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2011 WNBA Season
The 2011 WNBA season was the 15th season of the Women's National Basketball Association. The regular season began on June 3 with the Los Angeles Sparks hosting the Minnesota Lynx, featuring 2011 WNBA Draft top pick Maya Moore, in a game televised on NBA TV. Four games followed the next day, with the marquee matchup, televised on ABC, featuring the defending champion Seattle Storm and the Phoenix Mercury in Seattle. The Minnesota Lynx finished the regular season with the best record in the league at 27-7, and were the top seed in the Western Conference. The Indiana Fever were the top seed in the Eastern Conference. The Lynx ultimately advanced to face the Atlanta Dream in the 2011 WNBA Finals. 2010/2011 WNBA offseason *The new television deal with ESPN continued during the 2011 season (runs 2009–2016). For the first time ever, teams will be paid rights fees as part of this deal. *As of the 2009 season, the maximum roster size per team was reduced from 13 to 11. Any team tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Women's National Basketball Association
The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association (NBA), and league play started in 1997. The regular season is played from May to September, with the All Star game being played midway through the season in July (except in Olympic years) and the WNBA Finals at the end of September until the beginning of October. Five WNBA teams have direct NBA counterparts and normally play in the same arena. They play in the same arena as funding is sparse due to lack of spectators. Indiana Fever, Los Angeles Sparks, Minnesota Lynx, New York Liberty, and Phoenix Mercury. The Atlanta Dream, Chicago Sky, Connecticut Sun, Dallas Wings, Las Vegas Aces, Seattle Storm, and Washington Mystics do not share an arena with a direct NBA counterpart, although four of the seven (t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Conference (WNBA)
The Western Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is made up of six teams. From the league's second season in 1998 through 2015, the WNBA operated separate playoff brackets for its Eastern and Western Conferences. Each conference's playoff was divided into two playoff rounds, the Conference Semi-Finals and the Conference Finals, with the Conference Finals winners receiving Conference Championships and advancing to the WNBA Finals to determine the WNBA champion. In the final years of this playoff scheme, all in-conference playoff series were best-of-three. Since 2016, the league has abandoned separate conference playoffs in favor of a single league-wide playoff bracket. The top eight teams in the regular season, without regard to conference affiliation, advance to the playoffs, which are seeded based strictly on regular-season record (with tiebreakers as needed). The bottom four playoff teams play single-elimination games (5 vs. 8, 6 vs. 7) in the first r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
San Antonio Silver Stars
The San Antonio Stars were a professional basketball team based in San Antonio, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded in Salt Lake City, Utah, as the Utah Starzz before the league's inaugural 1997 season began; then moved to San Antonio before the 2003 season and became the San Antonio Silver Stars, then simply the San Antonio Stars in 2014. The team was owned by Spurs Sports & Entertainment, which also owned the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA. The team was sold to MGM Resorts International in 2017 and became the Las Vegas Aces for the 2018 season. The Stars qualified for the WNBA Playoffs in seven of their fourteen years in San Antonio. The franchise has been home to many high-quality players such as all-star point guard Becky Hammon, solid power-forward Sophia Young, former first-overall draft pick Ann Wauters, and seven-foot-two-inch center Margo Dydek. In 2008, the Silver Stars went to the WNBA Finals ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Donna Orender
Donna Geils Orender (born February 14, 1957) is a sports executive and a former collegiate and professional basketball player. She was formerly president of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and senior vice president of the PGA. Currently, Orender is the founder and CEO of Orender Unlimited, a Jacksonville, FL based advisory and consultancy firm. She travels the world as a motivational speaker and advocating for the empowerment of women and young girls through her non-profit organization Generation W. Early life Orender was born in Long Island, New York, grew up in Queens, New York, and in Elmont, New York on Long Island, and is Jewish. She belonged to a Conservative synagogue (the Elmont Jewish Center). She attended and played basketball for Elmont High School, in Elmont, New York, and was a five-sport athlete in high school, also lettering in field hockey, volleyball, softball, and tennis. According to Orender, Elmont High School did not have a girls’ t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trudi Lacey
Trudi Lacey (born December 12, 1958) is an American basketball head coach, most recently of the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). NC State statistics Source USA Basketball Lacey was named to the team representing the US at the inaugural William Jones Cup competition in Taipei, Taiwan. In subsequent years, the teams would be primarily college age players, but in the inaugural event, eight of the twelve players, including Lacey, were in high school. The USA team had a record of 3–4, finishing in fifth place, although one of the wins was over South Korea, who would go on to win the gold medal. Lacey was chosen to represent the USA on the USA Basketball team at the 1981 World University games, held in Bucharest, Romania. After winning the opening game, the USA was challenged by China, who held a halftime lead. The USA came back to win by two points, helped by 26 points from Denise Curry and 12 from Lacey. The USA was also challenged by Can ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Julie Plank
