Archive - 2012 - Story

Minnesota wears down Indiana in Game Two

Each basketball game is different.

Sure there are the same number of players, the court's the same size, the nets the same height. Everyone uses the same ball, the same rulebook –- but nonetheless every game charts its own path, is illuminated by different perspectives, reveals itself in disparate ways.

Game One of the WNBA Finals was defined by subplots, intricacies, subtle shifts in strategy, some dictated by injury, some by calculation –- and Indiana pulled out a surprising road win.

Charles headlines 2012 All-WNBA First Team; Catchings earns seventh first-team nod

Connecticut Sun center Tina Charles, 2012 WNBA Most Valuable Player, headlines the 2012 All-WNBA First-Team, the league announced today. A three-time All-WNBA Team selection, Charles led all vote-getters with 196 points.

Tamika Catchings of the Indiana Fever (161) and last year's MVP and Candace Parker of the Los Angeles Sparks (176), the runner up in this season's MVP voting were also named to the team, both as forwards. Guards Cappie Pondexter of the New York Liberty (128) and Seimone Augustus of the Minnesota Lynx (95) round out the First-Team.

Don't sleep on these Mid-Major teams -- even if they're not from BCS conferences

The national Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls due out soon do a fine job of tracking the teams in the major conferences. Problem is, there are more than 340 programs in Division I, and most of these schools don’t get much attention until they play their way into the NCAA Tournament in March.

With that in mind, here’s our preseason stab at the top 15 teams in the non-BCS conferences.

1.   Delaware

Conference: Colonial Athletic

Lin Dunn leverages the matchups into Indiana win over Lynx in WNBA Finals opener

Pro coaches go on and on about matchups, and how they become even more important in the postseason when teams can really drill down and prepare for each other. The Fever didn't actually have all that much time to prepare between winning the Eastern Conference championship on Thursday and the opening tip of the 2012 WNBA Finals Sunday; indeed, thanks to time lost to travel, but Sunday night's 76-70 Indiana road win over the reigning WNBA champs -- the Minnesota Lynx -- would serve as a perfect example.

The Lynx have to be favored to make it two WNBA titles in a row -- but Indiana has championship fever

As most have predicted since before the season even began, the Minnesota Lynx are back in the WNBA Finals, bringing with them the best record in the league and poised to defend their 2011 title. If they succeed, they will be the first team to accomplish that feat since the Los Angeles Sparks took home back-to-back titles in 2001 and 2002.

The Fever just too hot for the Sun: Indiana dominates Game 3

That’s why they play the games.

With Katie Douglas at the hospital, with Erin Phillips in foul trouble, with Briann January turning the ball over every other time she touched it, and just a four-point lead on Connecticut’s home court, it was time for Indiana to just pack it in.

The Fever had every reason to believe their quest for their trip to the WNBA Finals had come to a noble end, especially with Douglas, who had scored 51 points in the first two games of the series, out of action.

But that’s why they play the games.

GPS Invitational sets high standards

ATLANTA -- The Games, Practice, Skills (G.P.S.) Invitational made its debut in Atlanta over the NCAA Fall Viewing period and did not disappoint. The newly created concept allows for the three major components to be displayed under one setting: Games (five-on-five competition); Practice (team chemistry); and Skills (development of individual skill set).