Features

San Antonio Silver Stars acquire Michelle Snow for Dalma Ivanyi

The San Antonio Silver Stars acquired eight-year WNBA veteran center Michelle Snow in exchange for Dalma Ivanyi and the right to swap second round picks with San Antonio in the 2011 WNBA Draft to Atlanta. The draft picks option must be exercised within 15 days of the conclusion of the draft lottery.

“We are very excited about the addition of Michelle Snow to our roster,” said Silver Stars head coach Sandy Brondello in a statement. “She has always been a player that was difficult for us to stop in the past and she has all the skills that will make her a great asset to our team. At 6′ 5” she is a player who will give us a dominant low-block presence on both ends of the floor as well as helping us to be a better rebounding team. Her mobility makes her a perfect fit for our 2010 campaign.”…

Tulsa Shock signs embattled former Olympian Marion Jones

The WNBA Tulsa Shock signed former track star Marion Jones. Although drafted by the Phoenix Mercury in 2003, she never suited up for the team and will be considered a rookie free agent in the league.

WNBA president Donna Orender attended the team’s press conference announcing the signing. Jones, a 34 year-old who gave birth to her third child last spring, had an individual workout with Shock head coach Nolan Richardson on Saturday in Tulsa. He offered a chance to join the team a few days later.

I’m extremely excited to join the team and the WNBA,” Jones said.  “After a lot of thought, I realized this is a great fit for me because of Coach Richardson’s uptempo style of play.  I can’t wait to start training camp and learn more about the city and team I’ll be representing.”

Coach Nolan Richardson planned to put Jones through another workout…

Stanford-bound Chiney Ogwumike wins Morgan Wootten award

Stanford-bound prep star Chiney Ogwumike is the winner of the 2010 Morgan Wootten Player of the Year Award for her accomplishments on and off the court. McDonald’s along with Morgan Wootten, legendary coach and McDonald’s All American Games selection chair, named her the ninth annual winner of the award.

Ogwumike, the three-year all-state selection from Cy-Fair High School in Cypress, Texas, joins Maya Moore (2007), Tina Charles (2006), Candace Parker (2004) and Ivory Latta (2003). Ogwumike won the honor over Bria Hartley (North Babylon High School – North Babylon, N.Y.), Kaneisha Horn (Ramsay High School – Birmingham, Ala.), Natasha Howard (Toledo Waite High School – Toledo, Ohio) and Odyssey Sims (Irving MacArthur High School – Irving, Tex.).

The Morgan Wootten Award is given to the best male and female McDonald’s All American players who exemplify outstanding character, exhibit leadership and embody the values of being a student-athlete in the…

Tulsa Shock to sign former track star Marion Jones

Late Tuesday evening the Tulsa Shock hinted via Twitter.com that the team had a big announcement for Wednesday.

Big news from coach Richardson tomorrow at 10 am! Watch the news!

Nearly an hour later, WNBA president Donna Orender tweeted that she was in Tulsa.

Just checked in in Tulsa – tuned in to sportsnight Oklahoma on tv and they were previewing the high school girls tournament – gotta love it

Shortly afterwards, news reports revealed that the cryptic message from the Shock was in reference to the signing of disgraced American sprinter Marion Jones who has been working her way back into shape with the hope of starting a pro basketball career.

She trained with the new head coach of the San Antonio Silver Stars, Sandy Brondello and assistant Olaf Lange this past winter. She was in Tulsa recently working out with the Shock’s head…

Alysha Clark powers Middle Tennessee to Sun Belt Championship

Box Score

Post Game Press Conference, Sun Belt Championship Game – Middle Tennessee vs. University of Arkansas-Little Rock, March 9, 2010

From the Sun Belt Conference:

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Alysha Clark scored 48 points, including the winning layup with 1.8 seconds left in overtime, to lead Middle Tennessee to a 70-68 victory over Arkansas-Little Rock in the Sun Belt tournament title game Tuesday.

