Welcome back Big Syl!

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In exhibition play last night, Sylvia Fowles played in her first game after returning from the Euroleage playoffs and poured in 13 points with 7 rebounds in only 22 minutes of play as Chicago defeated Seattle 84-71.


Welcome back big Syl!

Filed under  //  Sylvia Fowles   WNBA  
Posted by Bill Martin  

Lady Tigers Shine in WNBA Exhibition Games

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As the WNBA gears up for the start of a new season, several teams (and Lady Tigers) were in action this weekend.

Scholanda Robinson hit 4-8 from the field including her only 3-attempt, scoring 11 points and leading Tulsa to the franchises first victory as they defeated Seattle 90-80.

Erica White had 4 points for the Atlanta Dream in a 77-58 lost to Washington.

Temeka Johnson saw her first exhibition action this year and drill 8-10 from the floor and 2 of 3 from behind the arc. She has a total of 21 points and 4 assists as the WNBA Champion Phoenix Mercury defeated the China National team 106-79.

Marie Ferdinand-Harris his 6-8 from the floor including her only 3-point attempt for 13 points in only 16 minutes but it wasn't enough as Los Angeles lost to San Antonio. Roneeka Hodges started and scored 7 points for San Antiono. Quianna Chaney came of the bench but missed her only shot attempt.

In Connecticut, Allison Hightower scored 6 points and grabbed 5 rebounds in the Sun's 89-46 victory over the Poland National team.

We want to wish all our Lady Tigers the best of luck in making their teams and having successful season.

Filed under  //  WNBA  
Posted by Bill Martin  

Seimone Aims To Put Scary Surgery In The Past

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From Dave Campbell of the Associated Press:

MINNEAPOLIS — The grueling rehabilitation Seimone Augustus finished for her fixed-up left knee seems insignificant next to the surgery she's recovering from now.

The two-time WNBA All-Star forward for the Minnesota Lynx had three non-cancerous but painful tumors called fibroids removed from her abdomen and lower back 10 days ago, a procedure that brought both emotional and physical stress.

One of the fibroids was as big as a baby's head, and another was the size of a grapefruit. Augustus knew about her condition and hoped to put off an operation until after the season, but after a few days of intense workouts last month the pain was such that immediate surgery became necessary.

"They said it was equivalent to a woman having contractions during birth," Augustus said Tuesday in her first public comments since the procedure.

There was another, deeper side of this situation, too: Her uterus needed to be taken out. Her ovaries were saved, so she can use a surrogate mother if she wants to have a baby in the future.

"My main thing was to be able to have kids using my eggs," Augustus said, adding: "I want women to know that if they do have a fibroid to try to address it as soon as possible before it gets to that point."

Entering her fifth season, Augustus is the league's all-time leader at 21.2 points per game for her career. She's clearly more than just a scoring leader for the Lynx, too, with a toughness that stretches beyond the colorful tattoos along her arms.

She aims to be playing basketball again in five weeks.

"She's so resilient," teammate Charde Houston said.

Fibroids cause bleeding, pain or other problems in nearly one-third of all women. The growths are a medical mystery, and symptoms can come suddenly. Fibroids account for 40 percent of the nation's annual hysterectomies.

Augustus said her mother and grandmother also had fibroids, and that a family friend died from complications during a similar surgery. Her plan was to have the procedure done in Louisiana, her home state, but quickly realized it was too serious to wait.

"It's a very intense process, a very emotional process. It was very scary," she said, adding: "The pain was so much that I couldn't walk. I couldn't really get around. I knew I wasn't going to be able to get on a plane to have the surgery. So talking to my dad and hearing his voice crack on the phone, I felt uneasy. I knew I had to get it done."

New head coach Cheryl Reeve was impressed by her "first experience of being in the trenches" with Augustus. When she saw the pictures of the size of the fibroids, Reeve was speechless.

"My mouth dropped," she said. "I said I will never, ever question that player's pain tolerance."

Another key Lynx contributor, guard Candice Wiggins, is also out for several more weeks while she recovers from surgery on her right knee. But the Lynx boast a player at each position who has been an All-Star at least once, and despite only two playoff appearances — and no series won — in the franchise's 11 seasons they are a confident group.

Reeve reminded them as much recently.

"She said playoffs is an expectation. Championship is the goal," Augustus said.

