With a trade of Alexis Hornbuckle to the Minnesota Lynx for Rashanda McCants, Nolan Richardson’s Tulsa squad is completely free of any former Detroit Shock players in action this season. Of the other players who were on the team in the Motor City, Cheryl Ford is out of action this summer due to injury and Deanna Nolan chose not to play this summer.

The release from Tulsa:

A flurry of mid-season lineup changes for the Tulsa Shock continued this morning as they acquired forward Rashanda McCants from Minnesota in exchange for Alexis Hornbuckle.

Hornbuckle, the last remaining player on the Shock roster who played in Detroit last year, averaged 5.8 points and 3.5 rebounds in 21.1 minutes per game for Tulsa. She started 10 of the 14 games in which she appeared.

McCants is a second year player from the University of North Carolina. She has appeared in 17 of Minnesota’s 21 games this season, averaging 5.6 points and 2.4 rebounds in 15.8 minutes per game.

Last summer University of Tennessee women’s basketball player Amber Gray underwent shoulder surgery. The medical procedure led to the discovery of a brain aneurysm and the freshman underwent an extensive recovery period.

Tuesday, Tennessee released a statement indicating that Gray, a redshirt sophomore, did not receive medical clearance to continue playing.

The university’s statement from women’s athletic director Joan Cronan :

Amber is a courageous young woman, and we hope she will remain at UT as a student. If she decides she would like to pursue a playing opportunity at another university, we will support her decision to do so. We only want what is best for Amber.

Photo: University of Tennessee Athletics

President Barack Obama is set to honor the Phoenix Mercury at the White House next Monday in commemoration of the team’s 2009 championship season. The team will meet with the president on Monday, July 19 at 1:40 p.m.

Members of the team will participate in a service project with local area youth during their visit to Washington, D.C.  This continues a tradition begun by President Obama of sports champions serving in the community as part of their visit.

The Mercury secured its second championship (2009, 2007) in three seasons after defeating the Indiana Fever in a five-game series during the 2009 WNBA Finals in October.  Diana Taurasi was named the regular season and finals MVP and led the team to a 30-15 record for the season.

Of the 13 teams the reigning Big 12 champion Texas A&M will face in its non-conference schedule, 11 advanced to postseason play last season.

A&M will compete in two of fall women’s basketball tournaments in the country – the Jimmy V Women’s Basketball Classic versus 2010 Elite Eight participant Duke on December 6 at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C., on ESPN2 and the Maggie Dixon Classic against Rutgers on December 19 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Defending national champion Connecticut and Ohio State also highlight the Maggie Dixon Classic tournament field.

“Our schedule, particularly over the last three years, has given us one of the top RPIs in the country and helped us earn a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament,” said head coach Gary Blair. “We are playing a number of quality opponents this season and feel we have assembled one of our best road schedules to date.”

The Aggies face 2010 Sun Belt Conference champion and NCAA second round participant Arkansas-Little Rock in their season opener on November 16 at Reed Arena. Four days later, the Aggies take a road trip to old Southwest Conference rival Rice in Houston on November 20 followed by a home  game with Big South Conference champion and NCAA participant Liberty on November 22 in College Station.

A&M will spend the Thanksgiving holiday in paradise at the Cancun Thanksgiving Classic. A rematch with Arizona of the Pac-10 Conference and 2010 Postseason WNIT semifinalist Michigan of the Big Ten Conference is scheduled on November 26 and November 27.

The Aggies return stateside to host 2010 Postseason WNIT champion California on December 3 along with a  home game versus 1999 national champion Purdue in the Big 12/Big Ten Challenge on December 9 and Mountain West Conference champion and NCAA participant TCU on December 12.

The Aggies close out the month of December at the Surf ‘N Slam College Hoop Classic in San Diego, Calif. A&M will take on Postseason WNIT participant Drexel in a first-time meeting between both schools on December 28 and either host San Diego State or UTSA in the championship or consolation game on December 30. Last year, SDSU reached the NCAA Sweet 16 knocking off rival Texas at the Austin first-and-second round regional site.

A&M starts the New Year with Louisiana-Monroe on January 4 at Reed Arena, prior to its 16-game Big 12 Conference schedule which will be released at a later date.

Box Score

Sylvia Fowles scored 13 of her 23 points in the third quarter to lead the U.S. national team over the WNBA All-Stars 99-72 on Saturday in a midseason showcase. Fowles was named the MVP of the contest post-game.

All-star coach Brian said that his team  “played against the best team in the world today, the best players, great coach.”

They’re organized,”he said. “They’ve got decisions to make. We knew that this wasn’t your typical All‑Star Game. This was a team that was motivated to play from an individual standpoint because a lot of them are on the bubble trying to make this squad and they’re in preparation mode.”

• USA Basketball Postgame Quotes
• WNBA Stars Postgame Quotes
• Photos: The Stars at the Sun Game Action
• Video: Moore Up and Under
• Video: Moore to Charles

Baylor is set to meet reigning national champion Connecticut this season on November 16. The Lady Bears will also match up against four other teams that saw 2010 NCAA Tournament action: Tennessee, Liberty, Notre Dame and Michigan State.

