As the San Antonio Silver Stars head into the second half of the season, it's time to regroup and find positives from their 6-11 first half. The team, which relocated from Utah in the offseason, began the season with high hopes expecting to improve on their Western Conference Finals appearance last year.
The complexion of the team had changed with a trade shortly before the season began. All-Star power forward Natalie Williams and draft pick Coretta Brown were dealt to Indiana in exchange for the lanky, athletic Sylvia Crawley and rookie forward Gwen Jackson out of Tennessee. The goal was to become more versatile in the front court. With 7-foot-2 center Margo Dydek manning the low post, the Silver Stars added the agile, new forwards hoping to have more weapons in their offensive arsenal.
Opening night, the Silver Stars pulled out a 65-56 victory over the Seattle Storm in front of 15,593 strong on their new home court. The crowd was an unusual sight for the Salt Lake City transplants.
"Our opening home game in Utah (last season), we had about 4,000 in there," said head coach Candi Harvey. "It's a huge difference to be in San Antonio."
Over the next month, the Silver Stars were on a roller coaster ride. They were plagued with turnovers and poor transition defense. At times, their offense execution seemed unfocused and lackadaisical.
Sylvia Crawley began the season as the team's starting power forward. But rookie Gwen Jackson was working hard off the bench and her numbers soon earned her the starting spot. Going into the All-Star break, Jackson was averaging 10.2 points per game and leading the team in rebounding with 7.7 boards per contest.
On June 26 San Antonio met up with the league-leading Los Angeles Sparks at the SBC Center. The Silver Stars were only two games under .500 at the time and had a golden opportunity at hand. If the San Antonio home team could knock off the Sparks, it could turn their season around before heading back on the road once more.
In the first half of the game, the Silver Stars were up for the challenge. San Antonio opened up a 22-point first-half lead. They headed to the lockerroom with a hop in their step, leading 41-24. At the break, the Silver Stars were shooting 45.8% from the field (11-for-24) and had a commanding 21-4 advantage in free-throw attempts. Their relentless defense was spurring their offense as they played their best half of basketball on the season.
But as quickly as the lead grew in their first half, it dissipated in the second. The Silver Stars shot 6-for-36 in the second stanza, scoring only 17 points. Meanwhile, they gave up 43 points to the Sparks; the game ending in a 67-58 Los Angeles victory.
The Silver Stars finished out the first half of the season losing four of their last five contests. And if their 6-11 record wasn't bad enough, the injury bug hit the team with Jackson and starting small forward Adrienne Goodson sitting out the July 10 game against the Sacramento Monarchs.
So now it's time for San Antonio to regroup. Currently in sixth place, the Silver Stars are only three games back of the fourth spot -- the postion that they need to make the playoffs.
On paper, this team is much better than their dismal record indicates. Veteran point guard Jennifer Azzi has been less than stellar so far this year, but her numbers have been on the rise as of late. Dydek, as well as second-year guard Marie Ferdinand represented the Silver Stars on the victorious Western Conference All-Star team. Tennessee Alums Jackson and Semeka Randall have provided the team with intensity and agressive play on both ends of the court.
As the second half of the season begins for San Antonio on Wednesday against the Minnesota Lynx, the Silver Stars need to play the hard-nosed, focused team defense that they have displayed during several stretches in the first half of the season. They need to go back to basics with solid offensive execution of their inside-out game. The team needs to maintain a relentless effort for all 40 minutes, night in and night out. And most importantly, they need to realize that the season is far from over.
