Sun’s Turner trying to expand her game.

“I’ve always had to fight for a job, ever since my rookie season,” Turner said. “I don’t know anything but fighting for my job. I know what hard work is.” And shooting, too. Turner spent the 21⁄2 weeks prior to camp reviving her workouts with former NBA coach John Lucas in Houston, making sometimes 500 to 1,000 jumpers a day.http://www.norwichbulletin.com/sports/x702311561/WNBA-Suns-Turner-trying-to-expand-her-game

WNBA’s a whole new game for Angel McCoughtry: ‘Everybody is just as athletic as you’.

Angel McCoughtry broke free for a layup, floating toward the basket as she did so effortlessly during a college career that made her the University of Louisville’s all-time leading scorer. But before she could deposit the ball through the net, Michelle Snow, a 6-foot-5 center in her fifth WNBA season, closed in from behind. Snow pinned the ball to the backboard and sent McCoughtry tumbling to the court. While standing over the WNBA’s No.1 draft pick, Snow screamed to the rafters before looking down at McCoughtry and uttering with disdain, “Rookie.”
http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20090526/SPORTS02/905260424/1002/SPORTS/WNBA+s+a+whole+new+game+for+Angel+McCoughtry

Sidney Spencer ready to suit up in New York.

When Sidney Spencer got word that she had been sent to New York, she was in the Dominican Republic with Shanna Crossley. Spencer’s agent delivered the news via a cohort’s phone, and she took the coast-to-coast trade in stride. Spencer is also happy to be reunited with point guard Loree Moore – another Tennessee player in the WNBA – who took the newcomer under her wing after she arrived.http://tennessee.scout.com/2/866757.html

Sun have much to accomplish during shortened camp.

In past training camps, Mike Thibault would teach as much as he would coach in certain sets or drills. Then he’d have to do it again. And again. “I always felt like I taught the same thing three times because they (the players) came in three stages,” the Connecticut Sun coach said. There’s no need this year. Heck, there’s no time.http://www.norwichbulletin.com/sports/x1655275257/Sun-have-much-to-accomplish-during-shortened-camp

Janell Burse standing tall in return to Storm.

And Burse has picked up some new skills to help her excel within the offense. Burse showed off better passing ability in practice Monday, and Storm teammate Sue Bird noticed Burse’s improved shooting range while playing against her Dynamo Moscow team in Russia. It was Burse’s first stint playing in Russia; she chose to play there because of the noted physical play in the country, wanting to test her shoulder against opponents that she’d face in the WNBA. “Her range is much further back now,” said Bird of Burse, who was named to the EuroCup’s second team. “She’s consistently hitting jump shots, whether it’s pick-and-pops or facing people up. As a post player, that’s a huge advantage.”http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/storm/2009235171_storm19.html?syndication=rss

WNBA has strong leader, big future.

Donna Orender keeps hearing that her league is going to fold, that the slumping economy will close the deal, that the men don’t want to play along, that girls should stick to basket weaving and badminton. And she keeps saying the skeptical gods are crazy. “From day one, there’s been a prediction that the WNBA will not be here,” said Orender, beginning her fourth year as league president. “I say, ‘Well, that prediction is probably made by the same people who thought the Earth was flat and the Earth was the center of the universe.’ The fact is, we’re here. We’re building a business.”http://sacbee.com/352/story/1869666.html

Rookie brings height, strength, youth to Lynx.

Angela Pelzer understands why the Lynx coaches might worry about her daughter. Her motherly advice is: Don’t. Quanitra Hollingsworth, the 6-5 rookie center the Lynx drafted ninth overall in April, is used to fitting in with older players. Hollingsworth skipped fifth and sixth grade because school came so easy to her. She started high school in Chesapeake, Va., at age 11 and college at Virginia Commonwealth at 15.http://www.startribune.com/sports/lynx/45266872.html?elr=KArksi8cyaiUjc7YUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU

Sparks set their sights on WNBA title.

With the Sparks deemed among the WNBA title favorites, General Manager Penny Toler, Coach Michael Cooper and players alike unequivocally say the 2009 season will be a failure if they don’t win the championship this year. “A lot of our disappointments last year came because we didn’t have chemistry at the right time,” said Cooper, who has won two WNBA titles with the Sparks but will leave the team after this season to take over USC’s women’s basketball team. Chemistry also seems to be the prevailing factor that would determine the Sparks’ success in 2009.http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-sparks17-2009may17,0,6485622.story

Lauren Jackson’s desire to finish WNBA career with Storm brought her back to Seattle.

When Lauren Jackson sat down at her parents’ waterfront home in Australia, to consider her options for the 2009 season, the significance of this particular signature hit her. Jackson, entering her ninth WNBA season, could do what Ken Griffey Jr. had done, and return to Seattle to retire where she started. Only Los Angeles center Lisa Leslie and Sacramento guard Ticha Penicheiro, with 11 seasons, have played for their WNBA teams longer than Jackson. All-Stars like Yolanda Griffith, Sheryl Swoopes, Katie Smith and Chamique Holdsclaw have shifted all over the league like chess pieces. Not Jackson.http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/storm/2009228180_storm17.html

Monarchs rookie Paris adjusts to lesser role.

Courtney Paris has always been the franchise player, so to speak. That changed last month when six teams passed on Paris in the WNBA draft. Instead of being selected by a team that needed Paris to be the dominant force she’s always been, she slipped to No. 7, where the Monarchs selected her out of Oklahoma and asked the first four-time All-American in college women’s basketball to be a role player.
http://www.sacbee.com/sports/story/1868200.html