“We have assembled the toughest non-conference schedule in program history,” said Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey. “I feel that our program is at a point that we will benefit tremendously by playing a tough schedule. In addition to playing at Connecticut, we’ve got Tennessee and Notre Dame, among others, coming to the Ferrell Center. Baylor fans will see a lot of All-Americans playing in Waco this season.”

While Baylor met UConn in last year’s NCAA Final Four, the two teams have never met during the regular season. The Lady Bears will travel to Connecticut in a made-for-TV event. The Huskies travel to Waco for the 2011-12 season game.

The Tennessee Lady Vols make their first Ferrell Center appearance on December 14. Baylor and Tennessee split their two games last season. The Lady Vols won the season opener in Knoxville (74-65) while the Lady Bears downed Tennessee in the NCAA’s Sweet 16 in Memphis, 77-62.

Overall, Baylor’s home slate features three teams that posted over 23 wins last season and two teams with 25 or more wins appear on its road schedule.

Baylor returns four starters from last season’s team that finished the year with a 27-10 mark: guards Kelli Griffin, Melissa Jones and Shanay Washington and All-American post Brittney Griner.

Baylor’s 16-game Big 12 schedule will be announced at a later date. The Lady Bears play home and away games against Big 12 South foes Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech, will host Iowa State, Kansas State and Missouri and play at Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska.

2010-11 Baylor Lady Bear Non-Conference Basketball Schedule
NOVEMBER

1 Mon. – St. Edward’s University (EXH.), Waco

5 Fri. – Texas A&M International (EXH.), Waco

12-14 Fri.-Sun. – World Vision Invitational, Waco

(Baylor, Florida International, Montana State, Rice)

16 Tue. – at Connecticut, Hartford, Conn.

19 Fri. – Michigan State (Big 6 Challenge), Waco

23 Tue. – Texas Southern, Waco

26 Fri. – Liberty, Waco

28 Sun. – Southeastern Louisiana, Waco

DECEMBER

1 Wed. – Notre Dame, Waco

5 Sun. – Minnesota (Big 10-Big 12 Challenge), Waco

14 Tue. -  Tennessee, Waco

21-22 Tue.-Wed. – at Bahamas Sunsplash Shootout, Nassau, Bahamas

21 – Syracuse

22 – Clemson

30 Thur. – UT-Pan American , Waco

The WNBA announced Monday that Phoenix Mercury guard Ketia Swanier received a one-game suspension for leaving the bench area during an on-court incident in Saturday’s game against New York. The altercation involved New York Libery guard Cappie Pondexter, Mercury forward Penny Taylor and Mercury guard Diana Taurasi.

During the third quarter, Taylor drove to the basket and was fouled hard across the head by Pondexter. Taurasi went to aid Taylor and was shoved by Pondexter resulting in a brief altercation on the court. Members of both teams reacted to the incident. Taylor received a technical foul. Pondexter was called for a flagrant two personal foul and ejected from the game.

Concussions: Lauren Jackson and Sancho Lyttle

Seattle Storm starting center Lauren Jackson is questionable for Tuesday’s game against New York after suffering a concussion during Saturday’s game versus Los Angeles. Jackson did not practice with the team on Monday.

Atlanta Dream forward Sancho Lyttle left Saturday’s game against Chicago with a concussion after getting knocked on the left side of her face by an elbow from Sky center Sylvia Fowles.

Surgery for Sun forward Anete Jekabsone-Zogota
Anete Jekabsone-Zogota will undergo arthroscopic surgery on her right knee. The surgery is set for Thursday and she could miss up to four weeks.

More changes in Tulsa

The Tulsa Shock signed veteran free-agent guard Ivory Latta to a contract on Monday. The team waived rookie guard Natasha Lacy. Latta participated in the Shock’s training camp but was waived on May 13.

Natasha Lacy appeared in all 16 games for the Shock this season, averaging 6.3 points and 3.5 assists as a rookie in 18.3 minutes a game.

A former University of North Carolina standout, Latta is expected to practice with the Shock this week and be in uniform this Thursday when Tulsa travels to Indiana to play its final regular-season game before the All-Star break. During her three years in the league, the guard was a member of the Atlanta Dream and the Detroit Shock. She has a career average of 7.0 points and 2.0 assists per game.

Other Tulsa transactions from the regular season:

• June 13
  Traded Plenette Pierson to the New York Liberty in exchange for Tiffany Jackson.
• June 8
  Waived Ashley Walker and Amanda Thompson.
  Signed Kiesha Brown and Jennifer Lacy.
• May 27
  Traded Shavonte Zellous to the Indiana Fever in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2011 Draft.

San Antonio re-signings

Three days after putting them on waivers, the San Antonio Silver re-signed Crystal Kelly and Allie Quigley

Monday night the WNBA announced the top vote-getters for the “WNBA vs. USA Basketball: The Stars at the Sun” game in early July. While seeing names such as Sue Bird and Becky Hammon at the top of the list was no surprise to fans, others like Michelle Snow and Jayne Appel garnered incredulity and outright derision from the public and media.

