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Night and day, you are the one, Elena Delle Donne. During the day, the rookie forward led the Chicago Sky to a 75-55 victory against the New York Liberty on Thursday (July 18) at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. At night, she was announced as one of the starters for the Eastern Conference for the WNBA All-Star game.
Elena Delle Donne is capable of amazing accomplishments.
For the game, Delle Donne had 23 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots. For the balloting, she had 34,646 votes — making her the first rookie to lead the league in all-star votes.
Sky guard Epiphanny Prince (who played in the 2011 all-star contest, the last one that the league held) also was chosen to start the game July 27 in Uncasville, Conn. Others Eastern starters are New York guard Cappie Pondexter, Atlanta’s Angel McCoughtry and Indiana’s Tamika Catchings.
“I’m speechless about it, Delle Donne said. “It’s incredible to come in as a rookie and know I have that many fans is so humbling and awesome. I’ll try to continue to do them proud.
“I think I’m most happy that I get to start with Piph. That gives me some comfort that Piph’s out there with me.”
Prince was a reserve in the 2011 game. “It’s very humbling to me because there are a lot of great players out there,” Prince said. “For me it isn’t the first time, but it’s the first time the fans voted for me and I appreciate it.”
“It’s going to be extremely exciting to have some of those girls on my team now and also to continue to play against the best in the league,” Delle Donne said. “It should be a really good time and I will have a lot of fun with it and really enjoy myself.”
Los Angeles Sparks forward Candace Parker was second in balloting with 33,810. She led the Western Conference. Phoenix center Brittney Griner, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 draft, also was selected. She and Delle Donne mark the first time in league history that the the top two draft picks are all-star starters.
Parker — a former Chicago-area high school standout, as are Catchings and Pondexter — will be making her all-star debut. There was no game in 2008 (her rookie season) and 2012 because of the Olympics, she had just become a mother in 2009, there was an exhibition game between the U.S. nation team against an international squad and no all-star game in 2010, and she was injured in 2011.
There were no All-Star games when she was a rookie in 2008 or last season because of the Olympics. In 2010, there was an exhibition between the U.S. national team and a group from the WNBA.
“This will be my first time going and it’s really exciting, Parker said. “Anytime that you’re voted in, it’s a huge honor. I’m very humbled by that. It gives you motivation to prove yourself and continue to work hard.”
Other Western starters: Phoenix’s Diana Taurasi and Minnesota’s Maya Moore and Seimone Augustus. The All-Star reserves will be announced on Tuesday.
“To be a rookie and for the fans to vote me in with the best players in the world — that’s just an unbelievable honor,” said Griner, who has been sidelined recently with a sprained left knee.
As for the victory that put the Sky (11-4) in first place in the Eastern Conference, Shay Murphy came off the bench to score 12 points and Prince had 11. Coming up big was center Carolyn Swords, who started in place of Sylvia Fowles (out with a re-injured sprained ankle). Swords had a season-high 12 points.
“We gave her the game ball,” Sky coach Pokey Chatman said of Swords. “She had five steals. Here’s someone 6-foot-6 who doesn’t have quick feet but has a quick mind.”
Chicago Sky guard Courtney Vandersloot was a good sport for her in-studio appearance on “Sports & Torts” with David Spada (left) and Elliott Harris.
For those who missed it, “Sports & Torts” had another superb show Thursday on Talkzone.com with co-hosts David Spada and Elliott Harris. What made the highly acclaimed program (well, it is held in such regard in the Spada and Harris households and reportedly elsewhere) was not so much the co-hosts as it was the guests.
The guests on the July 18 edition were legendary linebacker Sam Huff and Chicago Sky guard Courtney Vandersloot. Because Courtney could not be in two places at once (but she’s working on that), her segment was taped at the Talkzone studios earlier this week. She did have a WNBA game to play in New York. Seemed like a reasonable excuse. Huff lives so far from Chicago that the “Sports & Torts” guest travel budget did not allow for him to travel to Morton Grove. Travel budget? What budget?
Anyway, if you missed the show or if you would like to enjoy an encore presentation. the podcast for the program is available here.
Here is where we go for our daily dose of non-gratuitous video (thanks to the efforts of the editorial and video departments at elliottharris.com and their generous definition of “gratuitous”):
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