Filed under  //  Media   Seimone Augustus   WNBA  
Posted by Bill Martin  

Thanks to all the sponsors of the Lady Tiger Golf Classic

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BRITTANY CAVALHIDO (5-7-10):

There is so much that is involved in the success of a golf tournament. For me, I was overwhelmed at the support of our many sponsors. The sponsorship helps us to raise money for our program while also keeping costs down. We have many sponsors that have been involved in our golf tournament for years but we also picked up some new sponsors as well. As a fan of Lady Tiger Basketball, the best way to say thanks to these sponsors is to purchase their products. To all of those who supported us -- THANKS YOU!

Atchafalaya Country Club
California Pizza Kitchen
Campus Federal
Capital Area Tigers
Carter Plantation
Chris Perez
Coca-Cola
Copper Mill Country Club
Cox Communication
Embassy Suites
Golf Etc
Greystone Country Club
Grid Iron Club
Howard Jones
Krispy Kreme
Lady Tiger Depot
McAlister's Deli
Pelican Point Golf & Country Club
Red Stick Sports
Sherwood Dental Clinic
Southern BBQ
The Bluffs Country Club
Tiger Mania
Varsity Sports
Winn Dixie

 

Filed under  //  Community  
Posted by Bill Martin  

Hightower's Sun Defeat Erica's Dream - Both Play Well

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Allison Hightower's Connecticut Sun got the best of Erica White's Atlanta Dream in an 86-79 victory today. Both players played well with Allison scoring 10 points on 3 of 4 from the floor and 4 of 4 from the free throw line. Ally also grabbed 2 boards and 2 steals. Erica scored 4 points on 2 of 4 shooting and also passed off for 3 assists while picking off 2 steals.

Connecticut their next exhibition game at home against the Poland National team on Friday while Atlanta plays Washington in Cookeville, TN on Sunday.

Connecticut site: http://www.wnba.com/sun/
Atlanta
site: http://www.wnba.com/dream/

Filed under  //  WNBA  
Posted by Bill Martin  

Big thanks to Mindy Hetzel and Southern BBQ!

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VAN CHANCELLOR (5-5-10):
Lunch for the golf tournament was donated by Southern BBQ! It was a huge hit with everyone! Mindy Hetzel with Southern BBQ was kind enough to come out and serve our participants! If you haven't tried Southern BBQ products you need to -- it is made right here in Louisiana and it is delicious! Southern BBQ is located in Jennings, LA. Their website is: www.SouthernBBQsauce.com

Filed under  //  Community  
Posted by Bill Martin  

Lady Tiger Golf Classic

BRITTANY CARVALHIDO (5-4-10):
It was another beautiful day for this year’s Lady Tiger Golf Classic! Thanks to Mike Johnson and The LSU Golf Course for hosting our golf tournament! Kim Crane and Kelly Presley with The Lady Tiger Depot were our Title Sponsor! Ms. Jacqui Vines and Cox Communications were another corporate sponsor and came out to support the Lady Tigers again this year! Once again it was a huge success and the primary reason is directly linked to the support from the teams, hole sponsors and many others. We are looking forward to seeing all of you again next spring!

 

Filed under  //  Community  
Posted by Bill Martin  

Erica White leads Atlanta against Allison Hightower in her first WNBA game at 10 AM today

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Connecticut's top picks Tina Charles, Kelsey Griffin and Allison Hightower take to the court today in an exhibition match against the Atlanta Dream with Erica White. Tip off at 10 a.m. CT from Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut.


Follow live stats throughout the game at: http://www.wnba.com/games/20100504/ATLCON/gameinfo.html

Filed under  //  WNBA  
Posted by Bill Martin  

Allison's Work Ethic Impresses Connecticut Writer

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Ned Griffen of TheSun.com of Connecticut wrote a great article on Allison Hightower and her work ethic is already impressed the Connecticut Sun coaching staff.

Louisiana State created an award in honor of Allison Hightower, one of several Connecticut Sun rookies.

Think about that for a moment.

LSU has named many of its awards after past greats. The "Floor General" award, for instance, is named for Temeka Johnson, the starting point guard for the defending WNBA champion Phoenix Mercury.

The LSU coaches announced at April's team banquet that they established a new award - the "Allison Hightower Outstanding Practice Player."

