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Moore leads West to WNBA All-Star victory
UNCASVILLE, Conn. -- Maya Moore has played in plenty of big games in Connecticut, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that the Minnesota Lynx guard and two-time national champion at Connecticut stole the spotlight at Saturday's WNBA All-Star Game at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Moore scored 10 of her team's final 12 points to finish with an All-Star Game record 30 and lead the Western Conference to a 117-112 victory over the Eastern Conference.
"It's really fun to be able to play well in front of a crowd that's going to appreciate it," said Moore, who went 150-4 with the Huskies and reached four Final Fours in four years at UConn.
"It's going to be a toss up between the Minnesota fans and these fans, both near and dear to my heart. If I was going to do it in front of any other fans that weren't Minnesota, I would want it to be here in Connecticut. (I) had a blast doing it."
Moore, selected the game's most valuable player, drained the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:51 remaining in the game. The guard scored 19 points in the second half and made six 3-pointers while totaling six rebounds and five assists in her fourth All-Star Game.
Britney Griner's emphatic third-quarter dunk and ensuing 3-pointer highlighted the Phoenix Mercury center's dominant performance for the West.
Griner, who was plus-17 on the floor for the game, collected 21 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots.
"I'm just trying to bring something exciting to the game," Griner said. "Get more people involved, get more people watching, and just have fun. Honestly, I just love to do it."
Guard-forward Kayla McBride of the San Antonio Stars scored 18 off the bench for the West.
Shoni Schimmel of the Atlanta Dream, winner of last year's WNBA All-Star Game MVP award after her then league-record 29-point performance, made a pull-up 3-pointer to give the East a 106-105 lead with 2:04 remaining. The guard finished with 13 points and six assists.
Guard Alex Bentley of the host Connecticut Sun gave the local fans something to cheer about, scoring 23 points for the East on 5-of-8 shooting from 3-point range in her first All-Star Game.
"I've been dreaming for events and days like this all my life," Bentley said. "I've been wanting to play basketball since I was 5- or 6-years-old.
"I used to go to the Indiana Fever games and want to be in their shoes, want to be in (Fever forward) Tamika Catching's shoes."
Catchings, playing in her 10th and final All-Star Game, scored eight points to pass retired Los Angeles Sparks legend Lisa Leslie for the most career All-Star Game points (108) in history.
Guard-forward Elena Delle Donne of the Chicago Sky, the WNBA's leading scorer at the break averaging 24.5 points, added 16 points and eight rebounds for the East.
Griner and the West built a four-point lead midway through the first quarter, but the East took advantage of the additional floor spacing when Griner subbed out at the 4:56 mark and closed the period on a 20-6 run to take a 34-24 lead after one and went ahead by 12 early in the second.
After checking back in with 7:08 left in the first half and the West down by 10 points, Griner immediately made an impact on the boards, grabbing six of her seven first-half rebounds in a span of 6:49 as the West pulled to within 59-58 at halftime.
A layup by Tulsa Shock forward-center Plenette Pierson gave the West a 93-91 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The game was last tied, 102-102, with 4:08 to play in the final quarter.
NOTES: Mohegan Sun Arena hosted the WNBA All-Star Game for the fourth time. ... WNBA president Laurel J. Richie spoke about the impending relocation of the Tulsa Shock to Dallas before the game. "As excited as we are about that move to Dallas, I would be remiss if I didn't very, very genuinely thank the people of Tulsa," she said. Richie also said the league is getting "closer and closer" to expansion. ... Indiana Fever F Tamika Catchings of the East became the first WNBA player to earn 10 All-Star selections. "It's a blessing to be around the WNBA and have as many years as I've had to play and perform," she said. ... Seattle Storm G Sue Bird and Phoenix Mercury G-F DeWanna Bonner started for the West in place of injured Tulsa Shock G Skylar Diggins (right ACL tear) and Minnesota Lynx G Seimone Augustus (right knee surgery).
