Danielle Adams drives to the basket against Atlanta. Danielle Adams had 39 points to lead San Antonio to victory 98-67 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. Photo courtesy of Daniel Clarke Evans/NBAE/Getty Images
The final game of the Silver Stars was historic for both the Silver Stars and their franchise as Danielle Adams had 39 points and the Stars were out of the playoffs for the first time since 2006. The final game recap is brief and is listed below.
GAME RECAP
San Antonio
September 15, 2013
The San Antonio Silver Stars put on a show over the helpless and road weary Atlanta Dream. The Stars cruised to a 98-67 win over the playoff bound Atlanta Dream and evened the series at 1 game apiece. The Silver Stars finished the 2013 season with a record of 12-22 and 7-9 at home. The Stars were led by Danielle Adams who scored a franchise high 39 points. Shameka Christon finished with a season high 24 points, Shenise Johnson had 20 and Jia Perkins added 10. The Silver Stars shot 49% and dominated from the second period on to win the game. It was one of the rare Silver Stars games this season in which the Stars were able to play well all in all four quarters of the game. In a disappointing season for the Silver Stars, it was a nice way to reward their fans and give them hope for a better season next year.
NOTES + OBSERVATIONS
Nice way to close out the season. A blowout win with one of the players breaking a record? That’s awesome and good for San Antonio going forward.
Not one of the biggest attendance figures this season, but still respectable for a team that was struggling all season long
Jayne Appel didn’t attempt a shot. That is incredibly weird. I guess because San Antonio was playing so well of the other players, they forgot about Jayne or something. I did not anticipate that happening. Not at all.
The Silver Stars will now either head overseas or stay in the US and prepare for the off season while the coaching staff will prepare to scout for the college season as well as the international season as they look to add to their roster for next season
Just because the Silver Stars season is over doesn’t mean that the WNBA season is over. The WNBA Playoffs tip off soon and there are some intriguing matchups so make sure you tune into ESPN2 and NBA TV!
Diana Taurasi shoots over Jayne Appel. Taurasi had 20 points and 10 assists as the Mercury won against the Silver Stars 81-62 at US Airways Arena in Phoenix. Photo courtesy of Barrie Gossage/NBAE/Getty Images
The San Antonio Silver Stars suffered their second straight loss in Phoenix and drop their 4th game in a row. The Stars finsh 4-13 on the road this season and are currently 11-22 on the season.The Mercury win the season series 3-2 against the Silver Stars. Danielle Adams and Shenise Johnson each had 11 points each and Jayne Appel had 10 rebounds. Diana Taurasi had 20 points and 10 assists to led the Mercury.
There’s just not that much to say about this game because the Silver Stars didn’t have anything to play for and the Mercury were just using this game to get better for their playoff run beginning next week. The Phoenix Mercury started off hot and led 18-8 at one point before the Silver Stars rallied and made it a game 40-31 at half time. In the third quarter, both teams were able to stay close to one another and the Mercury lead by 7 going into the 4th Q. Momentum shifted when the Mercury got hot from 3 and were able to score 15 points easily thanks in large part of the play of Diana Taurasi and Penny Taylor who played in her first game against San Antonio this season. Both players were able to feed off from one another and the Silver Stars failed to score a single point in which the Mercury won the game thanks to a 21-0 run in the fourth quarter. San Antonio now comes home and faces the Atlanta Dream who will be desperate in winning the game so even though the Stars haven’t played well recently, they can end this rough season at home with a win.
The Silver Stars play their last regular season game against the Atlanta Dream tomorrow at home. It’s also Fan Appreciation night, so if you live in San Antonio, come out and enjoy the game!
Riquna Williams had a historical game with a WNBA record of 51 points as the Shock defeated the Silver Stars 98-65 in San Antonio at the AT&T Center. Photo courtesy of Elaine Thompson/AP
It’s been nearly a week since they last played, but as I have stated in my previous post, I just didn’t have time this week to write the preview or recap. Heck, I didn’t watch this game as I was out doing some errands on my Sunday afternoon. This is also known as a historical game in terms of context because Riquana Williams had 51 points for the Shock! 51! 51 points is pretty ridiculous and it’s been difficult to do since Lauren Jackson last had 47 points back in 2007. In terms of this game however, both teams weren’t in the playoffs so they weren’t playing for much unless you count lottery odds for the 2014 draft. I didn’t write a preview for this game, so I have combined my preview, along with my recap + notes and observations.
