Former Duke women’s basketball player Karima Christmas and her Indiana Fever teammates beat the defending champion Minnesota Lynx in Game 4 of the WNBA Finals to win the WNBA Title.

In the Game 4 clincher, Christmas scored seven points and hauled in five rebounds in just over 14 minutes of action off the bench.

In Indiana’s Game 3 blowout over the Lynx, Christmas scored just two points in a little over 17 minutes.

Prior to those two games, Christmas only appeared in their loss in Game 2 for less than three minutes. She was forced into action with injuries to two guards (Katie Douglas and Jeannette Pohlen).

The postseason has arrived in the WNBA and a few former Duke women’s basketball players are participating. The others are enjoying some time off and getting ready for the international season.

Let’s take a look at how the Duke alumni have done this season:

Alana Beard: She finished the regular season averaging 30.8 minutes per game. She scored 11.4 points per game and made 43.6% of her shots.

The LA Sparks have advanced to the Western Conference Finals with a sweep over the San Antonio Silver Stars. Beard started both games and averaged 32.5 minutes. She lit up the Silver Stars by averaging 17.5 points and shooting over 60% from the field.

The Western Conference Finals begin on Thursday, as the Sparks face the top team in the league, the Minnesota Lynx. Game 1 will be broadcast live on ESPN2.

Karima Christmas: After being traded to the Indiana Fever, she played in 16 games off the bench for the Eastern Conference Finals participant. She has not played in a playoff game yet, but the Finals begin on Friday night on ESPN2.

During the regular season, Christmas averaged just 2.9 points in 10.9 minutes with the Fever. In her final game on September 23rd, she scored ten points and hauled in seven rebounds in a Fever victory.

Mistie Mims: As a member of Eastern Conference finalist Connecticut Sun, she averaged eight points and 4.5 rebounds over 18.7 minutes (ten starts in 32 games).

Mims played in both games of the Eastern Conference semifinals, as the Sun swept the NY Liberty. So far in the postseason, she is averaging seven points and 4.5 rebounds in 16 minutes. Pretty similar to her regular season stats.

» Continue reading “Duke in the WNBA Update”

With about a month left in the WNBA season (and after spending a month off due to the Olympics), now is a great time to take a look at how the former Duke players are doing in the league.

Alana Beard has returned to form after two injury-riddled seasons. Now with the LA Sparks, she is averaging 10.3 points in 31.4 minutes. She has started all 24 games she has played in, as the Sparks have won nine in a row and have clinched a playoff spot in the Western Conference.

SportsPageMagazine.com has a great article on Beard‘s return.

Chante Black has started ten of the 21 games she has played in for the Tulsa Shock (who are just 1-10 on the road). She is averaging 3.4 points and 3.2 rebounds in 13.6 minutes per game.

Karima Christmas had played in seven games since being traded to the Indiana Fever (who are 15-9 and in second place in the Eastern Conference). She has averaged 2.3 points in just 7.1 minutes.

Monique Currie has started 18 of the Washington Mystics‘ 24 games. The Mystics are in last place in the Eastern Conference and are just 1-11 on the road. Currie is averaging 10.6 points and 3.5 rebounds over 23 minutes.

Her teammate on the Mystics, Jasmine Thomas, has started 13 of the 24 games. In twenty minutes, she is averaging 6.8 points , 2.1 rebounds, and 2.7 assists.

» Continue reading “Duke in the WNBA Update”

The WNBA season is in full gear and eight former Duke women’s basketball players are scattered across the league.

Alana Beard has gotten better as the WNBA season has rolled on. Five of her last seven games for the LA Sparks has resulted in double-figure scoring. In her last game (June 28th), she dished out ten assists while scoring 14 points. The Sparks sit in second place in the Western Conference at 10-6.

With the Tulsa Shock, Chante Black started five of their first six games. Since, she has started just one of the next five games. On June 26th, she scored eight points on 3-of-3 shooting over 23 minutes. Black also hauled in five rebounds. The Shock are in last place in the Western Conference at 2-12.

Karima Christmas was traded from Tulsa to Indiana and will play her first game with the Fever on Thursday (July 5th). Prior to the deal, she led the WNBA with 2.33 steals per turnover (14 steals to six turnovers). Christmas’ new team is in second place in the Eastern Conference at 8-5.

Monique Currie has tallied two 20-point games in her last five for the Washington Mystics. She is averaging 10.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game for the last place team in the Eastern Conference (3-10).

