connecticut Sun), Kara Lawson (Connecticut Sun), Angel McCoughtry (Atlanta Dream), Renee Montgomery (Connecticut Sun), Maya Moore (University of Connecticut), Candace Parker (Los Angeles Sparks), Cappie Pondexter (New York Liberty), Diana Taurasi  (Phoenix Mercury), Lindsay Whalen (Minnesota Lynx) and Candice Wiggins (Minnesota Lynx).

Seimonesylviateamusaolympics08

Filed under  //  Alumni   Seimone Augustus   Sylvia Fowles   Team USA   WNBA  
Posted by Bob Starkey 

Syl follows up All-Star performance with double-double

Less that 24 hours after capturing the MVP award in the USA-WNBA All-Star Game, Sylvia Fowles turned in a double-double against the New York Liberty but it was not enough to lead the Sky to victory.  Big Syl scored 12 points on only 9 shots but grabbed a season high 19 rebounds.  She also had 3 assists and blocked 4 shots.

Box Score: http://bit.ly/aUwUK3

Syl_-_wnba1

Filed under  //  Alumni   Sylvia Fowles   WNBA  
Posted by Bob Starkey 

What they're saying about Big Syl

DIANA TAURASI: “It’s huge for Sylvia, because Sylvia is someone that when she’s confident is unstoppable. Then you see the other side of Sylvia, which is the passive side that we’re trying to elude from her body, because when she plays focused and determined there’s no one like her in the world.”

SUE BIRD: “She’s just nice by nature, just very nice and gentle, a gentle giant. So you have to get on her to get her to play that way. I’ve played over in Russia with her for the last two years and I know that. And when you do get on her, the best part about Syl is that she responds immediately.  The only person who can stop her really is herself, as cliché as that is, but it’s very true in Sylvia’s case.”

KATIE DOUGLAS:  “I see way too much of her,” Douglas said with a laugh. “I saw a lot of her tonight. I saw a lot of the back of her jersey and that’s not what I like to see because that normally means she’s scoring buckets. Obviously she’s a premier post in this league; she’s such a dominant force and demands so much attention.”

SWIN CASH: She’s grown, but Sylvia can take it to another level."

Syl_all-star_game_trophy3

Filed under  //  Alumni   Sylvia Fowles   Team USA   WNBA  
Posted by Bob Starkey 

Big Syl goes "Beast Mode" to capture All-Star Game's MVP Award

The 2008 Olympics in Beijing was the last time the US National Team took the court in a major international competition. A quick look at that team’s roster shows the following post players: Sylvia Fowles,  Lisa Leslie, Tina Thompson, and Candace Parker. 

When the US National Team begins the 2010 World Championships in September, the only player from that group that will wear the red, white and blue is Fowles. Both Leslie and Thompson have ended their USA Basketball careers and Parker is out after suffering a dislocated shoulder last month.

But considering the performance that Fowles put on during Saturday’s WNBA vs. USA Basketball game at Mohegan Sun, it appears the USA is going to be just fine in the post.

Fowles was named the Most Valuable Player of the game after scoring a game-high 23 points and grabbing eight rebounds in a performance more dominant than those numbers suggest. When the National Team pulled away from the WNBA Stars in the third quarter, Fowles was at her best, hitting layups and grabbing rebounds at will.

“That’s Sylvia. That’s what we need from Sylvia,” said USA teammate Diana Taurasi. “That’s a responsibility she has to put on herself and we’re going to need games like that throughout our quest to bring back a World Championship.”

As important as Fowles’ performance was to the National Team on Saturday, Taurasi believes it is just as beneficial for Fowles herself.

Read the article: http://bit.ly/ddNmEk

Check the Boxscore: http://bit.ly/d0W2zB

Filed under  //  Alumni   Sylvia Fowles   Team USA   WNBA  
Posted by Bob Starkey 

From ESPN.com ... Former LSU star Sylvia Fowles Delivers In Headline Role For Team USA

Here is a column from ESPN.com regarding the dominant MVP play of former LSU star Sylvia Fowles for Team USA in today's WNBA All-Star Game.


http://sports.espn.go.com/wnba/news/story?id=5370377

Posted by Bill Martin  

Big Syl on the Big Stage Today!

UNCASVILLE, Conn. -- Former LSU All-American center Sylvia Fowles will play for the USA Basketball National Team in the WNBA vs. USA Basketball: The Stars at the Sun Game at 2:30 p.m. CDT on ESPN before a sold-out crowd at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Fowles, a member of the Chicago Sky, will be joined on Team USA by Sue Bird (Seattle Storm), Swin Cash (Seattle Storm), Tamika Catchings (Indiana Fever), Tina Charles (Connecticut Sun), Candice Dupree (Phoenix Mercury), Angel McCoughtry (Atlanta Dream), Renee Montgomery (Connecticut Sun), Maya Moore (University of Connecticut), Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury) and Cappie Pondexter (New York Liberty).

This marks the second time a USA National Team will go against a team comprised of WNBA standouts. Prior to the 2004 Olympic Games the U.S. faced a team comprised of WNBA players in an exhibition game at Radio City Music Hall. LSU head coach Van Chancellor was the victorious coach in that contest prior to going on to win the gold medal in Athens.

Fowles is coming off her second WNBA Player of the Week honor after averaging 24 points and 11.5 rebounds in her last two contests. Fowles was a 2009 WNBA All-Star and became the third player in league history to dunk in the game.

Fowles and Seimone Augustus were key members of the 2008 Beijing Olympic gold medal team. Her other previous USA Basketball experience came as a member of the USA Senior National Team in 2007.

Team USA will scrimmage the Australian National Team on Sunday before players report back to their respective WNBA teams.

Fowles is averaging 19.3 points and 9.4 rebounds per game for the Sky, including 26 points and a career-high-tying 18 rebounds in a loss to the Indiana Fever on Tuesday night. She had 15 points and nine boards in the third quarter, setting a franchise record for rebounds in a quarter.

Posted by Bob Starkey