September 9th, 2008: San Antonio at New York

San Antonio Silver Stars 82, New York Liberty 76

Libkids are big young love, but age and treachery win out again.


Loss in the standings, but a moral victory. We played very well without Janel and Tiffany, and Jessica and Erlana proved themselves on the court.

Way too many San Antonio jerseys for my liking. I did see a Sophia Young jersey, which made me feel better, and there seemed to be a contingent sponsored by a San Antonio radio station, so it was nice to know there were actual Silver Star fans in the building instead of just Hammon fans or Johnson fans who changed teams when they did. Just don't ever tell me you're a Liberty fan while you're wearing enemy colors unless you're Carrie and you do it as part of your collecting schtick.

Hammon turned it on late. I'll give her credit for stepping up and stretching the gap when her team needed her, and for hitting the free throws late. And those deep shots are pretty damn impressive (although, dear Loree, you played with her for two years, you should have passed the word to Leilani and Essence that she has that range). VJ is still VJ, and she came up big late. (also, dear Loree and Shameka, you played with VJ for a year or two, you should have remembered she's lefthanded). Watching Wauters in the paint, I thought she was having a better game than she was having- she got into position, though, I'll give her that. Sophia Young, IMO, was the one who really killed us- we really didn't have anyone who could guard her effectively without leaving a glaring mismatch somewhere else on the court. Buescher started hot, but I don't remember her doing much in the second half other than annoying Liberty players. Who did Darling piss off to fall behind Lawson-Wade in the rotation? Seriously? Also, whoever left Ruth Riley open at the free throw line, I will beat you with a thunderstick, and then run like hell because you're probably a post player and I'm just an average-sized fan.

How much love do I have for baby bigs? Thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis much. Jess started the game off on the right note. I'm still pissed she let Wauters steal that rebound from her, because if she'd just held on, she'd be the one with the double-double, not the Waffle. I think Ashley's been sharing the Red Bull. Now if it would give her wiiiings, or at least a little more vertical, maybe everyone would shut the fuck up. Cathrine is back to the extremes- her shot's not falling, but she's crashing the boards. Didn't she go through a phase like this a couple of years ago before swinging back towards shooting and not rebounding? Damn Libras. ;) Loree had some spectacularly boneheaded passes, and she was given way too much leeway. Shorten the leash, Patty; that might encourage her to get her shit together. Essence heated up in the second half, starting to find her stroke. Shameka shouldn't have played. Not that we didn't need her, but she was still hurt, and it was really obvious, and we're in, and we'll need her later. Loved Erlana's aggressiveness early in the game and in the third quarter- gee, more of that in the fourth might have come in really handy. Along with some more offense. Say, from one of the best three-point shooters in the league? O HAI DERE LISA WILLIS. So easy a LOLcat could do it. Or if we needed defense, how about running with Ashley Battle? AB had one dumb play early, got sat down, and disappeared from the face of the earth. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Leilani I'll give a pass tonight, because she spent a lot of time chasing Hammon around screens, and that couldn't have left her a lot of energy to play at the other end.

Coyle only changed players seven times in the entire second half. Gee, you think we might have run out of gas or something? Erlana was kicking ass in the first half. Lisa could have helped. Ashley could have helped. Even though we were playing shorthanded, a versatile and trustworthy bench is one of our strengths, and going away from that is stupider than a stupid thing.

The other thing that killed us was the end of the third quarter. Blown lay-up, Cathrine. Bricked free throws, Erlana. Blown lay-up, Jessica. 1/2 from the line, Erlana. Seven points right there that we could have had and should have had. We lost 82-76. 76 + 7 is 83.

I felt the refs were extremely one-sided. San Antonio got away with a lot of shit on the inside that the Liberty were not allowed to get away with at the other end. Call it both ways, okay? Is that too damn much to ask?

Sue Wicks sighting. How refreshing.

For the record- the season subscriber of the game was supposed to be my mom- it's her birthday, and a round one at that- but even after I told her before the season, "Whatever you do, DO NOT miss the game on your birthday", she had a hip replacement surgery that knocked her out for the rest of the regular season. She missed the awesome of being on the court and shaking hands with a real live Liberty player, but at least she was honored (though they effed up her name- it's Helene [like Cat's middle name] not Helen [like the Headless Chicken]). It's very cool to be down there. And I still have Vinnie's Sharpie. FFO, is he going to need that back or can I keep it?

Tiffany might set a record for Garden-to-street speed. I passed her in the underpass at Penn Station. She looked even better up close. Janel was very sharp.

Who was that frizzy-haired lass by the railing that several of the Libkids chatted with before the second half? She looked a little like Jordin Sparks, but I'd figure that would have been announced.

We played well, all things considered. But we could have been better. And two on the road, back-to-back? Ick.