http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/story/14313208p-15218662c.html
Ailene Voisin: Lawson exerts, but only her will
By Ailene Voisin -- Bee Sports Columnist
Published 12:01 am PDT Thursday, August 31, 2006
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Four months ago, Kara Lawson could only dream about doing this, about shooting her way into the record books and her team into a convincing opening-game victory in the WNBA Finals. She became fatigued when exerting even the most minimal effort -- say, when tossing back the bed covers. She became dizzy just walking to the bathroom. She didn't want to eat. She didn't dare drive her car.
For a while there -- while her Monarchs teammates endured training camp and the woeful start of an increasingly wonderful season -- the Kings television analyst was left wondering if she needed, well, an analyst. The source of her ailment remained a mystery. There was no parasite, not even a bite. And there was certainly nothing to indicate that, before the 2006 season was over, the sturdy 5-foot-7 veteran would be showing off her trimmed-down frame, triumphantly and repeatedly pumping her right fist, and playing the best basketball of her still-young career.
"The worst part about being sick was that I had worked so hard on my game during the offseason," Lawson recalled late Wednesday night, nodding ever so slightly, "and I wasn't able to establish any of that. I had lost 12 (to) 15 pounds. I was better off the dribble, better off pick-and-rolls, just quicker all around. I was ready to prove that I was more than just a shooter, but it wasn't until after the All-Star Game that I began to feel right."
The same can be said of the Monarchs. They start late and finish strong. They are working so hard defensively these days -- resisting their opponents en route to five consecutive postseason victories -- that they are making it look easy. All those bizarre early-season afflictions -- Lawson's illness, John Whisenant's emotional funk, Yolanda Griffith's aching knees, DeMya Walker's recovery from childbirth -- have been slapped aside with a to-date spotless postseason.
Houston, Los Angeles, Detroit. Different opponent, similar result. Take a name, insert the score. In their most recent rout, this one 95-71 against a Shock team that stunned an announced crowd of 9,581 into silence and its coach, Bill Laimbeer, into a state of perpetual apoplexy, the Monarchs dictated the tempo, the mood and the outcome. The team that once faltered but now only flourishes collectively received significant contributions from all the usual suspects -- Griffith and Walker from the inside, Nicole Powell from the outside, Ticha Penicheiro with the ball -- and from a few who sort of slipped into the building unnoticed: Young Kristin Haynie enjoyed a stirring homecoming, gathering loose balls, intercepting inbound passes, tossing precise passes to teammates underneath, including a beautiful assist to a trailing Rebekkah Brunson in the deciding opening half.
True, the Shock defenders often had their heads turned, too busy as they were barking at their coach. True, the Shock players seemed strangely intent on booking that Bahamian vacation.
But also true is this: The Monarchs are the defending champs, a resolute bunch, and far from wimps. (See Colleen Maloof's fondness for her women's team.) And virtually every time the Shock contemplated a comeback, one or another of the Monarchs responded with a big shot, a timely steal, a crucial rebound.
On this particular night, more often than not, the Monarch in question was the sturdy, aggressive player whose stamina not long ago was nonexistent, whose coach once described her as "softy and mushy," who lost her starting job -- to a rookie, no less. The same player who missed an entire training camp because of illness, and yet in the series opener barely missed a shot.
Lawson, who was 6 of 8 on three-point attempts, struck from the left side, flung from the right side. She sank threes in transition, sank threes while falling, sank one huge three at the end of the opening quarter. She found open shots at times, created openings other times. Mostly, she picked her spots and made the Shock pay.
And four months ago? Was it only four months ago? The fatigue, the dizziness, the disappointment? The season seemingly on hold?
"I'm just glad that it's gone," Lawson said, grinning, as she stood in the locker room, "and that I get a chance to show what I can do."
Haynie-acs rule
The Haynie-acs were in full force, loading a bus of Mason, Mich., residents and heading to the Palace to cheer on one of their own.
Kristin Haynie gave them something to cheer as she rebounded and stole the ball in a playoff-high 17 minutes. Haynie also had playoff highs in steals with five (tying her regular-season high) and rebounds with four.
Haynie's parents, siblings, aunts and uncles were in attendance, with Mason residents who have seen the 5-foot-9 guard play since she was in middle school.
"We could tell when she was in seventh grade she'd be good," said Casei Marlan, Haynie's aunt, who was her coach at Mason Middle School. "But we never thought this good."
First serve
Shock guard Katie Smith is the only player in the Finals with more than five years of experience who hasn't earned a WNBA championship.
This is Smith's first Finals after being traded from Minnesota in 2005, and she said she's hoping to earn some hardware.
"I'll do my part, and hopefully everyone will do theirs," Smith said.
Shooting high
Erin Buescher finished the regular season with the WNBA's best field-goal percentage of 53.7 percent, earning the Most Improved Player award for her contributions off Sacramento's bench.
Buescher, a No. 23 draft pick by Minnesota in 2001, became the lowest drafted player to lead the league in field-goal percentage since 1997.
However, her playoff performance has been subpar.
Buescher is averaging 3.2 points off 37.5 percent (6-of-16) shooting from the field in five playoff games.
Courtside
Former Monarchs guard Kedra Holland-Corn, who was traded to the Shock in the April 29, 2003, swap for Kara Lawson, took a one-year sabbatical from the WNBA after being traded again and being waived by the Houston Comets (2004). An excellent on-ball defender and three-point shooter, the six-year veteran played in Italy during the winter and re-signed with Detroit as a free agent in February. "I just took last summer off," she said before the series opener, "but it's great to be back. This is a great situation for me." Her timing wasn't too terrible, either. Holland-Corn won her first WNBA title with the 2003 Shock.
About the writer: Reach Ailene Voisin at (916) 321-1208 or avoisin@sacbee.com.
