East Gets Its First WNBA All-Star Victory

Wednesday’s WNBA All-Star game between the league’s Eastern and Western conferences was supposed to showcase the league’s balance of talent.

But the East had an edge. Connecticut Coach Mike Thibault had four of his own players in uniform -- a fifth, Nykesha Sales, could not play because of injury -- and they were highly instrumental in the East winning for the first time in seven attempts, 98-82, in front of 12,998 at Madison Square Garden.

No Connecticut player was more effective than forward Katie Douglas, who had 16 points, four assists, five rebounds and one turnover to earn the game’s most-valuable-player award.

But all the Sun players shone brightly. Guard Lindsay Whalen and forward Taj McWilliams-Franklin had 10 points each. Center Margo Dydek had nine rebounds and four blocked shots.

“I don’t know if it was an edge,” said Thibault, when asked about the Connecticut connection. “The players in the East in general are so familiar with each other because the top group of us, Detroit, Indiana and Washington, have competed so hard against each other. And we’ve had the same group of players for several years.”

Douglas, who made six of 13 shots, disagreed.

“I think for me, it was an edge,” she said. “Having Lindsay Whalen out there as the point guard the time I was out there, she knows where I like the ball, she knows my good spots. As a shooter, that’s really key. And with everybody else out there, it felt like a regular game. It was a lot of fun.”

Before the game, the East players, clearly frustrated by the West’s All-Star dominance, showed their serious side in the locker room.

“Yeah, we are a little quiet,” said Washington’s Alana Beard, soaking her sore left ankle in an ice bath. “We didn’t have to say much; it’s obvious we want to win tonight.”

The West locker room was a bit louder and there were more smiles. But Phoenix’s Diana Taurasi said the West team did not want to be the first to lose an All-Star game. “I think we’re going to go out there and have fun with the warmup. But when the ball goes up for real, we’ll be ready.”

The first half had to leave WNBA officials ecstatic. They were getting the kind of game that translated well to the “Gah-den” crowd and a national television audience.

The action was continuous, the athleticism in abundance, the shooting -- at least early on -- was on target.

But the East also got what it wanted: a sizable lead. The East went on an 11-2 roll in the last 3 minutes 38 seconds of the second quarter to establish a 49-40 halftime lead.

Douglas had the East flowing with three three-point baskets. Indiana’s Tamika Whitmore and Detroit’s Katie Smith also gave the East a lift with seven points each off the bench by halftime.

The knockout punch came early in the third. Whalen repeatedly drove through the West defense for layups, and Detroit’s Cheryl Ford (14 points) also punished the West on the inside. The East went on another run, building its lead to 64-46. That would grow to 79-54 with 55 seconds left in the quarter.

The biggest lead came in the fourth quarter, 85-58, with 7:38 to play.

The West, for a change, couldn’t keep up. Minnesota rookie Seimone Augustus, with 16 points, was the only West player in double figures.

The East shot 49.4% (40 of 82) and held the West to 36% (32 of 89). The West was especially rebuffed at the three-point line, making nine of 30.

“We didn’t shoot the ball well as a whole as a team,” said the Sparks’ Lisa Leslie, who made three of 10 shots and scored nine points. “And to catch this many All-Stars shooting well on one given night ... that’s why we had won six in a row. But the East played great. They were better prepared.”

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Breakthrough

After losing the first six WNBA All-Star games, the East finally won Wednesday for the first time:

*--* Year Site Score 1999 New York W, 79-61 MVP: Lisa Leslie, Sparks 2000 Phoenix W, 73-61 MVP: Tina Thompson, Houston 2001 Orlando W, 80-72 MVP: Lisa Leslie, Sparks 2002 Washington W, 81-76 MVP: Lisa Leslie, Sparks 2003 New York W, 84-75 MVP: Nikki Teasley, Sparks 2005 Connecticut W, 122-99 MVP: Sheryl Swoopes, Houston 2006 New York E, 98-82 MVP: Katie Douglas, Conn.

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Note: No game in 2004 because of a conflict with Olympics.

Source: WNBA