30
Aug
Aussies in the WNBA
Sami reminds Sandy what she'll miss in Berlin
Sami Whitcomb #33 of the Phoenix Mercury reacts after making a three-pointer against the Toronto Tempo during the first half at Mortgage Matchup Center. Photo: Chris Coduto/Getty Images
Highlights
Sami Whitcomb went 4-from-6 from deep in Phoenix's last game before the break she never wanted.
- Whitcomb hit four of six threes for 14 points and plus-21 off the bench
- Phoenix beat Toronto 101-69, ending a four-game losing run
- The Opals open in Berlin on Friday with Miela Sowah in her place
Sami Whitcomb came off the Phoenix bench on Sunday, took six three-point shots and made four of them.
It took her 15 minutes and 39-nine seconds. She finished with 14 points on 5-from-8 shooting, three rebounds, two assists, a steal and no turnovers, and Phoenix were 21 points better off with her on the floor. The Mercury beat Sandy Brondello's Toronto Tempo 101-69 at the Mortgage Matchup Center, a 32-point win that ended a four-game losing run.
It was the last basketball she will play before the WNBA breaks – and is a stark remind about the Australian Opals and Brondello will miss in Berlin, Germany this week.
Basketball Australia ruled Whitcomb out of the FIBA Women's World Cup on Thursday. The Perth Lynx confirmed two nights later that she would miss the entire WNBL27 season. Two withdrawals in two days, from the same inflammation she has managed since April.
"While Sami is understandably disappointed not to be able to represent the Opals at the World Cup, her long-term health has to come first," Basketball Australia's executive general manager of high performance Jason Smith said.
The Lynx were similarly careful.
"By allowing the Lynx to build a roster around players who are fully available for the season, she is once again putting the team first," the club said.
Despite withdrawing from both the World Cup and WNBL27, Whitcomb proved she can still shoot it – even with one bad knee.
The minutes restriction has been the shape of her whole season. Phoenix coach Nate Tibbetts said earlier this month that the plan against Los Angeles had been 20 minutes and he had gone "a little bit over, but we needed her out there". Twenty-two was a season high.
Whitcomb has played 37 games across seven tournaments for Australia and averaged 12.0 points. She was named captain for Berlin in July, in a squad carrying six of the players who won bronze in Paris. Townsville Fire guard Miela Sowah, 26, goes to Germany in her place, with five senior caps from a single tournament.
Australia open against Puerto Rico in Berlin on Friday, September 4, at 7:30pm AEST.
Phoenix are 14-26 and out of the playoff race. Toronto, an expansion team in its first season, fall to 11-29.
Neither result matters to anybody's September.
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