It was an anticlimactic end to an exciting and intensely fought battle. With the score tied at 69, San Antonio’s floor leader Becky Hammon, whom Sacramento had successfully kept under wraps all night, attempted to penetrate down the middle from the top of the key, and, as had had happened for much of the night, got stopped in the middle of the paint. Hammon heaved up a game-winning attempt that fell woefully short, sending the game into overtime. From that point onward, San Antonio netted only one field goal, an Ann Wauters’ jumper on Sophia Young’s assist in the first minute of OT.
Meanwhile, the Monarchs’ poured in lay-up after jumper after lay-up, for a total of 12 points on five field goals, plus two from the line, in the extra minutes. So why are the Stars moving on and the Monarchs heading home?
Because on San Antonio’s end of the court, overtime turned into a veritable parade to the charity stripe, where the Stars notched 15 out of 16 foul shots to eliminate an ever-determined Sacramento squad in the hard-fought three-game series.
When you get to an elimination game, nothing comes easily and both teams knew each other very well. Sacramento continued to stymie Becky Hammon with doubles just above the top of the key. She rarely got to the basket, with her regulation-ending shot typical of the night’s frustrations. Hammon was two-of-eight from the field for the evening, scoring most of her 14 points from the foul line, and dished out six assists, which were offset by five turnovers.
With Hammon contained, Young’s contribution was crucial and she stepped up to the task with 27 points. Young was solid from start to finish for San Antonio playing more than 41 of the 45 minutes. She hit eight of her 16 attempts from the field and went 11/13 (7/8 in OT) from the charity stripe. Committing no turnovers, she registered three steals and two assists, making big plays at critical moments.
Ann Wauters contributed 15 points and 12 boards. Most important, she resisted picking up stupid fouls most of the night, standing tall and boxing out, rather than reaching in, as she had early in Game Two, forcing her to the bench.
Once again Monarch’s Coach Jenny Boucek left the corners somewhat unguarded. Critical in defeating this plan was reserve Edwige Lawson–Wade, who took advantage of the opportunity to nail three-of-five long-ball attempts, finishing with 13 points off the bench. Lawson-Wade also brought intensity to the perimeter defense intensity during her 29-plus minutes of playing time. As a general matter, the San Antonio defense did a much better job on defense helping on penetration than in Game Two.
After giving up a few early stick-backs, the Silver Stars tightened up on the glass, out-rebounding the Monarchs 21-19 in the first half. Sacramento really dug in during the second half and overtime, and for the game, San Antonio lost the battle of the boards 41-35, but only by 12-to-10 on the offensive glass.
Sacramento dug a first half hole, falling behind 39-25, thanks in no small measure to nine turnovers against just two for the hosts. However, the Monarchs’ Chelsea Newton was able to score the last six points of the half, allowing the visitors to go to the locker room down only 39-31.
The third quarter saw the Stars’ lead balloon to 53-42 with 4:05 left in the period as Sophia Young scored from close to the cylinder. This was one of the few times all night that the Monarchs’ defense appeared absent. For the rest of the quarter, the Stars took too many haphazard shots, not moving the ball enough to get better looks. Sacramento closed to 55-50 behind back-to-back buckets by Adrian Williams-Strong as the quarter ended.
The home team again stretched its lead, this time to 64-52, on an Ann Wauters lay-up with 6:15 left in regulation. From there, the Sacramento defense stiffened, allowing only five more points in regulation. All too often, the Stars let the shot clock run down and were forced to put up off-balance attempts or take low-percentage shots. At the other end of the floor, Nicole Powell displayed an all-out refuse-to-lose attitude, scoring nine points (21 on the night) including the game tying shot with eight seconds left. Given that the Silver Stars led, 69-62, on a Sophia Young jumper with 1:49 remaining, the Monarchs could easily have folded. Instead, Powell hit a three. On the next inbound, Vicki Johnson dished the ball to Ticha Penicheiro (for a lay-up), as Vicki Johnson and Hammon miss-communicated on the pass, setting the stage for Powell’s game-tying shot (69 all) on the next possession.