PREVIEW
The Stars need a win badly as they host the Tulsa Shock who face similar problems as the Silver Stars. The Stars have now dropped their 2nd game in a row as well as the playoffs and a win would avoid being the worst team in the Western Conference. The Stars are 7-8 at home and have a 2-1 lead in the 4 game series with the Shock. The Shock are also without Liz Cambage who has left the team for Australia as she suffered a knee injury in the game against Phoenix.
THREE KEYS TO THE GAME
1. Be balanced offensively – The Stars had 3 players in double figures and 2 players near to double digits. They will need to do more of the same if they want to win this game.
2. Defend – Defend against one of the most unpredictable offenses in the WNBA. One night, the Shock look like playoff ready, the next night they look like a rebuilding team, etc. It will be a challenge and the San Antonio Silver Stars have to be ready to handle whatever Shock offense shows up.
3. No X Factor – Make sure no one from the Shock who doesn’t play well, does. Make sure that the Shock’s only player that plays well is Glory Johnson. The Stars have to make sure that they are able to rebound, and defend against any of the Shock’s non All Star players.
The game will tip off at 3:30 pm local time, 4:30 pm EST and 1:30 pm PST. The game will be on LiveAccess. Now, that my preview is done, my game recap is written below, along with video of Riquna Williams historical 51 point game.
GAME RECAP
The Silver Stars are on the wrong side of history as second year guard Riquana Williams goes off for 51 points and the Stars lose to become the worst team in the Western Conference. They also lose their third straight game and the Shock even the season series 2-2. The Stars also fell to 7-9 at home this season.
As you can tell, from the video, she was ON FIRE. There was absolutely nothing the Silver Stars could do, although the last 14 points came in garbage time as Tulsa had effectively won the game at that point. 16 of her points came in the first half and 20 points in the third quarter.
NOTES + OBSERVATIONS
The WNBA finally has a 50+ point performance in the WNBA. This will go a long way as the players get better and better every year. It took 7 seasons before it happened, so it’s a rare sight to see. She also did this without OT, which is pretty impressive. It’s always great to see players achieving milestones that haven’t been done before. It’s also great that it happened in San Antonio because the San Antonio announcer (Andrew Monaco) has had a pretty extensive play by play career for both the Stars and the Spurs of the NBA. The Stars also have a better LiveAccess feed as they fixed their technical problems that they had earlier in the season. It was also nice that it was in San Antonio because the crowd were genuine and really wanted for her to get to the 50 point milestone. San Antonio fans who were there were really classy because it’s rare when you see the opposing team fans cheering for you.
On the flip side, San Antonio just couldn’t defend well enough and it turned into a game in which San Antonio was leading for the most part and up until the 3rd quarter had a game. But then the Shock went a run and the Stars could not respond. This season it seems that San Antonio always has a bad quarter which leads to them losing the game.
Diana Taurasi heads to the basket against Jayne Appel and Danielle Adams. The Mercury came out on top 83-80 in Phoenix at the US Airways Arena. Photo courtesy of Barrie Gossage/NBAE/Getty Images
I know this game happened more than a week ago, but I just haven’t had time to write the recap all week, so after this recap, I have 2 more recaps to write. The Stars headed into this game with a 2-1 series lead against the Mercury and at that time, still had a shot of making the playoffs. Unfortunately, they came up just short and the Mercury prevailed and were the last team in the West to clinch the playoffs. The Stars failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 2006. Danielle Adams led the way with 26 points for San Antonio while Diana Taurasi had 21 for Phoenix. The Stars and the Mercury also tied the season series at 2 apiece and the Stars fell to 4-12 on the road. My game recap is below, along with notes + observations from the game.