Jasmine Thomas has started five games as a teammate of Currie’s on the Mystics. She has scored in double-figures just once this season and has struggled with her shot of late (just 14-for-56 which is 25%).

» Continue reading “Duke in the WNBA Update”

The WNBA season is underway and Duke has eight former players across the league. There are a few more roster spots open due to the Olympics (and many ladies will be leaving to play in London).

Alana Beard, who is finally healthy, had started all six games with her new team, the LA Sparks (who are 5-1). She has averaged 8.8 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game.

The Tulsa Shock, who are 0-6, have two former Blue Devils on their roster. Chante Black returns to the WNBA and has started five of their six games. She is averaging 2.7 PPG and 2.8 RPG. Karima Christmas has played in all six games (one start). She is averaging four points and 2.2 RPG.

The Washington Mystics again have two former Blue Devils, as they welcome back the fully-healthy Monique Currie. She has started all five games (1-4) and is averaging 12.4 PPG and four rebounds per game. Jasmine Thomas is back with the Mystics and is coming off the bench. She has averaged 7.4 PPG and two assists. Her best game was her last (June 3rd) when she scored 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting (3-for-4 from three point land).

Lindsey Harding is back with the Atlanta Dream, who is 2-4. She has started all six games and is averaging 13.7 PPG, 2.7 RPG, and 3.5 APG.

Mistie Mims returned to the WNBA and plays for the Connecticut Sun (4-1). She has played in all five games, averaging five points and four rebounds a game.

The Phoenix Mercury are 2-4 and brought back Krystal Thomas. She has played in two games and is averaging two points.

The WNBA regular season came to an end on Sunday, as two teams with former Duke Blue Devils on its roster are headed to the postseason. The Atlanta Dream locked up the third-seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. They will face the Connecticut Sun in the semifinals. The Phoenix Mercury locked up the third-seed in the Western Conference and will begin play on Thursday against the Seattle Storm.

Here is the WNBA update for the former Blue Devils playing in the league from August 30-September 11:

Tuesday August 30th: Atlanta beat Indiana, 92-90. After starting the season 3-9, the defending Eastern Conference champs are once again one of the WNBA’s top teams. The Dream trailed 88-83 with a little over two minutes left. Sancho Lyttle’s jumper with 0.9 seconds left gave them the win over the first-place Fever. Lindsey Harding played 33 minutes and went 5-for-11 from the field with 11 points. She had six assists and two steals. Alison Bales played nine minutes off the bench and hauled in two rebounds.

Minnesota beat Washington, 73-56. The Mystics scored just six points in the third quarter after trailing just 36-33 at the half. It was the Mystics ninth straight loss. The Lynx had already clinched the Western Conference title. Jasmine Thomas cracked the starting lineup for the Mystics for the first time in her rookie season. She played 37 minutes but went just 2-for-11 (1-for-6 from the three-point line) from the field. She did have three rebounds and three assists (but she had four turnovers).

Phoenix beat Tulsa, 96-74 in a battle of two Blue Devils rookies. Krystal Thomas played the most minutes so far in her rookie season with the Mercury (16 minutes). She was 2-for-3 from the field. Karima Christmas played 13 minutes off the bench for the Shock, going 3-for-5 (six points).

Thursday September 1st: Washington beat Atlanta, 85-81 to break their nine-game losing streak. Matee Ajavon scored 11 of her 19 points in the fourth quarter. Monique Currie made her season debut after recovering from a torn left ACL. In 9:30 minutes, she had eight points and three rebounds. J.Thomas started her second straight game and went 5-for-14 with 12 points. She also had four rebounds, five assists, and two steals in the win.

Bales was back in the starting lineup for the Dream and went 4-for-8 (11 points) from the field in 29 minutes. She added six rebounds and two blocked shots. Harding played 38 minutes and went 4-for-13 (ten points). She had five rebounds and eight assists in the loss.

San Antonio beat Phoenix, 86-68. K. Thomas played almost ten minutes and went 1-for-2 from the field (three points).

Friday September 2nd: Atlanta beat Washington, 95-73. Bales had a career-high 15 points and her three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter helped the Dream pull away. In her second straight start, Bales was 6-for-7 from the field in 29 minutes. She also had five rebounds, two assists, and two blocked shots. Harding went just 2-for-5 from the field, but had seven rebounds and three steals.

