GIQ WNBA Summary — San Antonio Silver Stars 85, Chicago Sky 72
July 4, 2009
Chicago, a 6-point underdog, cut a 24-point 3rd quarter deficit to 4 at the quarter break. It was 70-66 with 7:43 left in the game, but the Sky missed their next nine shots to enable the Stars to beat the spread.
The Stars shot 31-for-57 in the game, with 26 assists on 31 field goals. Each San Antonio starter had three assists or more — Becky Hammon had 10 assists to go with 14 points, three steals, and three blocked shots.
GIQ WNBA Summary — Atlanta Dream 72, Washington Mystics 65
July 4, 2009
The Mystics, who had shot .411 while building a 4-1 road record ATS, made .385 in Atlanta Friday while turning the ball over 28 times.
Washington’s poor ballhandling and shooting meant Atlanta won for the first time while losing on the boards 29-40. It also contributed to Atlanta not making the over for the first time in seven home games.
Chamique Holdsclaw had 18 points and eight assists for Atlanta, whose 4-3 and 1-3 home and away marks match their ATS records precisely.
GIQ WNBA Preview — Chicago Sky at San Antonio Silver Stars
July 3, 2009
After the Sparks (3-0 home, 0-5 road), it’s the Sky, Stars, and Mercury with the most lopsided home/away records.
San Antonio is 3-1 at home, but 2-2 ATS with the two losses against Eastern teams.
Chicago is 1-3 on the road, and 1-3 ATS), while hitting four overs. The Sky’s road opponents are averaging 92.5 points in four games (Minnesota and Atlanta might be accustomed to 102 and 98 at home, but Connecticut scored 91).
It’s the end of a long homestand for the Stars, who haven’t been on the road since 6/21. They didn’t cover their most home game against Washington for the Mystics shooting 50 percent outside the three-point arc — the Sky are the league leader with a .435 rate as a team.
GIQ WNBA Preview — Washington Mystics at Atlanta Dream
July 3, 2009
The Dream have lost four of their last five after winning three of their first five. The weird thing is that at 4-6, they can say they’re in a real slump, which is an incredible leap for a team that was 4-30 eight months ago.
But how likely are the Dream to snap out of it while hosting Washington. The Mystics have the second-best record ATS in the league, including 4-1 ATS on the road. Their only road loss to the spread, however, was on their first trip to Atlanta, when all five Dream starters scored in double figures on the way to 93.
The Mystics’ last two road games are probably more indicative, in which they outshot and outrebounded the Stars, then the Sky. The Dream are perfect in a pattern of winning or losing depending on whether they win or lose on the boards.
Since their last meeting on 6/19, the Dream and the Mystics have each made one under.
GIQ WNBA Summary — Sacramento Monarchs 74, Minnesota Lynx 68
July 3, 2009
The Monarchs, playing the last game of a winless road trip, stuffed the Lynx’ running game and won for the first time on the road this season. After losing the first three games on the road swing by 20, 10, and 14, Sacramento covered +5 in Chicago on Tuesday, then won outright Thursday in Minnesota, where the Lynx were 4-1 ATS.
Nicole Powell led the Monarchs with 21 points and seven rebounds.
The best rebounding team in the league — because poor shooting results in so many offensive rebounds — the Monarchs grabbed 15 offensive rebounds and took 14 additional field goal tries. Minnesota is 0-2 ATS when favored by more than 3 poin
GIQ WNBA Summary — New York Liberty 80, Detroit Shock 64
July 3, 2009
New York snapped a three-game losing streak, and was within one three-pointer of the team record. Twelve three-pointers by the Liberty plus a combined 42-of-51 from the free throw line resulted in the 141 total going over by one point.
Detroit won the rebounding battle 36-25, but coughed up 20 turnovers while losing against the spread for the fifth time in six games. For giving up 84 points per game over four games, the Shock have made four overs after starting the season with four unders. The Liberty have seesawed over and under for six games.
GIQ WNBA Summary — Indiana Fever 67, Connecticut Sun 53
July 3, 2009
Connecticut, which in two previous road games shot within 4 one-hundredths of the home team, was a full tenth behind Indiana — .418 against .317 – and was outrebounded 42-29.
Indiana has won a team record seven straight, covering in all seven, including five home wins by an average of 10.4 points. Indiana post Tammy Sutton-Brown had a double-double at halftime, and finished with 14 points, 14 rebounds, and five blocked shots.
53 was Connecticut’s worst offensive show of the season, and 14 was their worst margin of defeat. The Sun had covered in five of their past six games.
GIQ WNBA Preview — Sacramento Monarchs at Minnesota Lynx
July 2, 2009
Minnesota is 9-1 O/U. Sacramento is 1-8 straight up, but 5-4 O/U because they concede the worst field goal percentage in the league.
Minnesota has won three in a row behind Candice Wiggins’ emergence as the team’s big scorer since losing Seimone Augustus. Wiggins has 75 points in three games.
In five losses, Sacramento gave up 17 to Jia Perkins (17.3 ppg), 18 to Shavonte Zellous (12.3 ppg), 26 to Becky Hammon (19.8 ppg), 12 to Vanessa Hayden (6.8 ppg), 30 to Seimone Augustus (21.0 ppg).
Monarchs coach Jenny Boucek sounds like someone on a hot seat. For the first five games, she said she didn’t have a full roster. For the last four games, the excuse has been they’re still learning to play with each other. Sacramento is last in field goal shooting, and last in shooting allowed. Last in assists, 11th in assists allowed. They allow a points differential of -6.78; San Antonio is 12th at -3.57.
GIQ WNBA Preview — Detroit Shock at New York Liberty
July 2, 2009
Last season’s Eastern Conference finalists are in sixth and seventh places: Thursday’s loser lands in the cellar.
The teams are at the bottom of the East in scoring and assists, but they’re the best in the conference in shooting percentage allowed. As a result, the Shock started 0-4 O/U, then needed Indiana and Atlanta — both good at home — to lift them to overs. New York has needed games at Phoenix, at Atlanta, and an overtime to make their three overs.
The Shock got their first win of the Rick Mahorn Era Sunday against Sacramento, the worst defensive team in the league. In the Liberty’s last win, they made 10 more field goals against the Dream than they average.
New York is 1-2 ATS at home. Detroit is 0-3 ATS on the road.
GIQ WNBA Preview — Connecticut Sun at Indiana Fever
July 2, 2009
A streak must end tonight in Indiana. Connecticut is 2-0 ATS on the road, while Indiana — the hottest team in the league — has covered six times in a row, including four at home.
The Sun, like average teams tend to do, rise and fall to their opposition. In Chicago, the Sun shot .439 against .484. In New York, the Sun shot .357 against .321. In both those games, they hit under, but the Fever are 4-1 O/U at home.
The Sun and Fever are nos. 1 and 2 in the league at turnover differential. The Fever make their difference by forcing the most turnovers; the Sun by taking the best care of the ball (Conn. averages 11 turnovers per game, almost three fewer than the second-best team).