In overtime, the score was tied or Sacramento led by as much as two until a foul shot by Sophia Young nudged the Stars ahead for good 74-73 with 2:16 left in the extra frame.
All told, the Baylor grad made seven-of-eight foul shots in extra time including a pair when the Monarchs picked her out to send to the line. San Antonio gave up no offensive rebounds in the overtime with Young pulling in two critical ones. Sacramento was never in a position to tie the game down the stretch in the extra session as Monarch baskets were answered by near-flawless Stars’ foul shooting.
The Monarchs’ loss of Rebekkah Brunson finally came home to roost as replacement starter Crystal Kelly, who had played a huge role in their Game Two victory, had only six points and five boards in 30-plus minutes of play. Credit the Stars for denying Kelly the ball in the paint as she only took three shots from the field all night.
Two dumb plays by the visitors hurt their chances for victory. Close to the three-minute mark in the fourth quarter, the Stars’ offense had broken down and with the shot clock about to expire, Ann Wauters threw up a prayer only to be bailed out by a Chelsea Newton foul. With the Belgian’s second attempt off the mark, Young captured the offensive board, and then Williams-Strong fouled her. Young made both of her penalty shots, giving the Stars an extra three-point cushion from this sequence. The second major miscue came in overtime, when with 1:02 left and down 78-75, Nicole Powell grabbed Becky Hammon for reasons known only to the Stanford grad. Why put a 93-plus percent foul shooter on the line with so much time left and allow the Stars to open the lead to five points? Just play defense! In addition to these specific errors, too many of the Monarch 22 turnovers were unforced. Their defensive intensity, while good overall, had a few lapses that cost them dearly (an open lay-up by Sophia Young in the third quarter and unchallenged trey by Hammon in the fourth come to mind).
Still, despite these mistakes, for the Monarchs to have stretched this series to three games, the last requiring an overtime, against the team with the best record in the league, suggests that many may have underestimated both their guts and their talent. Indeed, this contest was one of the outstanding battles of the WNBA season. Both teams displayed the “true grit,” that is more normally associated with the Monarchs. Sacramento would not let the Silver Stars run off with the win. To San Antonio’s credit, they did not fold in overtime after giving up a double-digit, fourth-quarter lead. For their part, the Monarchs refused to roll over and let Becky Hammon beat them. Looking ahead to next season, the Monarchs have to hope Brunson and DeMya Walker can put their knee problems behind them. Will any of their roster step up next year to achieve true All-Star status? While their talent pool can be questioned, never underestimate the competitiveness of this group of blue-collar players who went farther than anticipated by most this season.
While the Stars can rejoice at winning this game, deserving to be “an instant classic,”
fan support was lacking with a crowd of only 4,247 after over 7,000 for Game Two. Looking ahead, San Antonio split four games with Los Angeles and beat the Seattle two out of three. Neither opponent will be an “easy out” but San Antonio will once again have the home court advantage. With the formula exposed as to how to slow down Hammon, other players will again have to be ready to step up. On the plus side, San Antonio showed tonight they could, if necessary, win ugly.
Media Note: Two thumbs up to NBA.com’s color commentator, retired Texas Tech Coach Marsha Sharp, who added to the experience for those following the game on television. Unlike all too many commentators, Sharp was insightful, without being annoying. She stayed within the game, pointing out adjustments like the Star’ use of the two-man game early in the first quarter or the match-up that Coach Jenny Boucek was trying to exploit between Penicheiro and Hammon. On a late turnover by Hammon, she called to the listener’s attention that having burned more than 20 seconds off the clock was more valuable than the turnover itself given the time remaining. She gave enough commentary to add to the viewer’s understanding of the game while still allowing him or her to enjoy watching.