2012 Media Guide - WNBA.com

February 28, 2011
As part of WNBA Live - Manchester 2011 – a new, multiyear
partnership between the Manchester (Eng.) City Council and the
NBA, WNBA and USA Basketball – it is announced that the
Atlanta Dream will participate in the first WNBA game played in
Europe. The game is set for May 29, 2011 vs. Standard Life Team
GB (Great Britain’s national team) at Manchester Evening News
Arena. The partnership will promote women in sport and
encourage participation in team sports.
March 3, 2011
At a press conference at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, the
WNBA announces that the Silver Stars will host the 2011 All-Star
Game for the first time in franchise history. The contest, set for
Saturday, July 23, is to be the second WNBA All-Star Game
played in a Western Conference venue and the first since the 2000
game was held in Phoenix.
March 8, 2011
In honor of Women’s History Month and International Women’s
Day, the WNBA officially announced plans to celebrate its 15th
season. Among those would be the selection of the Top 15
Players and the Top 15 Moments in league history. Key among
other planned celebrations would be a nationally televised game
(ESPN2) in which the New York Liberty would visit the Los
Angeles Sparks on June 21, fifteen years to the date of the
league’s inaugural game in 1997 featuring those same two teams.
April 7, 2011
The Washington Mystics sign a marquee partnership with Inova
Health System, becoming the fifth WNBA team to have such a
partnership. Players will wear Inova Hospital System’s name and
logo on the front of their home and away jerseys during the 2011
WNBA season.
April 7, 2011
The WNBA and partner adidas unveiled new uniforms for all 12
teams featuring Revolution 30 technology and women’s basketball
specific TECHFIT base layers.
April 11, 2011
The WNBA becomes the first professional sports league to
conduct its annual Draft at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Conn.
The Minnesota Lynx made Maya Moore the top overall selection of
the 2011 WNBA Draft presented by adidas. Australian native
Elizabeth Cambage, selected second by the Tulsa Shock, and
Courtney Vandersloot, tapped third by the Chicago Sky, rounded
out the top three picks.
April 21, 2011
Laurel J. Richie, a veteran of more than three decades in
consumer marketing, corporate branding, public relations and
corporate management, is appointed President of the WNBA, NBA
Commissioner David Stern announced. Laurel leaves her post as
Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Girl Scouts
of the USA to join the WNBA.
June 21, 2011
The Los Angeles Sparks host the New York Liberty at STAPLES
Center in the WNBA’s 15th Anniversary Game, played 15 years to
the day of the league’s inaugural matchup between the same two
teams in LA. The Sparks win, 96-91.
2012 INDIANA FEVER MEDIA GUIDE
WNBA HISTORY
1 90 • FeverBasketball.com
July 9, 2011
Tamika Catchings passes Ticha Penicheiro to become the
WNBA’s career steals leader with six thefts in a win over the
Washington Mystics. Catchings tied a league record with five
steals in the fourth quarter.
July 23, 2011
In honor of the WNBA’s 15th season, the league unveiled its “Top
15 Players of All Time” during a halftime ceremony live on ABC at
the 2011 WNBA All-Star Game presented by adidas. The players
named were: Sue Bird, Tamika Catchings, Cynthia Cooper,
Yolanda Griffith, Becky Hammon, Lauren Jackson, Lisa Leslie,
Ticha Penicheiro, Cappie Pondexter, Katie Smith, Dawn Staley,
Sheryl Swoopes, Diana Taurasi, Tina Thompson, and Teresa
Weatherspoon.
August 22, 2011
The WNBA and Boost Mobile, an industry leader in no-contract
wireless service, announced a landmark multiyear marketing
partnership that made Boost Mobile the first league-wide marquee
partner of the WNBA. As part of the deal, the Boost Mobile brand
logo was subsequently featured on the front of the game jerseys of
10 of the WNBA’s 12 teams. It marked the first time the WNBA
had a league partner with jersey branding for multiple teams
throughout the season other than adidas, the league's official
outfitter.
October 2, 2011
Despite falling to the host Minnesota Lynx in Game 1 of the WNBA
Finals, Atlanta Dream forward Angel McCoughtry set Finals
records for points in a quarter (19 in the third), points in a half (27
in the second), and consecutive points (14 from late in the first half
into the third quarter).
October 5, 2011
The Atlanta Dream’s Angel McCoughtry surpasses the WNBA
Finals record (set by her in 2010) for most points in a single game
with 38 in a loss to the host Minnesota Lynx.
October 7, 2011
In a celebration of its 15th season, the WNBA and partner Boost
Mobile unveiled the Top 15 Moments in league history as voted by
fans. The top moment was Teresa Weatherspoon’s half-court shot
at the buzzer to win Game 2 of the 1999 WNBA Finals for the New
York Liberty and send that series to a decisive third game.
Ranking second was the WNBA’s first game (NY Liberty at LA
Sparks, June 21, 1997).
October 7, 2011
The Minnesota Lynx captured their first WNBA title with a 73-67
win over the Atlanta Dream. Lynx guard/forward Seimone
Augustus was named Finals MVP after leading the Lynx to a
sweep in the best-of-five series. Augustus posted 22 points and
seven assists in Game 1 and had a franchise-playoff record 36
points in Game 2, including 15 in the fourth quarter.
April 16, 2012
The 2008 WNBA Draft presented by Boost Mobile takes place at
ESPN headquarters in Bristol, CT, marking the second straight
year that the draft was held on the campus of the league’s
broadcast partner. Stanford’s Nnemkadi Ogwumike (Sparks),
Tennessee’s Shekinna Stricklen (Storm), Notre Dame’s
Devereaux Peters (Lynx), Tennessee’s Glory Johnson (Shock),
and Miami’s Shenise Johnson (Silver Stars) are the top five picks.
Indiana was the East’s No. 1 seed in the WNBA Playoffs in 2011, for the second time in franchise history.