The record books will say that Columbus defeated Long Beach 86-81 in the fifth and deciding game of the ABL Finals. They will say that Valerie Still scored 25 points and earned Most Valuable Player honors for the second straight year. They will say that four players scored in double figures. They will say that Columbus rallied from an 0-2 series deficit by winning three straight in Battelle Hall, where they ended with a 25-game winning streak.
What is not so apparent in the record books and stat sheets is that Sunday night's victory was likely the last in the professional careers of Val Still and Andrea Lloyd.
Still, 36, and Lloyd, 32, have both said they are going to retire at the end of the season. While either or both might change their minds in the coming weeks, it's a real possibility that this second straight championship will be the final crowning moment for both these players.
The forwards, perpetually undersized for what they are asked to do for the Quest, could not be any more different in style and makeup. The outgoing Still never runs out of smiles and jokes. After the formal press conference Sunday night, she was holding court with reporters in a corner of the room, making fun of Quest head coach Brian Agler, the Columbus Dispatch beat reporter and anyone else who happened to be there. While playing in Italy, the 12-year international veteran once hosted a television show.
Contrast that with the soft-spoken but also smiling Lloyd, who lists as her favorite hobbies working on her computer, reading, bike riding and cooking. The 6-1 forward, content to do all the dirty work and all the little things that few notice, is more than comfortable out of the spotlight. During the postgame celebration, when Lloyd was standing on the scorer's table and was asked to address the crowd, she said all of two sentences before inviting what she called the 'JV team' to come up and join her. That group -- Pashen Thompson, Shanele Stires, Traci Thirdgill, Angie Potthoff and Latina Davis -- 'kicked our butts in practice,' said Lloyd, 'and we couldn't have won without them.' Spotlight avoided.
Then, after making a brief appearance at the postgame press conference, Lloyd did not stick around for any one-on-one interviews. She left that job to Still, who was more than happy to keep everybody company.
Still spoke for both of them with her trademark humor.
'She (Lloyd) absolutely took Venus Lacy out of the game (4-of-11 for eight points in Game Five). You didn't hear of Venus Lacy. She just wore her down,' Still said. 'Andy's smaller, older, decrepit, limping on one leg. Of all the people on this team, Andy is the most intelligent. She does the little things you don't notice. She doesn't do the flashy things but she doesn't do the silly things either. She keeps us together.'
When it came time to speak for herself, Still reinforced her decision to retire.
'For now, it's 100 percent (certain),' she said. 'You know how life is, it's day-by-day. For me, at this moment, there's nothing more I can do on the court. It really is hard to get up for games. like having fun, but if I don't have that killer instinct, it's hard to get motivated. I've got my son (two-year-old Aaron) and my husband to worry about.'
No surprise, it was a physical contest. The referees, making some calls that brought questions from fans and media alike, kept busy by calling 14 fouls on each team in the half. Long Beach bore the brunt of it, with Venus Lacy, Yolanda Griffith and Andrea Nagy each having three fouls. The fans in sold-out Battelle Hall loved this, remembering the technical fouls Lacy and Nagy drew in the previous two games -- Nagy slapped Shannon Johnson on the side of the head after the latter made a fastbreak layup in Game Four.
Griffith only played 12 minutes in the half, and Lacy 13, yet the game was still tied.
'We got the rap of being a physical team,' Agler said. 'The other teams have adjusted to that. Next year, it will be even more so. There's a difference between being physical and being dirty. When you get on the floor, neither team is going to back down. They're competitors. Both teams have a lot of solid individuals.'
In the third quarter, Columbus' transition game started to find its rhythm, and Katie Smith found her shot. Scoreless at halftime, Smith hit a trio of three-pointers in the third period, and drew Griffith's fourth foul on a drive early in the period. After Clarissa Davis-Wrightsil hit a three to give the StingRays their final lead at 43-42, Smith hit a trey to make it 47-43, inciting the crowd and forcing a timeout by Long Beach. She hit another trey to make it 53-47. Still hit a jumper from just inside the arc, then when Sonja Tate hit a trey from the baseline just before the end of the period, it was 58-49. As the fourth quarter started, the game was on.
