“I don’t expect anything else,” Phoenix’s Cappie Pondexter said, according to ESPN.com. Pondexter and teammate Diana Taurasi are ready to air it all out and leave everything on the floor.

“At this point, if you don’t want to do that, you shouldn’t be on the court,” Taurasi added.

Diana Taurasi knows that in order to win another WNBA Championship, she's going to have to leave it all on the floor tonight.

That sentiment is echoing through both locker rooms. Tonight’s game on ESPN 2 (at 9:00 Eastern) promises to be as exciting as the previous four games. Only there’s a lot more at stake because after tonight, there are no more games to play. This is it, folks. Game five. It’s the end all be all to the 2009 WNBA Finals. Whoever wins tonight will walk away WNBA Champions.

And whoever loses will just walk away.

Image: Zuma Press

Post from: EveryJoe

2009 WNBA Finals: Game Five

But in order to pull off a win against the Fever, both Diana Taurasi and Cappie Pondexter are going to have to start off strong. Taurasi has not shot well throughout this entire championship series. And for some strange reason, Pondexter has suddenly grown reserved. In the first three games of the series, she waited until the second half to start being aggressive. I’m not exactly sure what she’s waiting for. But one thing is for certain, she’s running out of time. If Pondexter and Taurasi want to win another WNBA Championship ring, then they need to be aggressive right from the tip-off.

Tamika Catchings can see the light ... she's one game away from her first WNBA Championship.

Otherwise, Tamika Catchings will have the opportunity to take control of the game and win her first WNBA title. She’s got that look in her eyes that says, “Nothing can stop me. Not even Diana Taurasi.” At this point,  I’m about four quarters away from believing her.

Post from: EveryJoe

Are You Ready For Game Four?

Penny Taylor kept Phoenix in the game, as both Taurasi and Pondexter struggled with their shooting. But once she went out in the third quarter with an injury to her lip, Indiana ran away with game.

Tamika Catchings showed why she was the runner-up in the MVP race, as she shut down Taurasi defensively and scored 19 points. She also dished out 11 assists to get her teammates involved.

Tamika Catchings took control in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals.

Taurasi finished the game with 20 points, which matched her season average. But she was only 7 – 22 on the night as a whole.  Pondexter never quite found her rhythm. And without Taylor’s offensive spark, Phoenix burned out offensively.

It’s on to Game 3.

Post from: EveryJoe

Indiana Fever Win Game 2

The award came as no surprise to players, coaches, fans and certainly, Taurasi herself. She is the league’s leading scorer and the best all-around talent. I’d go as far to say that she is the world’s best women’s basketball player.

According to ESPN.com, Taurasi received 27 first-place votes and 323 points overall in ballots cast by representatives of every WNBA team as well as nationally-respected reporters.

When she found out that she won the award, Taurasi’s response was simply, “I felt like a little kid again.”

As if accolades weren’t enough, Taurasi was handed another reason to smile after the Mercury shut down the Fever in overtime to win the first game of the series. The game was fast-paced and full of aggressive play by both teams. But the Mercury held on to take a 1-0 lead in the Finals.

Shine on, “D” …  shine on.

Tune in for Game 2 tonight on ESPN 2.

Post from: EveryJoe

Tuesday Was Diana Taurasi’s Day To Shine

However, they’ll have to contend with Indiana’s own Katie Douglas and Tamika Catchings (who might rival Taurasi for the 2009 MVP honor), first. Though the Fever haven’t ever been to the Finals before as a team, they have plenty of individual players who have.

Diana Taurasi and Cappie Pondexter hope to win a second ring.

The match-up begins Tuesday night on ESPN 2. This is a WNBA Finals series that has the potential to go three games.

Image: ZumaPress

Post from: EveryJoe

2009 WNBA Finals: Phoenix Vs. Indiana

While Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Tamika Catchings, Candace Parker, Sylvia Fowles, Cappie Pondexter, Seimone Augustus and Kara Lawson are guaranteed a spot on the team, the fourteen other players are not. They will have to earn a spot even though they were invited to camp. Coach Geno Auriemma is probably thrilled to have a variety of former UCONN players at his disposal. In addition to Bird and Taurasi, he will always have the pleasure of coaching Swin Cash, Ashja Jones, Maya Moore, and Tina Charles as well (at least for the duration of camp).

Geno Auriemma is probably thrilled to have so many former UCONN players in the U.S. women's basketball pool.

Rounding out the chosen fourteen are Jayne Appel, Alana Beard, Shameka Christon, Candice Dupree, Lindsey Harding, Ebony Hoffman, Crystal Langhorne, Angel McCoughtry, Lindsay Whalen, and Candice Wiggins.

Regardless of who makes the final roster, it looks as though the U.S. women’s basketball team is going to be an amazing one. Would we expect any less?

According to ESPN, The U.S. team will train in Washington for a week before heading to Russia to play in a tournament.

Image: Zuma Press

Post from: EveryJoe

14 More Players Invited To US Camp

UCONN standouts, Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi, will reunite with their former head coach at USA basketball camp. Tamika Catchings, Candace Parker, Cappie Pondexter, Kara Lawson, Sylvia Fowles and Seimone Augustus round out the rest of the eight.

“Naming these eight players was not that difficult of a decision to make, I’m sure, because those eight were truly instrumental in winning the Olympics in Beijing,” Auriemma said, according to Yahoo! Sports.

The U.S. women’s basketball team will start training and practicing together at the end of September. Additional athletes and coaches will also be selected to participate.

Considering how many WNBA standouts there are, filling up the rest of the roster shouldn’t be too hard. You can expect Team USA to bring home a gold medal in 2012. (That’s right. I’m guaranteeing a win … two years ahead of schedule!)

Enjoy some behind-the-scenes- footage of 2008’s Gold Medal Winning Team:

Post from: EveryJoe

8 Players Picked For Team USA

Sure, Candace Parker is a household name, but Leslie was dunking basketballs well before Parker could even drive a car.

Leslie reached yet another milestone in her basketball career by reaching 6,000 points in a game against the Indiana Fever. The exclamation point of the achievement was made as Leslie hit an 11-foot jumper with only 11.9 seconds left before halftime.

Leslie is also an eight-time All-Star, leads the league in career rebounds with 3,203. She is only one of four remaining players from the league’s inaugural season in 1997.

Post from: EveryJoe

Lisa Leslie Reaches 6,000 Points

Also on the injured list are  L.A.’s Candace Parker and Minnesota’s Seimone Augustus. Augustus is out for the season with an ACL injury and Parker is just getting back to practice after giving birth to her daughter in May.

Thankfully, there will be plenty of All Stars able to play. Tamika Catchings, who is having a remarkable season was the top vote-getter with 94,316 votes.  Becky Hammon,  Swin Cash and guard Sue Bird were also voted starters.

Tamika Catchings was the top vote-getter for the 2009 WNBA All Star Game.

The game will be held Saturday at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut.

Image: Zuma Press

Post from: EveryJoe

The Injured WNBA All Stars Of 2009

Diana Taurasi was pulled over for driving under the influence after a key win again the Seattle Storm.

Yet, the celebration quickly turned sour when Taurasi was pulled over by a cop in the wee hours of the morning. According to ESPN.com, the officer who pulled her over smelled alcohol and gave Taurasi several field sobriety tests. She was then escorted to a mobile DUI van where she gave a sample of blood.

Though her blood alcohol content is unknown, Taurasi was cited for a DUI. The Mercury were immediately informed of the incident though they have yet to issue a statement.

Image: Zuma Press

Post from: EveryJoe

Diana Taurasi Cited For DUI