Australia takes home the Gold; USA with Bronze

The Australian team won the gold medal with a 91-74 victory over Russia and the USA salvaged the bronze from the Brazilians. Australia (9-0) capped an unbeaten tournament run, although it never had to play the United States, which was upset by Russia in the semifinals. Penny Taylor scored 28 points to earn MVP honors ahead of teammate Lauren Jackson, who is considered by many to be the best player in the world. Jackson finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

On Thursday night, Team USA (8-1) had its 50-game winning streak in international competition end in stunning fashion with a 75-68 loss to Russia in the semifinals.

The winning streak in FIBA and Olympic competition dated to a 110-107 loss to Brazil in the semifinals of the 1994 World Championships. The run included championship victories over Russia in the 1998 and 2002 Worlds.

What happened? Since I did not see the semi-final loss to Russia on T.V., I can only make hypotheses through what I have read and followed on the internet.

1.) Sometimes your luck runs out. Plain and simple. When teams are gunning for you, the ball will eventually bounce in their favor.

2.) I think it really hurt that Lisa Leslie and Yolonda Griffith could not participate for personal reasons. They make up the veteran frontcourt that has been so strong over the past several years. They would have really helped this time around, since both of them were coming off stellar WNBA seasons, especially Leslie with her MVP honor. Candace Parker did a great job, considering she is a college sophomore. The deeper you get into the medal rounds, the deeper your bench has to be.

3.) The fact that the women are all coming right off the WNBA season does not help. For example, Katie Smith and Cheryl Ford wrapped up the WNBA Championship the same weekend the World Championship began. They even arrived later than the rest of the team in Brazil. Because of the WNBA season, team USA did not have so much time to practice together. In the spring, the training tours were used as some sort of tryout of players, not for the final team to get experience playing together.

The USA taking home the bronze was was not something any of us would have predicted, but it has happened. Just as their male counterparts, the women´s USA team finishes 3rd. A bit disappointing I would say, since we claim to be the best in the world. It looks like Russia and Australia have regained their hold of international power.

On Friday, the Czech Republic (5-4) captured seventh place with a 57-49 victory over Spain (4-5) in Ibirapuera. Hana Machova scored 17 points to lead the Czechs.

In the fifth-place game, France (5-4) built a big lead and held on for a 79-73 victory over Lithuania (4-5).

2006 World Championships Top 10 Final Standings:
1. Australia
2. Russia
3. USA
4. Brazil
5. France
6. Lithuania
7. Czech Republic
8. Spain
9. Argentina
10.Canada
What is impressive to me is such a high finish by France. It shows how strong the French league is, excluding the foreign players, which only enhance the level of competition. The next European championship is ``theirs to lose`` as they say, with France likely being the favorite to win.

USA International Dominance is Over!

Team USA was unable to overcome a huge deficit and had its 50-game winning streak in international competition stopped Thursday night with a 75-68 loss to Russia in the semifinals of the Women's World Basketball Championship.

In the preliminary round, the U.S. had posted a 90-80 victory over Russia (5-3).

Korstin scored 15 points for Russia, which will meet Australia (8-0) in Saturday's gold-medal game. The U.S. will face Brazil for the bronze.

In Thursday's classification games, France (4-4) managed a 79-78 overtime victory over the Czech Republic (4-4) and Lithuania (4-4) worked its way to an 80-71 triumph over Spain (4-4).

Also Thursday, Argentina (5-3) captured ninth place with a 74-57 victory over Canada (2-6); and Cuba (3-5) won the battle for 11th place with a 71-68 victory over China (3-5).

On Friday, France will play Lithuania for fifth place and the Czechs face the Spaniards for seventh place.

A Perfect 6-0!

The United States joined Australia as the only unbeaten teams at the World Championship after a 63-50 victory over the Czech Republic on Monday. Candace Parker and Tina Thompson led a well-balanced U.S. attack with 14 points each. Diana Taurasi had 13 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. The USA, which clinched the top spot in Group F, plays Lithuania in the quarterfinals Wednesday at 6:45 ET. Tune-in to NBA TV for all the action.