Julie Plank is an American basketball coach, most recently of the Atlanta Dream of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Career Previously, Julie Plank was the head coach of the Washington Mystics for the 2009 and 2010 seasons. Plank joined the Mystics following a season with the Minnesota Lynx, assistant coaching Olympian Seimone Augustus and 2008 Sixth Player/Woman of the Year, Candice Wiggins. Prior to joining the Lynx coaching staff, Plank spent eight years with the Indiana Fever as an assistant coach and director of scouting. There she helped lead the team to four playoff appearances including the 2005 and 2007 Eastern Conference Finals. Plank served as an assistant coach for the U.S. Women’s National Team from 1999 through the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia and helped lead the U.S. to gold medal victories in the 1999 U.S. Olympic Cup and the 2000 Olympics. Plank began her coaching career in 1984 at Capital University in Ohio. She spent two years a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Washington Mystics
The Washington Mystics are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Mystics compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference. The team was founded prior to the 1998 season, and is owned by Monumental Sports & Entertainment (led by Ted Leonsis), which also owns the Mystics' NBA counterpart, the Washington Wizards. The team plays in the Entertainment & Sports Arena in the Congress Heights neighborhood of Washington DC. Sheila C. Johnson, co-founder of BET and ex-wife of Charlotte Sting owner Robert L. Johnson, is the managing partner. The Mystics have qualified for the WNBA Playoffs in 13 of its 23 seasons of existence, and the franchise has been home to such high-quality players as two-time WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne, Tennessee standout Chamique Holdsclaw, athletic shooting guard Alana Beard, and nearby Maryland product Crystal Langhorne. Until 2018, the Mystics were the only curren ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chicago Sky
The Chicago Sky are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Sky compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference. The franchise was founded prior to the 2006 season. The Sky experienced a period of success from 2013 to 2016, making four playoff appearances and playing in the 2014 WNBA Finals. They experienced a second period of success starting in 2019 and won their first championship in the 2021 WNBA Finals. The team is owned by Michael J. Alter (principal owner) and Margaret Stender (minority owner). Unlike many other WNBA teams, it is not affiliated with a National Basketball Association (NBA) counterpart, although the Chicago Bulls play in the same market. Franchise history Franchise origin In February 2005, NBA Commissioner David Stern announced that Chicago had been awarded a new WNBA franchise, temporarily named ''WNBA Chicago''. On May 27, 2005, former NBA player and coach Dave ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pokey Chatman
Dana "Pokey" Chatman (born June 18, 1969) is currently an assistant coach for the Seattle Storm in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Chatman is the former head coach of the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky of the WNBA. She is also the former head coach of the LSU Lady Tigers basketball team and the Spartak Moscow women's basketball team. Chatman spent the first 20 years of her adult life at LSU as a player (1987–1991), student assistant (1991–1992), assistant coach (1992–2004) and head coach (2004–2007). After succeeding longtime coach Sue Gunter in 2004, Chatman led the Lady Tigers to three consecutive NCAA Final Fours in 2004 (as acting head coach for the ailing Gunter), 2005, and 2006. Chatman resigned from her post at LSU on March 7, 2007, amid allegations of an inappropriate relationship with a former player that were alleged to have begun when Chatman was coaching the player. Biography High school career Chatman was born in Ama, Louisiana, played ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Whisenant
John Harold Whisenant Jr. (born June 18, 1945) is an American former head coach for the Sacramento Monarchs and New York Liberty in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Coaching career After starting at Connors Junior College in Warner, Oklahoma, Whisenant transferred to New Mexico State University in 1963 and played two seasons, including a senior season leading the team at 13.1 points per game. Whisenant began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Coffeyville Community College in 1966; Coffeyville went 48–10 in his two years on staff. From 1968 to 1972, Whisenant was head coach at Arizona Western Junior College and led the school to three league championships and a cumulative 97–30 record. From 1972 to 1979, Whisenant was an assistant coach at New Mexico under Norm Ellenberger and helped New Mexico accumulate a record of 137–62 and two WAC championships. Whisenant began a business career focusing on real estate and horse racing after leaving the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sacramento Monarchs
The Sacramento Monarchs were a basketball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1997 until folding on November 20, 2009. They played their home games at ARCO Arena. The Monarchs were one of the WNBA's eight original franchises and were noted early on for standout players Ticha Penicheiro, Ruthie Bolton and Yolanda Griffith. They were the sister franchise of the Sacramento Kings National Basketball Association (NBA) team. They were one of the more successful WNBA franchises on the court, though they often trailed behind perennial Western Conference champions the Houston Comets and the Los Angeles Sparks. However, in 2005, the team brought Sacramento its first championship, winning the WNBA Finals for the only time. Franchise history Origins (1997–2003) The Monarchs made an impact in the WNBA almost immediately. With the hiring of Portuguese national team player Ticha Penicheiro, popular player Ruthie Bol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New York Liberty
The New York Liberty are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Liberty compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as part of the league's Eastern Conference. The team was founded in 1997 and is one of the eight original franchises of the league. The team is owned by Joe Tsai, the majority owner of the Brooklyn Nets. The team's home games are played at Barclays Center. The Liberty have qualified for the WNBA Playoffs in seventeen of its twenty-six years. The franchise has been home to many well-known players such as Teresa Weatherspoon, Rebecca Lobo, Becky Hammon, Leilani Mitchell, Essence Carson, Cappie Pondexter, Tina Charles, and the team's first-ever No.1 overall Draft pick Sabrina Ionescu. The Liberty have three conference championships and have played in the WNBA Finals four times, falling to the Houston Comets in 1997, 1999, and 2000, and losing to the Los Angeles Sparks in 2002. They have the m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