Ailene Voisin: Lawson exerts, but only her will
By Ailene Voisin -- Bee Sports Columnist
Published 12:01 am PDT Thursday, August 31, 2006
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Four months ago, Kara Lawson could only dream about doing this, about shooting her way into the record books and her team into a convincing opening-game victory in the WNBA Finals. She became fatigued when exerting even the most minimal effort -- say, when tossing back the bed covers. She became dizzy just walking to the bathroom. She didn't want to eat. She didn't dare drive her car.
For a while there -- while her Monarchs teammates endured training camp and the woeful start of an increasingly wonderful season -- the Kings television analyst was left wondering if she needed, well, an analyst. The source of her ailment remained a mystery. There was no parasite, not even a bite. And there was certainly nothing to indicate that, before the 2006 season was over, the sturdy 5-foot-7 veteran would be showing off her trimmed-down frame, triumphantly and repeatedly pumping her right fist, and playing the best basketball of her still-young career.
"The worst part about being sick was that I had worked so hard on my game during the offseason," Lawson recalled late Wednesday night, nodding ever so slightly, "and I wasn't able to establish any of that. I had lost 12 (to) 15 pounds. I was better off the dribble, better off pick-and-rolls, just quicker all around. I was ready to prove that I was more than just a shooter, but it wasn't until after the All-Star Game that I began to feel right."
The same can be said of the Monarchs. They start late and finish strong. They are working so hard defensively these days -- resisting their opponents en route to five consecutive postseason victories -- that they are making it look easy. All those bizarre early-season afflictions -- Lawson's illness, John Whisenant's emotional funk, Yolanda Griffith's aching knees, DeMya Walker's recovery from childbirth -- have been slapped aside with a to-date spotless postseason.
Houston, Los Angeles, Detroit. Different opponent, similar result. Take a name, insert the score. In their most recent rout, this one 95-71 against a Shock team that stunned an announced crowd of 9,581 into silence and its coach, Bill Laimbeer, into a state of perpetual apoplexy, the Monarchs dictated the tempo, the mood and the outcome. The team that once faltered but now only flourishes collectively received significant contributions from all the usual suspects -- Griffith and Walker from the inside, Nicole Powell from the outside, Ticha Penicheiro with the ball -- and from a few who sort of slipped into the building unnoticed: Young Kristin Haynie enjoyed a stirring homecoming, gathering loose balls, intercepting inbound passes, tossing precise passes to teammates underneath, including a beautiful assist to a trailing Rebekkah Brunson in the deciding opening half.
True, the Shock defenders often had their heads turned, too busy as they were barking at their coach. True, the Shock players seemed strangely intent on booking that Bahamian vacation.
But also true is this: The Monarchs are the defending champs, a resolute bunch, and far from wimps. (See Colleen Maloof's fondness for her women's team.) And virtually every time the Shock contemplated a comeback, one or another of the Monarchs responded with a big shot, a timely steal, a crucial rebound.
On this particular night, more often than not, the Monarch in question was the sturdy, aggressive player whose stamina not long ago was nonexistent, whose coach once described her as "softy and mushy," who lost her starting job -- to a rookie, no less. The same player who missed an entire training camp because of illness, and yet in the series opener barely missed a shot.
Lawson, who was 6 of 8 on three-point attempts, struck from the left side, flung from the right side. She sank threes in transition, sank threes while falling, sank one huge three at the end of the opening quarter. She found open shots at times, created openings other times. Mostly, she picked her spots and made the Shock pay.
And four months ago? Was it only four months ago? The fatigue, the dizziness, the disappointment? The season seemingly on hold?
"I'm just glad that it's gone," Lawson said, grinning, as she stood in the locker room, "and that I get a chance to show what I can do."
Haynie-acs rule
The Haynie-acs were in full force, loading a bus of Mason, Mich., residents and heading to the Palace to cheer on one of their own.
Kristin Haynie gave them something to cheer as she rebounded and stole the ball in a playoff-high 17 minutes. Haynie also had playoff highs in steals with five (tying her regular-season high) and rebounds with four.
Haynie's parents, siblings, aunts and uncles were in attendance, with Mason residents who have seen the 5-foot-9 guard play since she was in middle school.
"We could tell when she was in seventh grade she'd be good," said Casei Marlan, Haynie's aunt, who was her coach at Mason Middle School. "But we never thought this good."
First serve
Shock guard Katie Smith is the only player in the Finals with more than five years of experience who hasn't earned a WNBA championship.
This is Smith's first Finals after being traded from Minnesota in 2005, and she said she's hoping to earn some hardware.
"I'll do my part, and hopefully everyone will do theirs," Smith said.
Shooting high
Erin Buescher finished the regular season with the WNBA's best field-goal percentage of 53.7 percent, earning the Most Improved Player award for her contributions off Sacramento's bench.
Buescher, a No. 23 draft pick by Minnesota in 2001, became the lowest drafted player to lead the league in field-goal percentage since 1997.
However, her playoff performance has been subpar.
Buescher is averaging 3.2 points off 37.5 percent (6-of-16) shooting from the field in five playoff games.
Courtside
Former Monarchs guard Kedra Holland-Corn, who was traded to the Shock in the April 29, 2003, swap for Kara Lawson, took a one-year sabbatical from the WNBA after being traded again and being waived by the Houston Comets (2004). An excellent on-ball defender and three-point shooter, the six-year veteran played in Italy during the winter and re-signed with Detroit as a free agent in February. "I just took last summer off," she said before the series opener, "but it's great to be back. This is a great situation for me." Her timing wasn't too terrible, either. Holland-Corn won her first WNBA title with the 2003 Shock.
About the writer: Reach Ailene Voisin at (916) 321-1208 or avoisin@sacbee.com.
