Comets host Sparks
HOUSTON, TX -- The Houston Comets (10-12) host the Los Angeles Sparks (13-9) tonight inside Reliant Arena. The game is a sold out.
Tonight's game will be the second time this season the two teams will face other. On July 9, LA's Candace Parker scored a career-high 40 points (to go along with 16 rebounds; five blocked shots; six assists; and two steals) to lead the Sparks to an 82 to 74 overtime win in Los Angeles.
The Comets hope to continue their winning ways at home during this five-game homestand. Houston is 7 and 2 at home thus far this season.
Here are the starting line-ups:
Los Angeles Sparks
#3 - Candace Parker
#8 - DeLisha Milton-Jones
#9 - Lisa Leslie
#24 - Marie Ferdinand-Harris
#6 - Shannon Bobbitt
Houston Comets
#7 - Tina Thompson
#20 - Tamecka Dixon
#2 -- Michelle Snow
#99 - Hamchetou Maiga-Ba
#41 - Shannon Johnson
Officials
#38 - Lamont Simpson
#49 - Kevin Sparrock
#6 - Bonita Spence
Update: 7:57 -- End of 1st Quarter: Comets 23, Sparks 14.
The Houston Comets dominated the Sparks in the first period on the boards. The Comets out rebounded the Sparks 14 to 7.
Michelle Snow and Hamchetou Maiga-Ba each scored nine points for Houston. Lisa Leslie and DeLisha Milton-Jones each scored five for LA.
The Comets shot 10 for 22 (45.5%) from the field while the Sparks made just 6 of their 17 shots (35.3%).
The Comets outscored the Sparks 14 to 6 in the paint.
Update, 8:27 pm -- Halftime: Comets 40, Sparks 30.
The Comets continued their domination of the Sparks in the paint. Houston outscored the Comets 8 to 6 in the second quarter and 22 to 12 in the first half.
Comets forward Sancho Lyttle came off the bench and grabbed eight rebounds in just 11 minutes. Lyttle also blocked a driving lay-up attempt by LA's Candace Parker.
The Comets scored 10 fast-break points to the Sparks' four.
The Comets shut out the Sparks on 2nd chance points 9 to 0.
Michelle Snow led all scorers with 11 points in the first half. LA's Big Three of Parker (6 points); Milton-Jones (8 points) and Leslie (7 points) combined to score 21 of the Sparks 30 first-half points.
The Comets shot 5 for 15 in the second quarter and 15 for 37 (40.5%) from the field in the first half. The Sparks shot 6 for 17 in each quarter for 12 for 34 (35.3%).
Houston is 0 for 6 from the three-point line while LA is 3 for 9.
Update, 9:05 pm -- Comets 45, Sparks 41, 3:49 left in the 3rd quarter.
Some interesting officiating has taken place in the third quarter. LA scored the first 10 points of the period. A flagrant 1 foul was called on LA's Keisha Brown (against Shannon Johnson) was followed up by a bizarre clear path foul called on Shannon Johnson (against Keisha Brown).
Elbows are starting to fly, too. Tempers are getting heated. A technical foul was just called on Pee Wee at the 3:33 mark.
Update, 9:17 pm -- End of 3rd quarter: Comets 53, Sparks 46.
After the LA Sparks scored 10 straight points to tie the game at 40, the Comets outscored the Sparks 13 to 6 to take a seven point lead into the fourth period.
Houston shot 5 for 16 in the third period from the field. LA shot 3 for 9 (33.3%). The Comets shot 3 for 5 from the foul line while the Sparks shot 10 for 13.
The Comets continued their dominance in the paint outscoring the Sparks 10 to 2 in the period.
Lisa Leslie scored six of LA's 16 third-quarter points.
Update, 9:50 pm -- 4th Quarter: Comets 65, Sparks 65-- overtime.
Lisa Leslie tied the game at 65 with a DEEP three-point shot with just 6.2 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Houston's Tamecka Dixon made a big steal late in the fourth quarter to squash a Sparks' possession.
FGs -- Houston: 7 for 20. LA: 7 for 16.
FTs -- Houston: 9 for 12. LA: 7 for 9.
Update, 10:10 pm -- Final score: Comets 75, Sparks 72 -- Overtime.
Houston center Michelle Snow led all scorers with 20 points as the Houston Comets edged the Los Angeles Sparks 75 to 72 in front of a sold out Reliant Arena.