Earlier Monday, Australia stormed past Argentina, 83-49, behind 30 points from Lauren Jackson, and China edged France, 66-64.

The U.S.A. crushes France

Diana Taurasi scored 15 points and Tina Thompson added 12 as the U.S. cruised to a 71-46 victory over France in Group F action at the Women's World Championships.

Taurasi made 6-of-8 shots, including 3-of-5 from the arc for the Americans (5-0) who held the French to just two points in the final period.

Team U.S. faces the Czech Republic (4-1) on Monday to determine the top seed in Group F.

USA rolls to 4-0 with a win over Cuba!

The USA women´s basketball team rolled to a 4-0 record with 90-50 win over Cuba in the second round on Saturday.

Youngster, Candace Parker, once again carried the scoring load with 16 points. Consistent, Tina Thompson, and Diana Taurasi put in 13 points apiece. Taurasi and Sue Bird both dished out 5 assists.

"Once again we started the game very well," U.S. coach Anne Donovan said. "We've played two games where in the second half we played with not the same intensity that we started the game. I thought tonight the women did a great job of keeping focused and putting the hammer down in the second half and not letting Cuba come back."

In other action on Saturday, Australia barely got past Spain, 72-68, and the Czech Republic downed China, 79-73. Also, Argentina stole a win from Canada, 62-58, France took care of Russia, 74-64, and Brazil topped Lithuania, 84-67, in front of its home crowd.

The top four teams in each of the two second-round groups will advance to the quarterfinals, with the Group F winner facing the fourth-place team from Group E.

The USA plays France on Sunday at 1pm ET.

USA Tops Russia to Finish 3-0 in Preliminary Round at FIBA World Championship

The U.S. clinched first place in Group C with a 90-80 record over Russia. Team U.S.A. were lead by Tina Thompson who scored 19 points and newcomer, Candace Parker who had 17 points. Also, DeLisha Milton-Jones had a productive performace with 14 points and eight rebounds.

After struggling with its shooting Wednesday against Nigeria, the U.S. made 11-of-17 3-pointers against Russia. Thompson led the way, going 4-of-4 from the arc.

"I think partially it was a good shooting night," Thompson said. "But I was pretty open a lot of the time. I think probably three of them were uncontested and I think that at this level you can't let players take wide open shots. It's something we practice everyday and I was surprised myself that I got those looks - but happy that I was able to knock them down."

The U.S. will meet Cuba in the second round Saturday afternoon.

Other games:
In Group D, the Czech Republic (2-1) claimed the top spot with a 93-72 victory over Chinese Taipei (0-3) behind 23 points from Eva Viteckova.

Cuba and France also finished with 2-1 records in Group D, but the Czech Republic finished first based on a tiebreaker. Cuba posted a 78-73 victory over France on Thursday.

Lauren Jackson scored 23 points as Australia (3-0) secured the top spot in Group B with a 97-65 rout of Canada (1-2).

Also in Group B, Lithuania (2-1) had five players score in double figures en route to a 74-63 victory over Senegal (0-3).

Lithuania's only loss came when it had to forfeit its game against Australia, when it was held up in French Guyana due to travel problems.

In the final Group C game of the day, China (1-2) coasted to a 71-59 victory over Nigeria (0-3).

USA Women´s Basketball are looking to claim their 4th consecutive World Championship!!

The 2006 FIBA Women's World Championship tipped off Tuesday in Brazil as Sue Bird scored a game-high 20 points to lead the United States past China 119-72. Diana Taurasi and Tina Thompson each tallied 17 as the USA surpassed the former USA World Championship record of 109 points. Raising their international record to 43-0 since 1996, the top-seeded Americans (1-0) are looking for their third consecutive world title and fifth in the last six tournaments. The United States, which is also the reigning Olympic champion, surpassed the former USA World Championship record of 109 set in 1983.

Bird and Taurasi are used to meshing well together, having played as teammates at the University of Connecticut. They led the way in an easy triumph for Team USA, which shot 54 percent (48-of-89) from the floor, including 10-of-21 3-pointers. Sue Bird shot an amazing 8-of-10 in the game, including a pair of 3-pointers in the waning moments of the first half to help give the Americans a 62-34 advantage. She also finished with six assists.