J. Thomas scored a career-high 19 points (7-for-14) in her second straight start (28 minutes).

Seattle beat Tulsa, 78-72 in a comeback effort. Christmas played 14 minutes and scored nine points in the loss, but went just 3-for-10 from the field.

» Continue reading “WNBA End of Season Update”

The WNBA season is coming down to the final push, with playoff spots on the line. Here is the WNBA update for August 18th-August 28th, highlighting the former Duke women’s basketball players.

Thursday August 18th: Minnesota beat Washington, 81-62. In the loss, Jasmine Thomas played close to 14 minutes off the bench. She went 2-for-7 from the field (1-of-4 from three-point land) for five points.

Friday August 19th: Atlanta beat Connecticut, 94-88 in overtime. Angel McCoughtry blocked a shot at the end of regulation to force overtime and hit two big baskets for the Dream to win it (she had 26 total points). Lindsey Harding started and played 43 minutes. She went 10-for-14 for 21 points. She also had five assists and two steals. Alison Bales played 11 minutes off the bench, but went just 1-for-6 from the field (she did go 3-for-3 from the free-throw line). She had five rebounds and two blocked shots.

Saturday August 20th: Chicago beat Washington, 71-70. Epiphany Prince made two of three free-throws with 0.7 seconds left to give the Sky the victory. There were 18 lead changes in the game. Matee Ajavon missed two free throws for the Mystics and fouled Prince on a long jumper at the buzzer. The referees reviewed the play and sent Prince to the line, where she missed the final FT on purpose.

J. Thomas played 14 minutes off the bench but went 0-for-4 from the field. She did have four rebounds and four assists.

Sunday August 21st: Connecticut beat Atlanta, 96-87. Harding played 36 minutes and went 5-for-13 from the field for 14 points. She had four rebounds and nine assists. Bales played 16 minutes off the bench and went 3-for-4 from the field (six points). She had two assists but just one rebound.

» Continue reading “WNBA Update”

This is a WNBA Update of the former Duke women’s basketball players who are in the league. It is an update from August 8th through August 16th. Rookie Krystal Thomas has signed a seven-day contract with the Phoenix Mercury. Her first active game with the Mercury was on Tuesday August 16th against the team that drafted her, the Seattle Storm (she did not play).

 Tuesday August 8th: Atlanta beat Washington, 72-70. Sancho Lyttle hit a 13-footer with less than a second remaining to give the Dream the comeback win. Lindsey Harding started but played just 18 minutes. She was 2-for-4 from the field with four points. She also had three assists. Alison Bales played 18 minutes off the bench and went 2-for-2 from the free throw line (two points). She also had eight rebounds, two assists, and four blocked shots in the win.

In the loss, Jasmine Thomas went just 1-for-6 from the field (two points) in 16 minutes off the bench. She also had two rebounds.

LA beat Tulsa, 71-66, despite the Shock’s comeback. Karima Christmas had a steal in her two minutes of action off the bench in the loss.

Thursday August 11th: Phoenix beat Atlanta, 109-95. The Mercury didn’t score less than 22 points in a quarter. Neither Harding nor Bales started for the Dream. Harding played 23 minutes off the bench, but went just 2-for-8 from the field. She scored seven points, helped out by a 3-for-4 showing from the free throw line. She also had three rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Bales played in 25 minutes off the bench and scored eight points (3-for-5 from the field and 2-for-4 from the free throw line). She hauled in five rebounds, blocked two shots, and distributed four assists.

Seattle beat Tulsa, 77-63. The Shock mounted a comeback, but fell short. They were outscored by the Storm 50-28 in the first half, but outscored the Storm 35-27 in the second half. Christmas played a little over two minutes off the bench and went 1-for-2 from the field and hauled in a rebound.

Friday August 12th: Washington beat NY, 64-63. The Mystics rallied from nine points down in the fourth quarter to win. They took the lead for good on Matee Ajavon’s (Rutgers) pair of free throws. Jasmine Thomas went 2-for-8 off the bench to total five points. She also had three rebounds and a steal.

Saturday August 13th: Connecticut beat Washington , 82-75. Jasmine Thomas played 22 minutes off the bench and went 3-for-6 from the field (six points). She had four rebounds, an assist, and a steal in the loss.

Atlanta beat Seattle, 92-63. The Dream pulled away after holding a one point lead after the first quarter. Harding was back in the starting lineup for the Dream, as she played 25 minutes and scored 12 points (6-for-8 from the field). She had four rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Bales again came off the bench and went 3-for-5 (six points) in 22  minutes. She also hauled in four rebounds.

