The Ladies Show the Men how to Ball in Today's WNBA All-Star Game.
July 16th 2007 09:35
Cheryl Ford receives her WNBA All-Star MVP. (Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images)
The WNBA All-Star game today was a right, royal ripper, with the East edging out the West, 103-99. Unlike their male counterparts in the NBA, the mid-season classic for the female pros is always competitive and hard fought, making it in a lot of ways infinitely more compelling than the version that their male counterparts partake in.
Cheryl Ford and Katie Douglas led the way for the East with 16 points apiece, whilst helping their squad win a second successive All-Star game after losing the first six.
With a fired up, former Detroit Piston ‘Bad Boy’ Bill Laimbeer at the helm, the East squad certainly didn’t lack the motivation to kick Western Conference ass: “He was still the same,” said Ford, the All-Star MVP. “He was the fiery coach he is, and he wanted to win.” (Cherwoo, AP, 2007)
Today was a double celebration for Ford, who not only nabbed All-Star MVP honours, but also hit her first career 3-point basket as well in this game! Good on you, Cheryl! You’re really coming out roses this weekend.
It was a solid all hands on deck effort by the East squad, with Tamika Catchings having a great game with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while DeLisha Milton-Jones and Deanna Nolan chipped in with a further 11 points as well.
Meanwhile, the West team was paced by Tina Thompson who scored 19, and Australia’s own Lauren Jackson chipped in with 14 points, but unfortunately for them they came up
Seimone Augustus makes a fancy dish in today's All-Star contest. (Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images)
The final minutes of this game was the cherry on top because the West embarked on a comeback of epic proportions, overcoming a 12 point lead with two minutes to go. Hitting some big 3-point baskets, making some steals and snatching some key rebounds, the East almost squandered their advantage to a rampaging West team.
Luckily for coach Laimbeer’s sanity his girls prevailed.
Stand up for the WNBA All-Stars though for turning this game into such a fun spectacle.
In other All-Star weekend festivities, San Antonio’s Becky Hammon won the Dribble, Dish and Swish competition and Washington’s Laurie Koehn took out the 3-point title.
Just like their male counterparts, the skills competition that Hammon won involves players making their way through a basketball obstacle course where they have to display their skills in the fastest time possible. Becky completed the course in a very fast 27.1 seconds edging out Seimone Augustus by three seconds.
Big props to Hammon, but it was Laurie Koehn who was the real uber-star for the weekend, setting a new record for the 3-point contest, scoring 25 points. Perhaps most laudable is the fact that Koehn matched Craig Hodges NBA record as well. Good going Laurie.
There had to be a loser with Koehn’s record setting efforts and unfortunately it was Australia’s own Penny Taylor who was on the receiving end of a historic night.
Today’s video shows off the wonderful athletes in the WNBA to full effect. Enjoy.
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