In Other Games: The 2006 FIBA World Championship got started Tuesday afternoon as Spain defeated South Korea 87-57, France edged the Czech Republic 62-58, Brazil relied on a put-back from Helen with five seconds remaining to clip Argentina 71-69, Russia earned an 85-50 victory over Nigeria and Cuba took a 75-70 win over Taiwan. Lithuania, which is having travel difficulties, was unable to make it to the arena in time and thus Australia was awarded a 2-0 victory.

Prelimary Standings
Group A
Brazil 1-0
Spain 1-0
S. Korea 0-1
Argentina 0-1

Group B
Australia 1-0
Lithuania 0-1
Canada 1-0
Senegal 0-1

Group C
USA 1-0
Russia 1-0
China 0-1
Nigeria 0-1

Group D
Czech Rep. 0-1
France 1-0
Cuba 1-0
Chinese Taipai 0-1

SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN
Sept. 12-14: Preliminary Round
Sept. 16-18: Second Round
Sept. 20: Quarterfinals
Sept. 22: Semifinals
September 23: Finals

FIBA WORLD RANKINGS
The following is a list of the top 40-ranked teams in the FIBA World Rankings for women.

Country

Pts.
1. United States 1130
2. Russia 843
3. Australia 760
4. Brazil 556
5. Cuba 317
6. Spain 309
7. France 287
8. Korea 284.9
9. China 251.5
10.Czech Republic 244
11. Japan 173.5
12. Lithuania 159
13. Poland 154
14. Slovakia 153
15. Canada 139
16. Argentina 132.4
17. Yugolavia 122
18. Senegal 116
19. New Zealand 112
20. Greece 88
21. Hungary 77
22. Nigeria 62
23. Germany 55
24. Chinese Taipei 52

The Shock win the WNBA Title!

The WNBA season has come to a close with celebrations in Detroit and disappointments in Sacramento. The Detroit Shock won the 2006 WNBA Finals with a 80-75 victory in Game 5 over the Sacramento Monarchs. For the Shock, they started off the series poorly and put together a fairy tale ending in Detroit. In Game 5, the Shock were lead by Finals MVP, Deanna Nolen, who had a game-high 24 points, along with 4 assists and 4 rebounds.

When asked about how Nolan had managed to get open so many times against Sacramento's tough defense, Laimbeer was quick to give the credit to Nolan's natural ability, rather than any strategy employed by the coaching staff.

"When she wants to turn it on, you can't stop her, you can't stay with her, you can't challenge her shot. She passes the ball and she can rebound. I hope that this is the launching pad for her to become the best player in the league. If so, you can't touch us, we're unbeatable."

Also for Detroit, Katie Smith scored 17 points, including two clutch jumpers in the final two minutes, and had game-high 6 assists. Smith has been so consistent and exciting to watch in this Finals.


For the Monarchs, Kara Lawson was 7 for 10 from the field and lead with 17 points. However, her team shot just 37% from the floor and were outrebounded 37 to 29 by the Shock. Kristin Haynie showed her level with 13 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds in this big game. Most Improved Player, Erin Buescher only played 2 minutes, while the starting posts, Demya Walker and Yolanda Griffith shot just 7 for 25!

The Detroit Shock basically stole the WNBA title from the reigning champions. Looking back, the Monarchs were up 2-1 at one point in the series and it looked like a ``no brainer`` that they would take the crown at home in Game 4. However, things took a turn for the worse, and with their backs against the wall, the Detroit Shock pulled out two big wins for the championship crown.

Shock force Game 5!

Surprise, surprise.. the Detroit Shock showed up and played some good basketball! I had really thought that the Monarchs would finish them off at home in Game 4. However, the Detroit Shock were on the brink of losing the Finals and pulled out a 72-52 win that forces a decisive game 5 in Detroit.

Katie Smith led all scorers with 22 points. Smith, who made 8-of-17 shots, scored 11 of her 17 first-half points in the second quarter. She buried a pair of 3-pointers and a layup by Ford made an 8-0 run to give the Shock a 36-30 lead, which they never let go of.