The Comets (11-12) have now won the first two games of a five-game homestand. The Sparks (13-10) have lost two straight.
The game was intense and sloppy at times; but, it was definitely exciting!
The Comets outscored the Sparks 38 to 22 in the paint.
Houston's Tina Thompson struggled from the field and made just 1 of 11 her attempts. She finished the game with only three points.
The game got chippy and sloppy in the second half. One flagrant foul; one clear-path foul; and one technical foul was called in the third quarter. The two teams combined for 41 turnovers.
Update, 11:50 pm -- a few post-game quotes from the Los Angeles Sparks
Sparks' head coach Michael Cooper: "What a game?! Another one for the WNBA! What a great game to play in front of the fans! Houston has always been a staple of the league. The fans come out and support them. I think it was great. It was game we should have won; but, again, Houston played us tough. They played us tough in LA; and, here we go (tonight) with another overtime. We just came up short. I thought we got out rebounded; and, we didn't hit shots when we needed to."
Cooper (on the team's final possession in OT): "We were trying to get a three point shot. Obviously, we needed that. Again, Bobbitt's (rookie point guard Shannon Bobbitt) trying to learn. She didn't get the ball down the court as fast as she could have. Plus, she went down the wrong side of the court for the play; but, the game shouldn't have come down to that. We were up by two points in overtime. In LA, we scored the first seven points (in the overtime); but, games come down to you win some you lose some. But, I thought our players took a step forward in their maturation in the league tonight."
Sparks' center Lisa Leslie (opening thoughts on the game): "It was a great game. I thought it was good for the fans. Both teams played hard; and, unfortunately, the better team lost tonight."
Leslie (difference in 1st and 2nd halves): "We were getting out rebounded in the first half. They did a good job of boxing us out. In the second half, we crashed the offensive boards and did a good job of making them have one and dones on their offense which helped us get back in the game."
Sparks' forward Candace Parker (opening thoughts on the game): "Obviously, like Lisa said, I felt like we were the better team. We forced overtime; and, we thought we had it in overtime. They made plays down the stretch and we didn't."
Parker (on what she could have done differently in the game): "Obviously, I could have help the team a little bit more on the boards. Normally, I'm a little bit more effecient on the boards and things like that; but, that's the best thing about the WNBA, you have another game in two days and you're able to redeem yourself."
Parker (on what the Comets did differently tonight compared to their early match up): "I think they did a few more things differently; but, overall, today's game called for moving the ball and finding the open player."
Parker (on LA's last possession in overtime): "I took the ball out because Dixon hit the two free throws. Then, I was supposed to run down and get into the play but the dribble hand off didn't work; and, we ended up get into the play too late."
Update, 7/20, 9:15 am -- post-game comments from Houston Comets
Houston Comets Head Coach Karleen Thompson (On Team Defense)
“Well we wanted to double Candace Parker and force her back to the middle. We wanted to make her pass the ball and take away her one-on-one. She is a phenomenal player and tough to guard. It takes a team effort and we made the adjustments on her and it worked.”
(On the Starters)
“Whoever goes out on the floor plays hard. I think that the momentum was going our way and we stayed with it. You make the necessary adjustments when things are not going your way. Watch out for us!”
Houston Comets center Michelle Snow (On Team’s Intensity)
“Honestly, a lot of our attitudes were that we were upset and mad about the last time that we played them..We just felt like we didn’t finish that game out. We needed to close this game and we knew that we could beat them. I thought that everybody came out playing hard and hustling. We were running the floor and forcing them to play us because we were very aggressive.”
On Her 3-Pointer
“I have been telling them that I could shoot threes for years. I do it in practice sometimes just to mess with everybody but I know that I can shoot them. I know that as a 6-5 post player that is my last option but nobody was open so I shot it.”
Houston Comets guard Tamecka Dixon (On Tonight’s Game)
“You know we actually put that loss behind us. We felt like we played well enough the first time to beat them but we came up short. We put that behind us. We are about winning these games for the homestand and we did that tonight.”
Houston Comets forward Sancho Lyttle (On Her Play Tonight)
“Well I was just trying to keep up what I have been doing so far. Even if you come off the bench you have to do what you have to do.”
Tonight's game will be the second time this season the two teams will face other. On July 9, LA's Candace Parker scored a career-high 40 points (to go along with 16 rebounds; five blocked shots; six assists; and two steals) to lead the Sparks to an 82 to 74 overtime win in Los Angeles.