Sept 6, 2013
PHOENIX
The San Antonio Silver Stars knew heading into this game that if they didn’t win this game, they would be out of the playoffs for this year. They knew it’d be difficult to stop a dangerous Phoenix team that was on a roll and they knew it would be hard to stop Diana Taurasi who averages 20 points and 6 assists a game. But, that didn’t stop them from trying. The Silver Stars fought and competed but came up short by a final score of 83-80 which ended the Stars streak of 6 consecutive seasons of going to the playoffs. Danielle Adams had 26 points for San Antonio and Jayne Appel had 17 rebounds. The Stars started off slowly but didn’t let the Mercury get ahead and the Mercury led at half time 42-32. In the third quarter, both teams were able to stay close to an another but the Mercury were ahead after 3 quarters. In the fourth quarter, the Silver Stars battled back and made it a close game thanks to their defense as well as their offense. Danielle Adams as well as Shenise Johnson who had 14 points. Jayne Appel also played well with 9 points and 17 rebounds. The Stars had a 27-16 run in the final quarter and had a chance to tie the game, but Danielle Adams lost the ball which cost them the game and the playoffs. The Stars lost their second game in a row and fell to 4-12 on the road this season. In a very rough and injury plagued season for the Stars, luck was just not on their side for the 2013 playoffs.
NOTES + OBSERVATIONS
This was looking like a Mercury win that they were going to cruise to the finish line but the Stars battled and for that, I have to give them credit. They could have folded and let the Mercury win, but they didn’t and competed with a shot to win the game.
I hate West Coast games. I live in the East Coast, so it means that I have to stay up at 10 pm to watch and finish the game around 12 am(in the morning). After a grueling long day, the last thing I want to do is stay up even later. But, I’m glad I did for this one. The Stars made it interesting, even with the announcing crew that was commentating for the Phoenix Mercury.
The Stars got solid performances from Danielle Adams, Jayne Appel, Shenise Johnson and Jia Perkins and still lost. I do think that if Danielle Robinson played in this game, it would’ve made a difference as the Mercury don’t have anyone on their roster who can stop Danielle Robinson’s ability to get into the paint.
I still want to see Brittney Griner dunk! Even though she probably won’t considering she’s had knee injuries this season.
That was probably the second most dominating game for the Silver Stars this season after their blowout win in Seattle. The Stars were able to lead in the second Q and were able to hold off the Tulsa Shock to win by a final score of 74-65. Jia Perkins led the team in scoring with 19 points. The Stars are now 11-18 on the season and 4-11 on the road. The Stars now head home to face the Sparks today in their final home game in August. My game recap is below, along with notes and observations.
GAME RECAP
Tulsa – August 30, 2013
The Stars suffered a heart break last second loss against Seattle which decreased their chance of going to the playoffs. However, their heart and fight didn’t let them give up on the season and it showed on the court Friday night. The Stars were still without Danielle Robinson while the Shock were without Liz Cambage (ankle sprain) and PG Angel Goodrich (illness). The Silver Stars were down 1 after the first quarter 15-14 and it looked like it was going to be a battle between these two teams when the Silver Stars were able to take control in the game thanks to Shameka Christon who had 8 points in the second quarter. The Stars had their best quarter of the season outscoring the Shock by 15 points 28-13. The Stars had a commanding lead at half time 44-28 in which they shot 60% from the field and 40% from three. In the second half, the Shock responded to the Stars but the Stars were able to hold on firmly to the lead despite Tulsa’s repeated attempts to cut the lead down to 9 points. But, the Stars were just too much for the Shock and they were able to pull out the victory. SASS centers Jayne Appel, Danielle Adams and Kayla Alexander were too much for the Shock to handle as they had 26 points and 22 rebounds combined respectively. With their loss, the Shock were the first team to be eliminated from the playoffs for the fourth straight season. The Stars are now 11-18 and 4-11 on the road. The Stars face the Sparks on Military Appreciation Night at the AT&T Center tomorrow night.
GAME NOTES + OBSERVATIONS
Nice win for San Antonio after a tough loss against Seattle on Tuesday. The Stars looked like a playoff team against Tulsa who was missing their two starters.
The Stars got a balanced scoring effort from the team as Jia Perkins had 19 points alongside Shenise Johnson’s 13 points, Danielle Adams 10 points and Jayne Appel’s 8 points/11 rebs. They also got plenty of bench scoring with 22 points from Shameka Christon, Cathrine Kraayeveld and Kayla Alexander.