"Coaches are always looking for great practice players and great practice teams," LSU associate head coach Bob Starkey said. "We never had anybody practice as hard as she did.

"She had the best work ethic of any player I've ever coached. I've coached both sides (men and women), and that's not to say that I haven't coached players with a great work ethic. Seimone Augustus and Sylvia Fowles both had a great work ethic. On the men's side, I coached Shaq (Shaquille O'Neal) and Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, who was then known as Chris Jackson, and both had a great work ethic. I can honestly say that I never recall Allison Hightower ever taking one play off or one drill off."

Hightower gets to show off her hustle — and skills — today as Connecticut opens its exhibition season against Atlanta at Mohegan Sun Arena (11 a.m.)

"I take pride in (hard work)," Hightower said. "If you don't practice hard, then it won't prepare you (for the game). I just try to take note of that all the time. Practice as hard as you can. Even if you don't play well, you just practice as hard as you can and good things will follow. I've done that ever since I was younger.

Read the entire article: http://bit.ly/9bY81j

Filed under  //  WNBA  
Posted by Bill Martin  

The WNBA getting to know Allison Hightower

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From Swish Appeal:


In the 2010 WNBA draft, one team stands out in my mind as getting the "big haul" – the Connecticut Sun. Five ladies in three rounds, including a blockbuster trade with the Lynx, saw the Sun end up with selections #1, #3, #7, #15 and #27 – an almost unbelievable draft class of talent. Round by round, Connecticut amassed all-star name after all-star name, leading many to joke about recreating their very own All-American team to play in Mohegan. One of the quintuplet is the 5’10" soft-spoken guard from LSU, Allison Hightower. Hightower took some time on Thursday following her selection to talk about her draft experience.
On being selected by Connecticut -
It’s great! So far they’ve picked some great players in this draft – Tina Charles, Kelsey Griffin, even Danielle McCray even though she’s hurt. I’m just happy to get picked up.

On what she will bring to the Sun –
I think I can bring a lot of versatility. Just my offensive game, being able to create my own shot and hopefully get my teammates open and also play defense. I come from a defensive school in LSU and we take big pride in our defense and I hope that I’ll be able to bring that as well.

On her strengths –
I think I can provide a lot of versatility at the guard position. To be able to shoot, also be able to go off the bounce and create my shot and get my teammates open, I think I’ll be able to add that. Also, just playing defense. I come from a defensive school and we take big pride in that so I think I’ll be able to bring that as well.

On playing in college for one of the winningest WNBA coaches –
Coach Chancellor helped me out a lot, especially through the season. He knew that I would have a career in the WNBA so he’s just been teaching me along the way and gave me great tips and great pointers and I can’t wait to talk to him, tell him.

He just told me I need to work on being a consistent shooter from the outside. That’s what they really need in the WNBA is people who are consistent in shooting the ball and he told me just to work on that. And just to be aggressive, be confident and feel that you do belong out there with those players and that’s about it. He’s just been telling me great things and just to continue to work hard and listen to the coaches and I’ll be able to grow and be a great player.

When [Chancellor] first came up for the job, I was like, ‘he’s really going to be our coach’! He comes from four back-to-back-to-back-to-back championships at the Houston Comets and just to be able to play for him has been a big privilege for me. He’s a great guy, a great personality, he really likes to get after it in practice and he likes to have fun at the same time. He’s shown me a lot, he’s taught me a lot and I appreciate him for that.

On the transition from a small role to large role at LSU and now to the WNBA –
I’ve been able to have the best of both worlds. Playing with a veteran team such as those eight seniors with Sylvia Fowles and Erica White and all those players and then coming down and playing with eight freshmen and having to step up and be a leader, do a lot of different things. Now I’m transitioning to the WNBA and you’ve got a lot of veteran players and a lot of new players so I think I’ll just continue to grow from there. I’m just really looking forward to the experience and being able to grow and get better.

I just know that I’m not alone. Again, when I go back to my college career, playing with eight seniors and then being the only one left and then playing with seven freshmen and being the only one that’s a senior, you get the best of both worlds. I’m in a situation where I’m not alone and we’ll just grow together.

Read the entire article at: http://bit.ly/9gFlfm


Filed under  //  WNBA  
Posted by Bill Martin