The Comets hope to continue their winning ways at home during this five-game homestand. Houston is 7 and 2 at home thus far this season.
Here are the starting line-ups:
Los Angeles Sparks
#3 - Candace Parker
#8 - DeLisha Milton-Jones
#9 - Lisa Leslie
#24 - Marie Ferdinand-Harris
#6 - Shannon Bobbitt
Houston Comets
#7 - Tina Thompson
#20 - Tamecka Dixon
#2 -- Michelle Snow
#99 - Hamchetou Maiga-Ba
#41 - Shannon Johnson
Officials
#38 - Lamont Simpson
#49 - Kevin Sparrock
#6 - Bonita Spence
Update: 7:57 -- End of 1st Quarter: Comets 23, Sparks 14.
The Houston Comets dominated the Sparks in the first period on the boards. The Comets out rebounded the Sparks 14 to 7.
Michelle Snow and Hamchetou Maiga-Ba each scored nine points for Houston. Lisa Leslie and DeLisha Milton-Jones each scored five for LA.
The Comets shot 10 for 22 (45.5%) from the field while the Sparks made just 6 of their 17 shots (35.3%).
The Comets outscored the Sparks 14 to 6 in the paint.
Update, 8:27 pm -- Halftime: Comets 40, Sparks 30.
The Comets continued their domination of the Sparks in the paint. Houston outscored the Comets 8 to 6 in the second quarter and 22 to 12 in the first half.
Comets forward Sancho Lyttle came off the bench and grabbed eight rebounds in just 11 minutes. Lyttle also blocked a driving lay-up attempt by LA's Candace Parker.
The Comets scored 10 fast-break points to the Sparks' four.
The Comets shut out the Sparks on 2nd chance points 9 to 0.
Michelle Snow led all scorers with 11 points in the first half. LA's Big Three of Parker (6 points); Milton-Jones (8 points) and Leslie (7 points) combined to score 21 of the Sparks 30 first-half points.
The Comets shot 5 for 15 in the second quarter and 15 for 37 (40.5%) from the field in the first half. The Sparks shot 6 for 17 in each quarter for 12 for 34 (35.3%).
Houston is 0 for 6 from the three-point line while LA is 3 for 9.
Update, 9:05 pm -- Comets 45, Sparks 41, 3:49 left in the 3rd quarter.
Some interesting officiating has taken place in the third quarter. LA scored the first 10 points of the period. A flagrant 1 foul was called on LA's Keisha Brown (against Shannon Johnson) was followed up by a bizarre clear path foul called on Shannon Johnson (against Keisha Brown).
Elbows are starting to fly, too. Tempers are getting heated. A technical foul was just called on Pee Wee at the 3:33 mark.
Update, 9:17 pm -- End of 3rd quarter: Comets 53, Sparks 46.
After the LA Sparks scored 10 straight points to tie the game at 40, the Comets outscored the Sparks 13 to 6 to take a seven point lead into the fourth period.
Houston shot 5 for 16 in the third period from the field. LA shot 3 for 9 (33.3%). The Comets shot 3 for 5 from the foul line while the Sparks shot 10 for 13.
The Comets continued their dominance in the paint outscoring the Sparks 10 to 2 in the period.
Lisa Leslie scored six of LA's 16 third-quarter points.
Update, 9:50 pm -- 4th Quarter: Comets 65, Sparks 65-- overtime.
Lisa Leslie tied the game at 65 with a DEEP three-point shot with just 6.2 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Houston's Tamecka Dixon made a big steal late in the fourth quarter to squash a Sparks' possession.
FGs -- Houston: 7 for 20. LA: 7 for 16.
FTs -- Houston: 9 for 12. LA: 7 for 9.
Update, 10:10 pm -- Final score: Comets 75, Sparks 72 -- Overtime.
Houston center Michelle Snow led all scorers with 20 points as the Houston Comets edged the Los Angeles Sparks 75 to 72 in front of a sold out Reliant Arena.
The Comets (11-12) have now won the first two games of a five-game homestand. The Sparks (13-10) have lost two straight.
The game was intense and sloppy at times; but, it was definitely exciting!
The Comets outscored the Sparks 38 to 22 in the paint.
Houston's Tina Thompson struggled from the field and made just 1 of 11 her attempts. She finished the game with only three points.