And what a quarter it was, with both teams trading punches, at some times almost literally. The most significant symbolic moment for Columbus fans came with 3:37 to play when the fiery Nagy, guarded closely by Johnson on the wing, threw a hard elbow and was called for her sixth and final foul. It was a big moment as much for its drama as it was a loss of possession for Long Beach, who was trailing 71-64. The crowd erupted.
With that sidelight over, both teams played with a purpose. Davis-Wrightsil, who had only scored 39 points in the first four games and shot 11-of-46 from the field, nearly won it with a dazzling display. She scored 17 points in the fourth quarter, an ABL playoff record 36 in the game, and silenced the crowd every time she put it up. Her second trey made it 75-74 with 1:32 left.
With the season on the line, Tonya 'Ice' Edwards, who had scored just two points the previous three quarters, drove to her left and put up a runner that banked in. She was fouled by Davis-Wrightsil and made the bonus to make it 78-74.
Long Beach came down. Niesa Johnson drove to the baseline and tried to dish it off, but threw the ball right to Still. She gave it to Katie Smith, who was fouled by Dana Wilkerson. It was probably not the smartest decision by Wilkerson, considering there were still 45 seconds left and Smith is an 89 percent foul shooter for the season.
Smith made both, then Davis-Wrightsil hit another three, and it was 80-77.
It ended like this. Thirty seconds left, Edwards hits both ends of a one-and-one. Davis-Wrightsil completes her super night with two free throws. Twenty seconds left, Smith makes both ends of a one-and-one (Columbus made a playoff record 38 free throws in 43 attempts). Bev Williams attempts a three, and Edwards tips it away, though she wasn't credited with the block. Wilkerson gets it back and attempts a trey, but Shannon Johnson blocks that.
Venus Lacy made a layup with 0.8 seconds to play to keep Long Beach alive, but it was academic.
'We fought hard, but the flip side is someone had to lose,' said Davis-Wrightsil. 'We played hard and gave it everything that we got. Even though we might have lost the game, we left it on the floor. That's life and we just have to move forward.'
'The whole second half was a blur to me,' Agler said. 'Each team kept making shots. I don't know if we ever controlled the game. We just hung in there. Long Beach is a vastly improved team from the start of the season. They have five perimeter players and four post players who they can rotate in and out. They'll make a substitution and have a completely different look.'
Sure, the Quest won their final 21 regular season home games by an average of 21 points. But this is the playoffs, and nothing came easy.
Led by all-world Griffith and her intimidating presence and long arms, Olympian Venus Lacy and her bulk and skills, and former University of Texas stars Williams and Davis-Wrightsil, Long Beach was anything but an expansion team.
'Regular season records don't mean anything when you get to the playoffs,' Agler said. 'Look at the semifinal series. San Jose took us down to the wire both games. Look at the Chicago Bulls. They dominated teams in the regular season and they get taken to seven games. Long Beach plays at a tremendously high level.'
Everyplace they went this season, the Quest were constantly asked about the departure of Nikki McCray and the pregnancy of Carla McGhee. With Still as the primary post option, and without McCray's leadership and scoring, few expected Columbus to be hoisting the trophy again.
The adversity helped bring the team together, and the results were evident. Without McCray, who had been criticized for being a ballhog, Columbus became a team with many weapons and much balance, even if they didn't have much depth. Before she handed the microphone to the modest Lloyd during the postgame celebration, outgoing reserve Shanele Stires sarcastically 'thanked' McCray for leaving, getting a good laugh from the fans.
Led by four double-digit scorers and All-Stars, -- Still, Smith, Edwards and Johnson -- Lloyd doing her thing all over the court, and Sonja Tate making invaluable contributions off the bench, Columbus was a true team.
'Last year was just a novelty with it being just the first time ever in the States,' Still said. 'This year was nice because of all the skeptics and the propaganda about Nikki McCray and Carla McGhee. No one on this team has an ego. That's what makes this team so successful.'
'We had a lot to prove,' Katie Smith agreed. 'It's a great group. People didn't want us to win. We had to go through a lot of stuff to get here and it made it even better. It's not a one-on-one game. It's five-on-five.'
The eminent departure of Still and Lloyd makes talks of a three-peat premature, as those two represent the only inside presence Columbus had. It was too soon Sunday night to think about that, but Agler said he would meet with both of them and try to change their minds.