Tuesday August 16th: NY beat Washington, 69-66. The Liberty’s Cappie Pondexter (Rutgers) made a driving basket with 13.5 seconds left to put the Liberty up for good. Jasmine Thomas went 2-for-4 from the field (2-of-3 from the three-point line) for six points. In 18 minutes off the bench, she had three rebounds.

Atlanta beat LA, 84-79. The Dream ruined the return of All-Star Candace Parker (from a knee injury). Parker was also ejected in the closing seconds of the game. Harding started and played 35 minutes, while going 6-for-8 from the field (12 points). She also had three rebounds and five assists. Bales played just ten minutes off the bench and went 1-for-3 from the field.

*The Tulsa Shock still have just one win on the season.

The Friday before the WNBA All-Star break was the day that contracts became guaranteed in the WNBA. That was the day that many players were waived. Former Duke players were not exempt.

The Washington Mystics waived rookie Karima Christmas, who then signed with the Tulsa Shock on Sunday July 22nd. She was averaging 3.4 points and 1.2 rebounds, but faced diminished playing time with the Mystics. Christmas was the 23rd overall pick in this year’s WNBA Draft.

Fellow rookie Krystal Thomas was cut by the Seattle Storm on Thursday night (July 21st), but then was resigned that Sunday (July 22nd) to a seven-day contract.

This WNBA Update is from July 26th (the first games after the All-Star break) through August 7th.

Tuesday July 26th: San Antonio beat Washington 73-67. Rookie Jasmine Thomas, who has been garnering more playing time as the season progresses, played 29 minutes. While on the court, Jaz was 3-of-10 (8 points) with three rebounds, five assists, and two steals.

Atlanta beat Tulsa 76-68. Former Blue Devils Alison Bales and Lindsey Harding started for the Dream. Bales played 28 minutes and went 0-for-4 from the field. She did haul in nine rebounds and blocked four shots. Harding went 2-for-4 from the field in 26 minutes for five points. She also had two rebounds and three assists. Christmas made her Shock debut, but played just 56 seconds. She did however haul in a rebound.

Thursday July 28th: Atlanta beat LA 89-80. The Dream outscored the Sparks 30-24 in the fourth quarter to spark the team to victory. Bales played 20 minutes and went 2-for-4 from the field for five points. She also had four rebounds and three assists. Harding played 23 minutes and scored ten points by going 8-for-8 from the free throw line (just 1-of-6 from the field). She also had six rebounds in the win.

NY beat Washington 75-71, as the Mystics were outscored 43-35 in the second half. In almost 17 minutes of action, Jaz went 3-of-6 from the field for six points. She also had four rebounds.

Chicago beat Tulsa 64-55. Christmas hauled in an offensive rebound in about three minutes of action in the loss.

Friday July 29th: Indiana beat Washington 61-59, as Shannon Bobbitt hit a layup for the Fever at the buzzer for the winner. Jaz went just 2-of-10 (four points) from the field in 15 minutes. She had a rebound and an assist in the loss.

Minnesota beat Seattle 92-67. Krystal Thomas played in her first game since signing a seven-day contract with the Storm. She played five minutes and went 1-for-1 from the field (two points). She also had three rebounds and two steals. That was the end of her contract with the Storm.

Sunday July 31st: Connecticut beat Atlanta 99-92, as the Dream were outscored 33-23 in the fourth quarter. Bales played about 24 minutes and went 2-for-5 from the field (four points). She also had three rebounds and four assists. Harding took just one shot (0-for-1 for zero points) in 16 minutes of action. She did haul in three rebounds and dished out five assists.

Tuesday August 2nd: NY beat Atlanta 85-75. Bales played about 20 minutes and went 2-for-4 from the field for four points. She also had two rebounds, four assists, and one blocked shot. Harding played 24 minutes and went 6-for-15 from the field for 14 points. She also had three rebounds and nine assists.

Friday August 5th: Indiana beat Tulsa 85-65. Christmas played over nine and a half minutes in the Shock’s loss. She was 1-for-2 from the field and 1-for-2 from the free throw line for three points. Christmas also had an assist. Unfortunately, she was part of the 20 turnover effort by the Shock (she had two turnovers).

Saturday August 6th: Washington beat NY 91-81. Jaz played ten minutes and went 2-for-3 from the field for four points. She also had two rebounds, three assists, and two blocked shots.