The Seattle Storm’s Bird led all players (127,490) in final returns and San Antonio Silver Stars player Hammon (116,391) finished second.

The others in the top five are Indiana Fever’s Tamika Catchings (100,248), Phoenix Mercury’s Diana Taurasi (93,649) and Bird’s Seattle teammate, Swin Cash (85,236).

The remaining players on the list: Storm’s Lauren Jackson (80,392), Los Angeles Sparks’ Candace Parker (78,624), Silver Star teammates, Jayne Appel (69,316), Michelle Snow (67,906) and Sophia Young (65,974).

Instead of an WNBA All-Star game, this year’s mid-season festivities features the U.S. facing a team of the league’s remaining All-Stars on July 10 at Uncasville, Connecticut.

Unlike previous years, the players selected by fans will not necessarily be starters. Any player voted in who is already in the USA National Team Pool will play on the USA Basketball team, led by head coach Geno Auriemma, while the remaining players who have been voted in by the fans will play on the WNBA team.

The San Antonio Silver Stars waived forward Megan Frazee, who suffered an injury to her left meniscus, and signed forward Crystal Kelly under the WNBA’s emergency hardship exception to the salary cap. A team can apply for the exception when it falls below 10 players able to play.

From the team’s release:

Frazee is expected to have surgery this week and afterwards, it is anticipated that she will remain in San Antonio during her rehabilitation.

Kelly was acquired from the Tulsa Shock in exchange for guard Shanna Crossley on April 14. Kelly played in four games with the Silver Stars earlier in the season before she was waived on June 9; the 6-foot-2 forward averaged 1.0 points and 0.5 rebounds in 4.3 minutes per game. In her three-year WNBA career, Kelly has recorded averages of 5.3 points and 2.3 rebounds in 13.2 minutes per game.

In 10 games played this season, Frazee tallied averages of 3.8 points per game on 12-of-32 (.375) made field goal attempts, 1-of-9 (.111) made three-point field goal attempts and 13-of-19 (.684) made free throw attempts. Additionally, she has recorded 2.1 rebounds in her 10.1 minutes per game.

Purdue is set to take on Austin Peay in the opening matchup of the 2010 Preseason Women’s National Invitation Tournament. The Boilermakers host the Lady Govs at 5 p.m. ET on Friday, November 12 in Mackey Arena.

"We’re excited to be invited to the Preseason WNIT," said Lady Govs head coach Carrie Daniels. "Being from Indiana I’m looking forward to facing a team from my home state. Purdue is a tremendous program that has a lot of rich tradition. We know it will be a tough game and we’ll have to be ready to play."

Purdue is 1-0 all time against Austin Peay, with the only matchup an 80-49 Boilermaker win at home in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on March 16, 2002. Austin Peay has four starters from last season’s squad, which won a second consecutive Ohio Valley Conference women’s basketball tournament title. The Lady Govs went 15-18 overall but rallied to a third-place finish in the OVC regular-season race with an 11-7 record before posting three straight victories in the OVC tournament.

It is the third Preseason WNIT appearance for Purdue and the second for the Lady Govs. The Boilermakers won the tournament in coach Sharon Versyp’s first year as head coach, defeating No. 16 Baylor, 69-55, on Nov. 19, 2006, in Waco, Texas. In 2000, fourth-ranked Purdue finished as runners up to No. 11 Louisiana Tech, 68-63. 

The 16-team, invitation-only Preseason WNIT field features 14 teams coming off postseason play, with half of those teams winning their conference tournaments. The preseason WNIT is an exempt event that is played as a three-game guarantee format. The tournament opens with first-round games Nov. 12 and 13. Second-round games will be played Nov. 14 and 15; semifinals will be Nov. 17 and 18; and the championship is set for Sunday, Nov. 21. Teams that lose in the first two rounds will play consolation games on the second weekend, Nov. 19 and 20. All games are hosted by participating schools and the next round sites will be announced by the end of the preceding round.

In last year’s Preseason WNIT, Big Ten Conference member Ohio State defeated Oklahoma State 93-72.

First-round Preseason WNIT games
2009-2010 team records in parentheses

Friday, Nov. 12, 2010

• Austin Peay (15-18) at Purdue (15-17), 5 p.m. ET
• St. Francis PA (17-15) at Toledo (25-9), 7 p.m. ET
• Hampton (20-12) at JMU (26-7), 7 p.m. ET
• Lamar (26-8) at Missouri State (22-11), 7:05 p.m. ET
• Valparaiso (9-21) at DePaul (21-12), 8 p.m. ET
• Utah Valley (10-22) at South Dakota State (22-11), 8 p.m. ET

Saturday, Nov. 13, 2010

• Central Florida (11-16) at Florida (15-17), time TBA
• Iona (18-14) at Charlotte (18-14), 5 p.m. ET