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.

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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.

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Indiana Fever Win Game 2

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

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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:

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8 Players Picked For Team USA

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

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The Injured WNBA All Stars Of 2009