Despite the 7 TO’s from Skylar Diggins, I thought she played well for the Shock. She had 9 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds. She controlled the game and even gave the Shock a lift to try to come back in this game.
The Silver Stars lost a tough playoff like game against the Seattle Storm by a final score of 72-71 at the AT&T Center. Shenise Johnson led SA with 16 points. Photo courtesy of Daniel Clarke Evans/NBAE/Getty Images
I FINALLY got the chance to write the game recap, sorry it’s a couple of days late. I wanted to re watch the game and see what actually happened when they’re were only 1.7 seconds left on the clock. It was the most bizarre loss ever, followed by that narrow 2 point loss to the Chicago Sky this season when Elena Delle Donne was fouled and made two game winning free throws. The Silver Stars lost their oppurtunity to gain ground in the playoff race and for the first time since 2007, the Silver Stars are in danger of missing the playoffs. The Silver Stars are now 10-18 with only 6 games left to play. They play back to back Friday and Saturday games before getting a bit of a break. I have the game recap of the game, along with my notes and observations below.
GAME RECAP
SAN ANTONIO – AUGUST 27TH 2013
The San Antonio Silver Stars came into this game ready and willing to fight for a playoff spot against the Seattle Storm. They were just about able to do just that, as Seattle won a hair 72-71. The Silver Stars and the Storm were neck and neck throughout the night with several lead changes and ties. Tina Thompson who was playing in her last season, played her final game in Texas and was remarkable with an astounding 27 points and 13 rebounds. Most of Tina’s points came in the first half in which she was too much for Danielle Adams and Jayne Appel to handle. The Stars were tied with Seattle 31 at half. In the third quarter, Seattle started to pull away, but the Silver Stars managed to keep it close and Seattle was only ahead by one after 3 50-49. In the fourth quarter, both teams were able to match each other point by point and the game had a playoff like intensity feel to it. Seattle was able to take control of the game with about 40 secs left when Seattle’s point guard Temeka Johnson drove by Davellyn Whyte and the help defender Jayne Appel to the basket and was able to score. The score was 69-64 and Seattle had a potential game winner. However, after two free throws by Tina Thompson which extended the lead to 7 72-65, Shenise Johnson was able to counter with a 3 which cut Seattle’s lead to 4. With 7.5 seconds left, Seattle thought they had the game won. However, Shenise Johnson had other plans. She was able to steal the ball away from Tina Thompson and quickly gave the ball up to Jia Perkins who cut the Storm lead down to 1 72-71 with 1.7 seconds left. With Seattle only left to inbound the ball and make winning free throws, they were careless and Jia Perkins was able to steal the ball and throw up an awkward looking shot which never hit the rim and Tina Thompson was able to grab the loose ball. San Antonio was elated, and thought that they would get another shot at trying to win the game. The referees decided because the game clock didn’t start, that the game was essentially over and just like that, Seattle’s playoff chances improved dramatically. It was a tough loss for the Silver Stars who had played well through the whole game but just came up short. With just only 6 games left to play in the regular season, all the Silver Stars can do now is play well and look forward to what next year will bring. The Stars are now 10-18 on the season with 7-7 record at home. The Stars now head out to Tulsa on Friday and come back Saturday to face the Sparks at home.
GAME NOTES + OBSERVATIONS
First of all, that was a GAME! That was a playoff like game. Seriously, it was so much fun to watch and comment both on Twitter and on SwishAppeal. The Stars should applaud themselves. They didn’t play like a team that’s lost their 3 best players, but rather a team that was focused and determined on winning the game.
Second, Tina Thompson is my pick for MVP. No, seriously she is. Her numbers might not be as great as the other candidates but every time the Storm win, her numbers been consistently high and the reason why the Storm win. It was a great way for her to go out like that in Texas where she played for Houston and the state in which she won 4 WNBA Championships. She’s truly a living legend. I’m definitely going to miss her play next season and I wish Tina all the best towards all her future ventures in life.