The game got chippy and sloppy in the second half. One flagrant foul; one clear-path foul; and one technical foul was called in the third quarter. The two teams combined for 41 turnovers.
Update, 11:50 pm -- a few post-game quotes from the Los Angeles Sparks
Sparks' head coach Michael Cooper: "What a game?! Another one for the WNBA! What a great game to play in front of the fans! Houston has always been a staple of the league. The fans come out and support them. I think it was great. It was game we should have won; but, again, Houston played us tough. They played us tough in LA; and, here we go (tonight) with another overtime. We just came up short. I thought we got out rebounded; and, we didn't hit shots when we needed to."
Cooper (on the team's final possession in OT): "We were trying to get a three point shot. Obviously, we needed that. Again, Bobbitt's (rookie point guard Shannon Bobbitt) trying to learn. She didn't get the ball down the court as fast as she could have. Plus, she went down the wrong side of the court for the play; but, the game shouldn't have come down to that. We were up by two points in overtime. In LA, we scored the first seven points (in the overtime); but, games come down to you win some you lose some. But, I thought our players took a step forward in their maturation in the league tonight."
Sparks' center Lisa Leslie (opening thoughts on the game): "It was a great game. I thought it was good for the fans. Both teams played hard; and, unfortunately, the better team lost tonight."
Leslie (difference in 1st and 2nd halves): "We were getting out rebounded in the first half. They did a good job of boxing us out. In the second half, we crashed the offensive boards and did a good job of making them have one and dones on their offense which helped us get back in the game."
Sparks' forward Candace Parker (opening thoughts on the game): "Obviously, like Lisa said, I felt like we were the better team. We forced overtime; and, we thought we had it in overtime. They made plays down the stretch and we didn't."
Parker (on what she could have done differently in the game): "Obviously, I could have help the team a little bit more on the boards. Normally, I'm a little bit more effecient on the boards and things like that; but, that's the best thing about the WNBA, you have another game in two days and you're able to redeem yourself."
Parker (on what the Comets did differently tonight compared to their early match up): "I think they did a few more things differently; but, overall, today's game called for moving the ball and finding the open player."
Parker (on LA's last possession in overtime): "I took the ball out because Dixon hit the two free throws. Then, I was supposed to run down and get into the play but the dribble hand off didn't work; and, we ended up get into the play too late."
Update, 7/20, 9:15 am -- post-game comments from Houston Comets
Houston Comets Head Coach Karleen Thompson (On Team Defense)
“Well we wanted to double Candace Parker and force her back to the middle. We wanted to make her pass the ball and take away her one-on-one. She is a phenomenal player and tough to guard. It takes a team effort and we made the adjustments on her and it worked.”
(On the Starters)
“Whoever goes out on the floor plays hard. I think that the momentum was going our way and we stayed with it. You make the necessary adjustments when things are not going your way. Watch out for us!”
Houston Comets center Michelle Snow (On Team’s Intensity)
“Honestly, a lot of our attitudes were that we were upset and mad about the last time that we played them..We just felt like we didn’t finish that game out. We needed to close this game and we knew that we could beat them. I thought that everybody came out playing hard and hustling. We were running the floor and forcing them to play us because we were very aggressive.”
On Her 3-Pointer
“I have been telling them that I could shoot threes for years. I do it in practice sometimes just to mess with everybody but I know that I can shoot them. I know that as a 6-5 post player that is my last option but nobody was open so I shot it.”
Houston Comets guard Tamecka Dixon (On Tonight’s Game)
“You know we actually put that loss behind us. We felt like we played well enough the first time to beat them but we came up short. We put that behind us. We are about winning these games for the homestand and we did that tonight.”
Houston Comets forward Sancho Lyttle (On Her Play Tonight)
“Well I was just trying to keep up what I have been doing so far. Even if you come off the bench you have to do what you have to do.”
posted by Kris Gardner @ 6:57 PM
1 Comments:
At Sun Jul 20, 08:02:00 AM CDT,
Anonymous said…
Where are the Houston comments? Ha Ha La, you didn't win this one. Better team? I think on this one, the better team won! Very hard fought game. Very. The refs were the refs. If the game had gone on much longer, Hilton probably would have needed more security. I'm glad we won, I'm glad I was there to see it. You need to check you sources, something must really be brewing in the Tina camp! 3 points?? Check it out and let us know! Great win Comets!!!
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