Comets Survive Geriatric Shock

By Jennifer M. Korenek, SPM TX Writer
Posted Friday, July 25, 2008

HOUSTON, Texas - A Reliant Arena sellout crowd of 7,261 fans attended the game between the Houston Comets (13-12) and the Detroit Shock(16-10) Thursday evening. The full house may have resulted from the media hype generated by the recent brawl during a game between Detroit and the Los Angeles Sparks eariler this week.

While this contest didn't feature another altercation to entertain the fans, Detroit had another headline sensation up their sleeve: 50-year-old Nancy Lieberman temporarily abandoned her duties as an ESPN commentator to grace the Reliant Arena court for 9:14 of playing time, giving Detroit two assists. Unfortunately for the Shock, Houston answered back with a 79-61 victory, extending the Comets' current winning streak to four games.

Lieberman, nicknamed "Lady Magic" (a reference to former L.A. Lakers star Earvin "Magic" Johnson) signed a seven-day contract with the Shock, coming out of an eleven-year retirement from the WNBA.

In 1976, at the age of 18, Lieberman became the youngest basketball player in Olympic history to win a medal. In 1996 she was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., followed by her election to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999.

In the inaugural WNBA season (1997), Lieberman played for the Phoenix Mercury at the age of 39, setting a record as the league's oldest player in history.

To keep up with the media frenzy, the Detroit Shock decided to up the ante on record-setting when it comes to age, a la George Blanda of NFL fame and Gordie Howe, who also made a token, publicity stunt appearance in an NHL game when well into his 60's.

Although Detroit came to Houston as the WNBA Eastern Conference leaders, it was felt the Comets should have a fighting chance against the Shock, since three of Detroit's key players were suspended due to last Tuesday night's free-for-all with the Sparks.

The first half showed how damaging over-confidence on the part of one team can be. Within the first two minutes of play, Detroit put six unanswered points on the scoreboard.

Afterward, Comets coach Karleen Thompson responded to questions about the Comets' erroneous assmuption that they could breeze through this game: "Going in at halftime I just wanted to stress the point that we were not taking advantage of them being in trouble."

Throughout the entire first half, the Comets failed miserably in their attempts to capitalize on Detroit's weakened condition, making only 2-17 three-point attempts, with Detroit rebounding Houston's misses and cashing them in with baskets at the other end. The half ended with the Shock maintaining a 35-28 lead.

But, if one were to believe that history repeats itself, the third quarter began in the same fashion as the first half, with Detroit keeping the upper hand. Houston then managed to turn things around during the last four minutes of the quarter. A basket by Comets forward Tina Thompson tied the score at 43, and Detroit was unable to recover the lead for the rest of the game.

The lead only flipped once, and the game was tied twice. With 6:46 left in the fourth quarter, Houston was up by 23 points, and the Shock decided to put "Lady Magic" back in for the rest of the game.

Why?

Houston guard Tina Thompson offered her reasoning: "It was a bright spot because it brought some positivity back to the game. The focus was changed a lot. It changed to focusing on Nancy being here. I commend Bill [Laimbeer, Detroit's head coach] for changing the focus of the game from something so negative to bringing Nancy in and bringing something positive."

Whether it was to change the negative focus to a more positive, one thing was abundantly clear: Detroit had one objective in the waning minutes of the game: pass "Lady Magic" the ball. What a way it would have been for her to walk off the court. making at least one shot before hanging up her jersey on this evening.

Despite Lieberman's well-recognized star personna, Houston was not about to allow Detroit to Shock the crowd with a Lieberman bucket. The Comets showed no compassion or mercy for the Shock's new found senior citizen. The best they could give her was tough love by not patronizing her, but treating her just like any other player on the court, with competitive and aggressive defense.

At the end of this circus exhibition, the Detroit Shock staggered away with three double-digit scorers, led by guard Deanna Nolan with 23 points and a team-high nine rebounds, all defensive.

Houston had four double-digit scorers, led by Roneeka Hodges with 18 points. While guard Shannon Johnson did not put any points on the board, she did deliver a robust, game-high 12 assists and a team-high six rebounds.

Last night's win will keep the Houston Comets' hopes up for a spot in the WNBA playoffs, as they rest up for their next game against the Chicago Sky (8-16) at Reliant Arena on Saturday, July 26 at 7:30 p.m. CDT.

Detroit will host the Western Conference-leading San Antonio Silver Stars (17-8) on Sunday, July 27 at 6 p.m. EDT. The game will be televised locally on FSNDetroit. Detroit's Sheri Sam will serve her suspension during that game.