Clark set the tournament’s single-game scoring record for a third straight game and finished with a three-game total of 132 points. The Blue Raiders (25-5) needed every basket to hold off top-seeded UALR (26-6) and earn their 13th NCAA tournament bid.

The Trojans, who had won 21 straight games, fought back from a seven-point deficit in overtime to tie it on Channon Haywood’s two free throws with 29.4 seconds remaining.

With the shot clock off, Middle Tennessee found Clark, who was guarded under…

Seeding set for Big 12 women’s basketball championship

Bracket || Schedule

After a weekend of six games marking the end the regular season for Big 12 teams, the seeding for this week’s tournament in Kansas City, Missouri is set. Unbeaten Nebraska leads the pack at No. 1 followed by No. 2 seed Iowa State, No. 3 Oklahoma and No. 4 Texas A&M

The entire list:

1. Nebraska
2. Iowa State
3. Oklahoma
4. Texas A&M
5. Texas
6. Baylor
7. Oklahoma State
8. Texas Tech
9. Kansas State
10. Kansas
11. Colorado
12. Missouri

First round games will be televised by Metro Sports in Kansas City, while the quarterfinals through the final will be aired on FSN.

The Phillips 66 Big 12 Women’s Basketball Championship returns to Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo., for the ninth time in Conference history. Kansas City hosted the first six women’s postseason events from 1997-2002, in addition to…

Brittney Griner suspended for two games, will miss season finale and Big 12 tourney opener

Thursday evening Baylor released the following press release about Brittney Griner’s ejection from last night’s game against Texas Tech:

In addition to a one-game suspension mandated by NCAA basketball playing rules, Baylor University freshman post Brittney Griner has been suspended for an additional game by Lady Bears’ head coach Kim Mulkey, following Griner’s ejection from the Lady Bears’ 69-60 victory at Texas Tech, March 3.

Because Griner’s foul against Texas Tech’s Jordan Barncastle was ruled flagrant and she was ejected by game officials, per NCAA basketball playing rules, Griner is automatically suspended for Baylor’s next contest, a Sunday, March 7, match-up against No. 18 Texas in Waco. Mulkey then imposed an additional one-game suspension which will force Griner to miss Baylor’s Big 12 Championship opener on either March 11 or 12.

“I am very disappointed in the incident which happened during our basketball game last night at Texas Tech,”

…

2010 Division I women’s basketball conference tournaments schedule

• March women’s basketball television schedule

…

Baylor freshman Brittney Griner ejected in Texas Tech game for punch

Box Score || Photo Gallery || Video

No. 14 Baylor may have won a Big 12 contest on the road but officials ejected star freshman Brittney Griner after she punched Texas Tech’s Jordan Barncastle in the face during the second half. The Lady Raiders lost the game, 69-60, in front of a crowd of 7,602 in Lubbock.

With approximately nine minutes left in the contest, Griner, the game’s leading scorer, had 21 points under her belt. After a foul in which she was flung around by Barncastle when the two had their arms entangled, Griner retaliated with a punch.

“There’s no place for that in sports,” said Baylor head coach Mulkey. “I will deal with Brittney Griner and it won’t be discussed in the media. You saw the game. Leave it at that. Kristy [Curry], not me, not any coach, not any player will ever be…

Missouri coach Cindy Stein resigns, effective at the end of the season

Missouri coach Cindy Stein announced her resignation on a radio show Monday evening.

"The University of Missouri and I have mutually agreed that it is in the best interest of the program to announce at this time, that I will not be returning as the head women’s basketball coach past this season," Stein said in a statement. "I will actively coach up until our final game of the season, whenever that might be."

The Tigers have had a troubled season, losing 13 of their past 14 games. The team dealt with the national attention from negative press after two seniors were arrested for involvement in an off-campus incident in December. And at the beginning of the season, starting point guard Bekah Mills tore her ACL. In January, sophomore guard Bailey Gee also suffered an ACL injury. It was widely thought that Stein would…