Tamika Whitmore returned to Connecticut's lineup last weekend and the Sun are glad to have her back.
"She brings a lot of toughness and veteran leadership," point guard Lindsay Whalen said. "It is a huge boost for us."
Whitmore, an 11th-year player averaging 9.9 points and 4.0 rebounds in her career, had been out since having arthroscopic surgery on her right knee on July 14. She missed Connecticut's 79-77 loss to Detroit three days earlier, ending a streak of 204 consecutive games played.
And how was the monthlong layoff?
"It was terrible," Whitmore said. "I tried not to think about it. I wasn't playing. I really wasn't practicing all that much. I was doing rehab twice a day trying to get back. With this league and the way the season is, you have to do everything to try to get back and help your team as much as you can. They have been patient with me and I have been rooting for them. Now I finally get to do something."
The Sun went 5-5 in her absence and beat Washington and Seattle in her first two games back. Whitmore had seven points and two assists in about 9:41 of playing time in the 96-67 victory over the Mystics last Sunday.
"I felt great," she said. "I felt at home. I felt good, almost like you've been lost and you can't find your way and then all of a sudden, Bam! You made it home. That's what it felt like.
"I didn't know how long I would play. I've been doing cardio. I've been Lance Armstrong on that bike. ... I wasn't thinking about stats or anything. I just was trying to be comfortable and play within the flow of the game."
Whitmore appreciated the strong ovation she got from the home crowd when she entered the game.
"I heard it and I was already on fire, but it just was a little bit more fuel," she said.
Whitmore was then scoreless in about 9 minutes in Connecticut's 64-53 win over Seattle on Friday night.
Sun teammate Asjha Jones believes Whitmore's presence is a big help for young frontcourt players such as Sandrine Gruda and rookie center Chante Black.
"She has that wisdom and experience that means a lot to those young players," Jones said. "Even though she still isn't 100 percent now, you can put her on the court because she is smart. She knows where she has to be."
Showing improvement
The Liberty hope to have built some momentum after returning home following a strong finish to their season-high five-game road trip.New York left town two weeks ago hours after firing coach Pat Coyle and replacing her on an interim basis with assistant Anne Donovan. The Liberty lost the first two games after the change, against Atlanta and Detroit.
However, a win at Sacramento on Aug. 7 was followed by a one-point loss at Seattle the next night, and then a four-point win at Los Angeles in the finale of the trip on Tuesday night.
"We're trying to get out of a hole that we're in," Donovan said. "As long as we're playing better every night, I see a light at the end of the tunnel, especially when we get back and play the Eastern Conference teams."
Donovan said the team has tried to focus on improving its inside-outside game, and the Liberty know they need to finish games better.
"For us right now it's about playing a complete game, 40 minutes," Cathrine Kraayeveld said. "We're right where we want to be except for a little bit better execution down the stretch."
Kraayeveld believes the coaching change has been a little easier since Donovan was around from the start of the season.
"She's been with us all year as an assistant and she's been vocal saying real important things and really just giving her wisdom to us," Kraayeveld said. "We're taking it and trying to do our best with it."
The Liberty (8-14) returned home last in the Eastern Conference, but trail second-place Connecticut by just 3½ games. New York plays conference opponents in 10 of its last 12 games.
"We have to focus on us and do what we need to in order to get wins," All-Star forward Shameka Christon said. "We can't look ahead, just need to take it one game at a time."
Struggling Shock
Deanna Nolan believes a little patience would go a long way toward curing what ails the defending champion Detroit Shock."We need to be more efficient on the offensive end," Nolan said after Detroit's 80-75 loss at Atlanta on Thursday night. "We have to settle down and take our time. ... Just because we were down one or two points, we need to take good shots and attack the basket."
The Shock are sixth in the East, but trail fourth-place Washington by 1½ games for the conference's final playoff spot. Detroit is just 2½ games behind second-place Connecticut.
Players of the Week
Indiana's Katie Douglas and San Antonio's Becky Hammon were selected as the league's latest players of the week for the Eastern and Western Conferences, respectively, for the second straight week.Douglas was picked for her fifth career weekly award after averaging 21.0 points and 6.0 rebounds in the Fever's wins against Chicago and Phoenix. Against the Mercury, she tied a franchise record by making six 3-pointers.
Hammon earned the honor for the sixth time in her career. She averaged 22.7 points, 5.3 assists and 3.7 rebounds while helping the Silver Stars win two of three. She also shot 44 percent (23 for 52) from the field.
It marked the first time both players won in consecutive weeks since the league began selecting players from each conference for the weekly award in 2007. Previously, only one player was selected.
Scoreboard watch
Los Angeles at Sacramento, Saturday, 10 p.m. EDT. The Sparks and Monarchs, the bottom two teams in the Western Conference, complete their two-day home-and-home series. Los Angeles entered the weekend just two games behind third-place Minnesota. ... Seattle at Detroit, Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. EDT. All-Star game MVP Swin Cash returns to The Palace of Auburn Hills for her annual visit. Cash, traded to Seattle before the 2008 season, played on the Shock's championship teams in 2003 and 2006.
Stats
Phoenix's Diana Taurasi entered the weekend leading the league in scoring at 20.8 points per game, followed by San Antonio's Becky Hammon (20.0). ... Atlanta's Erika DeSouza (9.0) was tops in rebounding. Chicago's Sylvia Fowles (8.6) was second. ... Seattle's Sue Bird led the way in assists at 5.5, followed by Phoenix's Cappie Pondexter (5.2). ... West-leading Phoenix was first in the league in scoring (92.2 points per game), field-goal shooting (46 percent), free-throw shooting (86 percent), assists (18.2) and blocks (5.5). ... Connecticut's Asjha Jones set a franchise record with 18 consecutive games scoring in double digits. Her streak, which topped the previous mark of 17 set by Katie Douglas in 2006, ended when she was held to six points in a win over Seattle on Thursday night. ... Minnesota's Nicky Anosike had a franchise-record 16 rebounds in a loss to Indiana on Thursday night. ... Washington was 0 for 14 on 3-pointers in 96-67 loss at Connecticut on Sunday. ... Seattle's 64-53 loss at Connecticut on Thursday night ended the Storm's streak of seven straight games decided either by three points or fewer, or in overtime. ... Lauren Jackson entered the weekend one point away from reaching 5,000 for her WNBA career. Storm teammate Swin Cash was within eight of her 3,000th career point.