UNCASVILLE, Conn. -- Maya Moore has played in plenty of big games in Connecticut, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that the Minnesota Lynx guard and two-time national champion at Connecticut stole the spotlight at Saturday's WNBA All-Star Game at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Moore scored 10 of her team's final 12 points to finish with an All-Star Game record 30 and lead the Western Conference to a 117-112 victory over the Eastern Conference.
"It's really fun to be able to play well in front of a crowd that's going to appreciate it," said Moore, who went 150-4 with the Huskies and reached four Final Fours in four years at UConn.
"It's going to be a toss up between the Minnesota fans and these fans, both near and dear to my heart. If I was going to do it in front of any other fans that weren't Minnesota, I would want it to be here in Connecticut. (I) had a blast doing it."
Moore, selected the game's most valuable player, drained the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:51 remaining in the game. The guard scored 19 points in the second half and made six 3-pointers while totaling six rebounds and five assists in her fourth All-Star Game.
Britney Griner's emphatic third-quarter dunk and ensuing 3-pointer highlighted the Phoenix Mercury center's dominant performance for the West.
Griner, who was plus-17 on the floor for the game, collected 21 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots.
"I'm just trying to bring something exciting to the game," Griner said. "Get more people involved, get more people watching, and just have fun. Honestly, I just love to do it."
Guard-forward Kayla McBride of the San Antonio Stars scored 18 off the bench for the West.
Shoni Schimmel of the Atlanta Dream, winner of last year's WNBA All-Star Game MVP award after her then league-record 29-point performance, made a pull-up 3-pointer to give the East a 106-105 lead with 2:04 remaining. The guard finished with 13 points and six assists.
Guard Alex Bentley of the host Connecticut Sun gave the local fans something to cheer about, scoring 23 points for the East on 5-of-8 shooting from 3-point range in her first All-Star Game.
"I've been dreaming for events and days like this all my life," Bentley said. "I've been wanting to play basketball since I was 5- or 6-years-old.
"I used to go to the Indiana Fever games and want to be in their shoes, want to be in (Fever forward) Tamika Catching's shoes."
Catchings, playing in her 10th and final All-Star Game, scored eight points to pass retired Los Angeles Sparks legend Lisa Leslie for the most career All-Star Game points (108) in history.
Guard-forward Elena Delle Donne of the Chicago Sky, the WNBA's leading scorer at the break averaging 24.5 points, added 16 points and eight rebounds for the East.
Griner and the West built a four-point lead midway through the first quarter, but the East took advantage of the additional floor spacing when Griner subbed out at the 4:56 mark and closed the period on a 20-6 run to take a 34-24 lead after one and went ahead by 12 early in the second.
After checking back in with 7:08 left in the first half and the West down by 10 points, Griner immediately made an impact on the boards, grabbing six of her seven first-half rebounds in a span of 6:49 as the West pulled to within 59-58 at halftime.
A layup by Tulsa Shock forward-center Plenette Pierson gave the West a 93-91 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The game was last tied, 102-102, with 4:08 to play in the final quarter.
NOTES: Mohegan Sun Arena hosted the WNBA All-Star Game for the fourth time. ... WNBA president Laurel J. Richie spoke about the impending relocation of the Tulsa Shock to Dallas before the game. "As excited as we are about that move to Dallas, I would be remiss if I didn't very, very genuinely thank the people of Tulsa," she said. Richie also said the league is getting "closer and closer" to expansion. ... Indiana Fever F Tamika Catchings of the East became the first WNBA player to earn 10 All-Star selections. "It's a blessing to be around the WNBA and have as many years as I've had to play and perform," she said. ... Seattle Storm G Sue Bird and Phoenix Mercury G-F DeWanna Bonner started for the West in place of injured Tulsa Shock G Skylar Diggins (right ACL tear) and Minnesota Lynx G Seimone Augustus (right knee surgery).