Third, that was a brutal loss. I’m sorry, but that was. How can you you just end the game like that? Why not play the final 1.7 secs on center court? How can you declare the game over? Too many questions and not enough answers. I wasn’t even playing the game and I’m still seething over the result.
Fourth, that crowd at the AT&T Center looked awfully low for a Tuesday night. Really bad. I don’t remember it being that low ever. Too bad more fans weren’t there at the arena. They would’ve loved this game.
Fifth, I wonder when Danielle Robinson can play again. She’s a really fun player to watch and SASS isn’t the same without her.
Sixth…I can’t believe the season is almost over. WOW! 4 months have flown by.
Seventh. The Stars face the Shock in Tulsa next and then face LA. Not a fun B2B, that’s for sure.
I couldn’t watch this game because of a dinner that took place yesterday, so I’m going off from the box score and so this will be the shortest recap that I’ve written this season. Haha! Enjoy 🙂
SEATTLE STORM (13-14)
FIELD GOALSREBOUNDS
POS MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A +/- OFF DEF TOT AST PF ST TO BS BA PTS
S. Stricklen F-G 21:08 3-8 1-4 1-2 +8 0 1 1 3 4 1 1 0 1 8
T. Thompson F 31:48 3-10 0-3 5-6 -2 1 2 3 1 0 1 2 1 0 11
C. Little F 32:35 3-8 1-2 4-4 -7 1 5 6 1 2 1 1 0 2 11
T. Johnson G 26:11 3-9 2-2 2-2 -12 1 1 2 0 6 0 3 0 0 10
T. Wright G 31:12 1-8 0-2 7-7 -6 0 3 3 7 4 4 2 0 0 9
N. Quinn 30:14 6-8 2-2 0-0 +1 1 4 5 1 0 2 2 1 0 14
A. Robinson 13:06 0-1 0-0 1-2 +1 3 2 5 0 5 0 1 0 0 1
A. Clark 12:05 0-1 0-1 0-0 -11 1 1 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 0
T. Hawkins 01:41 0-0 0-0 0-0 -2 0 1 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 0
S. Bird DND – KNEE
C. Bravard DNP – COACH’S DECISION
J. Hassell DNP – COACH’S DECISION
J. Tinkle DNP – COACH’S DECISION
Total 200 19-53 6-16 20-23 8 20 28 14 22 9 15 2 3 64
35.8% 37.5% 87.0% TEAM REBS: 8 TOTAL TO: 17
SAN ANTONIO SILVER STARS (10-17)
FIELD GOALSREBOUNDS
POS MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A +/- OFF DEF TOT AST PF ST TO BS BA PTS
S. Johnson G 33:06 6-9 0-1 5-6 +9 2 8 10 2 3 1 2 0 0 17
D. Adams F-C 27:41 5-19 0-4 4-6 +16 1 4 5 2 3 0 2 1 1 14
J. Appel C 30:47 2-4 0-0 3-5 +2 5 4 9 3 3 2 1 2 0 7
J. Perkins G 32:11 6-15 2-7 0-0 +2 3 2 5 3 2 5 0 0 1 14
D. Whyte G 32:04 4-5 2-2 3-4 +8 0 2 2 7 4 1 6 0 0 13
S. Christon 22:39 1-7 1-6 0-0 -1 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 3
C. Kraayeveld 05:35 0-0 0-0 0-0 -7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
K. Alexander 12:05 1-3 0-0 0-0 -1 2 5 7 0 0 0 1 0 0 2
C. Poppens 03:52 0-0 0-0 0-0 +2 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
D. Robinson DND – STRAINED RIGHT KNEE
Total 200 25-62 5-20 15-21 14 25 39 18 17 9 14 3 2 70
40.3% 25.0% 71.4% TEAM REBS: 5 TOTAL TO: 14
INACTIVE
Storm: —
Silver Stars: Hammon, Young
TECHNICAL FOULS
Storm: —
Silver Stars: Hughes
SCORING
Lead Changes: 0
Times Tied: 0
ARENA STATS
Arena: AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX
Officials: #4 Sue Blauch, #21 Byron Jarrett, #30 Thomas Nunez
Attendance: 6828
Duration: 1:52