Tulsa lost to San Antonio 72-64, as the Shock committed 24 turnovers. Christmas played seven minutes but went 0-for-2 from the field. She did go 2-for-2 from the free throw line. She also hauled in a rebound.

Sunday August 7th: Atlanta beat Seattle 70-53. Bales came off the bench for the first time in awhile, as she played 13 minutes. She went 2-for-4 (five points), with four rebounds, an assist, and a blocked shot. Harding was still in the starting lineup and played 36 minutes. She went 4-for-11 from the field with nine points. She also had two rebounds, seven assists, and two steals. The knock on Harding is that she continues to turn the ball over (she had five turnovers in the game).

*Since the All-Star break, the Shock have yet to win a game (they have just one win on the season). The Dream are 3-2 since the break, while the Mystics are just 1-3.

It is the All-Star break for the WNBA, so now is probably the best time to drop in an update on the former Duke Blue Devils playing in the league. No former Dukies were named as WNBA All-Stars, but former Maryland star Crystal Langhorne was named as a reserve. She is the lone Washington Mystics representative. The WNBA All-Star Game can be seen live on ABC at 3:30pm ET on Saturday (July 23^rd).

Mystics rookie Jasmine Thomas has been receiving more playing time over the last week and could help with the resurgence of one of the worst teams in the WNBA. Alana Beard may be back soon from injury and even Monique Currie (who was thought to miss the entire season) may return by the end of the season.

I forgot to mention in my previous WNBA update, that former Blue Devil Joy Cheek signed a 10-day contract with the Mystics (on June 24^th) as the team received a medical hardship due to the injuries of former Dukies Alana Beard and Monique Currie. Cheek played in three games, recording three points, three rebounds, and one blocked shot.

Now on to the game updates:

Wednesday July 13^th: The Atlanta Dream clobbered the NY Liberty 91-69. Lindsey Harding started, but scored just two points (1-for-6). She did haul in six rebounds and had two assists. Alison Bales came off the bench with two points (1-for-3) and six rebounds.

Friday July 15^th: The Mystics lost to the Phoenix Mercury 78-64. Rookie Jasmine Thomas had 11 points (5-for-6) off the bench with one rebound, one assists, and two steals. Fellow rookie Karima Christmas had two points (2-for-2 from the free-throw line).

Saturday July 16^th: The Dream beat the Chicago Sky 76-68. Both Harding and Bales were in the Dream’s starting lineup and both were impactful in the team’s victory. Harding collected 14 points (6-for-11), six rebounds, seven assists, and two steals. Bales had eight points (4-for-7) with eight rebounds, two assists, and five blocked shots.

The Seattle Storm lost to Minnesota, 76-68. Storm rookie Krystal Thomas played two minutes in the loss.

Sunday July 17^th: The Mystics beat the LA Sparks, 89-85 in overtime. The Mystics outscored the Sparks 52-30 in the second half and 12-8 in OT. It was the second-largest comeback in the history of the WNBA. Jasmine Thomas had eight points (3-for-8) with three rebounds, two assists, and one steal. Karima came off the bench to play close to three minutes.

Tuesday July 19^th: The Dream won 84-74 over the Indiana Fever. For the second straight game, both Harding and Bales started for the Dream. Harding was the Dream’s leading scorer for the game, tallying 19 points on 7-for-13 shooting. She also had five rebounds and five assists. Bales scored seven points (3-for-7), while hauling in five rebounds and blocking three shots.

The Storm lost to the Chicago Sky, 78-69. Krystal Thomas played a little over three minutes in the loss and recorded an assist.

Wednesday July 20^th: The Dream beat the Mystics, 86-79. For the third straight game, both Harding and Bales started for the Dream. Harding scored 14 points (6-for-12) and contributed two assists. Bales was one point short of a double-double, as she scored nine points (3-for-9) and hauled in ten rebounds. She also had three blocks. In the Mystics loss, Jasmine Thomas played 20 minutes and score ten points (4-for-9). In 2:44, Karima had no stats, except for committing a foul.

In other WNBA news, former disgraced Olympian Marion Jones was cut by the Tulsa Shock.

Check out more WNBA news and watch their All-Star Game later this afternoon:

Young Stars Point to Bright Future WNBA

WNBA Roundtable: 15th Anniversary WNBA

Mystics hope big comeback against Sparks spurs season turnaround The Washington Post

Familiar Face on Dream eases Transition for Harding AJC.com