Detroit Head Coach Bill Laimbeer had plenty to say about Smith's impact in forcing a final fifth game of the series, and her consistency throughout the playoffs.

"I'm giving Katie Smith tomorrow off. She's just so steady, she's so consistent, and she made the big shots", said Laimbeer. "Anytime they made a run, Katie Smith knocked down a three ball. Every time Katie Smith got the ball, even before she shot it, you could hear the crowd groan. That's the best feeling on in the world when you are on the road."

The Detroit Shock host Game 5 on Saturday at 3:30pm and can be seen on ESPN2.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEE!!

Posting a special birthday wish for my brother, Lee! It would be nice to be home for this day, so we could do something fun! However, since this is not possible, know that you are in my thoughts! Wishing you good health, love and happiness. Happy 25th! Love your sister, Michelle

Monarchs are in control

The 4th quarter tragedy in Game 2 for the Monarchs was apparently long gone from their minds on Sunday night. The Monarchs came back with a steller all-around team effort in Sacramento with an 89-69 win over the Shock. They took control of the series and are up 2-1.

Yolanda Griffith and the Sacramento Monarchs are in the process of proving history can repeat itself. The Monarchs got 15 points from Yolanda Griffith and Nicole Powell added 14. The amazing stat was the 42 points made by their very talented, hard working bench. The word that best describes the Sacramento Monarchs is ``DEEP``! The Monarchs´s reserve corps have consistently made an impact in this Final Series, as well as over the entire season, with Erin Buescher, Hamchetou Maiga-Ba, Kristen Haynie, Rebekkah Brunson, and Scholanda Dorrell.

For the Detroit Shock, Deanna Nolan scored 22 points to be one of just two players in double figures for Detroit, which was once again plagued by turnovers with 23. The Shock had a Finals-record 24 giveaways in the opener.

"Our 23 turnovers we had today ... a lot of them were just dumb, throw the ball away, no aggression turnovers," Laimbeer said. "Just bad, bad plays."

Cheryl Ford scored 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Detroit, which shot 45 percent (24-of-53) despite missing all eight of its 3-pointers.

Sacramento could close out the series on their home court. They host Game 4 on Wednesday night at 9 p.m. ET, ESPN 2

Lisa Leslie wins 2006 MVP Award

First of all, I must congratulate myself ;) because I was 3 for 3 in predicting the awards this year! (refer to an earlier blog: WNBA AWARD PRECDITIONS) On August 19th, the league announced the first two player awards: Erin Buescher won the Most Improved Player Award and Seimone Augustus took home the Rookie of the Year Award,(at this point, I was 2 for 2). Then, the long awaited MVP was finally announced by the league on Sunday, September 3rd. The 10-year league veteran, Lisa Leslie, was named the 2006 Most Valuable Player. (bam, I was 3 for 3!.. and wow, if I could only carry over this percentage to the court.)

Lisa Leslie now joins Sheryl Swoopes as the only players in league history to win the MVP award 3-times in there career. Leslie received the most votes from a panel of national sportswriters and broadcasters. She received 40 first place votes and her total of 508 points more than doubled that of her nearest contender, Diana Taurasi of the Phoenix Mercury, who received 211 points.

"We are extremely proud of Lisa's performance," said WNBA President Donna Orender, "particularly in a year in which so many players gave outstanding efforts and so many records were set. Established superstars like Lisa, Lauren Jackson and Tamika Catchings had perhaps the best year of their respective careers and young stars like Diana Taurasi and Cheryl Ford emerged as superstars. Players like Katie Douglas and Alana Beard posted breakthrough seasons and four rookies from an outstanding draft class were selected to the All-Star Game. All of that makes Lisa's effort that much more outstanding."

While leading the Sparks to the best record in the Western Conference, she also led the league in double-doubles (17) and defensive rebounds (240); ranked second in total rebounds (323) and blocks (57); third in points (680), free throws (158) and field goals made (257), and sixth in field-goal percentage (51.1 percent). Leslie who was selected to the League's All-Decade Team in June, posted career-high figures for points and assists per game (20.0 and 3.2) and also logged the best field-goal shooting percentage of her career (51.1).

Leslie will receive $15,000 from the league for winning the award.