'We worked for 44 games to get here for Game Five,' said Agler, who is also the team's general manager. 'We have too many people playing too well to walk away from this.'
Trailing 24-23 at halftime of Game Four of the ABL Finals in Columbus' Battelle Hall, the StingRays could almost smell victory. Another 20 minutes of staying close and playing solid basketball and they had a real chance to do the near-impossible -- win in Columbus and take the ABL Championship.
After losing two struggles in Long Beach and toughing out a 70-61 victory in Game Three in Columbus, the Quest continued to be unable to shake Long Beach's tempo in Friday's first half Friday night at Battelle Hall. With both teams shooting poorly, Columbus went into the locker room with that 24-23 lead.
To that point, the series had gone exactly the way the StingRays had wanted. Yolanda Griffith was shaking off her poor regular-season performance against the Quest and was controlling the action on both ends of the floor. Beverly Williams was uncharacteristically making lots of shots. Venus Lacy was playing with a purpose. Trisha Stafford and Dana Wilkerson were making big plays off the bench.
Meanwhile, Columbus was still searching for its magic chemistry. The Quest, who had played two games in their previous 19 days leading up to the ABL Finals, retained their tough defensive intensity and Brian Agler's strategy. However, they were not the same team offensively. They were not in sync, making careless passes, unsure decisions with the ball, and not anticipating where their teammates were going to be. Through all this, Katie Smith was laying enough bricks to build the proverbial henhouse.
The StingRays had the title in sight -- if only they could keep their composure in the lion's den that is Battelle Hall...
Shannon Johnson, who had not scored in the first half Friday night, knew what the StingRays were thinking. And she acted. Columbus was already doing well to start the third quarter Friday night, as Tonya Edwards, Johnson and Katie Smith delivered baskets to push the Quest lead back up to seven at 30-23.
Johnson drove for another layup to make it 32-23, then Columbus forced another turnover. Sonja Tate stole the ball and pushed it up the floor on a 2-on-1 fast break, delivering the ball to Johnson at the last possible moment.
Johnson laid it in for an 11-point lead. Long Beach coach Maura McHugh called a time out. Johnson pumped her fist in the paint, while unbeknownst to her, Andrea Nagy was getting ready to club her in the side of the head.
It was not an uncharacteristic outburst from the gritty Nagy, who had a celebrated tete-a-tete with former Seattle teammate Kate Paye early in the season. But it was exactly the type of thing you can't do at any time -- much less in Game Four of the championship series in a building where everything has to go right for you to win.
Rightly so, the refs slapped a technical foul on Nagy. Johnson made both free throws, and Columbus got the ball back. Sonja Tate drove in traffic and was rejected, but Long Beach forced a quick shot on its next possession. Johnson chased down the long rebound and converted another uncontested layup to make it 38-23.
Johnson ended the period with 16 points and finished it by bouncing a pass to Katie Smith for a basket and a 50-36 lead. Johnson shot 7-of-10 for the game and had 18 points.
'She hasn't played her best basketball yet,' said Quest coach Brian Agler of Johnson.
Behind the play of Lacy and Griffith inside and Trisha Stafford off the bench, Long Beach composed itself enough to climb within six at 54-48. Johnson returned to hit a short jumper late in the game to make it 58-51, and Val Still shook off foul trouble to put it away with two baskets and a 62-51 lead.
Griffith had her fourth double-double in four tries with 13 points and 15 rebounds. Beverly Williams, who had killed Columbus the first two games, was just 2-of-9 for eight points. Lacy had seven points, and Trisha Stafford scored 15 but was just 3-of-12 from the field.
'We needed to come together as a team in the fourth quarter but we didn't,' Venus Lacy said. 'We blew it the first time and the second time. We can't blame anyone but ourselves.'
For the second straight game, Long Beach couldn't find the net in Battelle Hall. The StingRays outdid their 27 percent performance in Game Three by shooting 25 percent (13-52) Friday night. In the first quarter, Long Beach was 2-of-11 while Columbus was 1-for-15. The teams combined for several ABL records with that performance.
Johnson's uprising in the third quarter was the key, but Smith's play was also crucial. With her outside shot still not falling, Smith focused on driving to the basket and posting up.
'I was tense the first few games,' she said. 'Everybody got it going. We did what we had to do. We're playing on Sunday, that's where we want to be.'
3/16/98
