The One-on-Zero

That's what I call it. Others call it the "fast break". The "transition game". And Swanny's Stats has some extra stats involving fast break points.

Most points scored. Cappie Pondexter of the Mercury is the leader with 132 total fast break points, but Iziane Castro Marques is 4th with 103, Angel McCoughtry is 5th with 91, and Chamique Holdsclaw is 18th with 60.

Highest percentage of points scored from fast break. The winner, oddly enough, is Armintie Price. Price has scored 28 of her 93 points this year - 30.1 percent - on fast breaks.

Shalee Lehning is 3rd with 23.5 percent (24/102). Iziane Castro Marques (103/488) comes in 7th with 21.1 percent, and Angel McCoughtry is 9th with 20.9 percent (91/435). It looks like Atlanta really loves the transition game.

Lowest percentage of points scored from fast break. Both this stat and the stat above require at least 20 games. Three players are tied with 0 percent - Tamika Whitmore of the Suns, Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton of the Sparks and Brooke Smith of the Mercury.

Most fast break assists. Two Phoenix players rule this stat: Cappie Pondexter (38) and Temeka Johnson (37). However, Shalee Lehning is 4th in fast break assists with 27. Iziane Castro Marques and Kara Lawson of the Monarchs are tied for 15th with 16 fast break assists.

Highest percentage of fast break assists. DeWanna Bonner of the Mercury has only 13 assists on the year, but five were fast break assists for 38.5 percent. Iziane Castro Marques (16/67) finishes 9th.

Most fast break points scored, game. On August 2 of this year, Alana Beard of the Mystics scored 15 points on fast breaks in a game against Indiana. She would also score 10 points on fast breaks on July 3rd against Atlanta.

Other players would light up Atlanta for at least nine (9) fast break points. Deanna Nolan hit the Dream for nine points on August 4th and on August 27th and Becky Hammon hit the Dream for nine fast break points on August 6th. However, Angel McCoughtry scored nine fast break points against the Shock on July 22nd.

Margin of Victory

Swanny's Stats has its newest post up of interesting WNBA statistics. This time, we look at team margins of victory.

The first category: 10+ Point Deficits Overcome to Win. Unfortunately, the Dream is 1-2 in this category. We came back from 12 down to beat Detroit at the Palace of Auburn Hills in overtime in July, 98-95. However, we've let teams off the mat twice. The first time was in the second game of the season, when Washington came back from 14 down to beat us 77-71 at Washington. The second time was in July when we lost 71-69 in New York due to a 12 point comeback.

Next, we look at 20+ point victories. There have been only 14 such games so far this year and we have one of them. We beat Phoenix by 30, 106-76 in July. This is the biggest margin of victory this year, tied only with the Sun's 91-61 win over the Sky in June.

As for one-point victories, there have only been seven of those this year - and we were involved in two of them. In our very first game of the year, we beat Indiana 87-86 in a double overtime win - but about two weeks later, we lost to Chicago 98-97 in a game that went into overtime.

Any game winning buzzer beaters? Only four so far this year. You can go to the link for those, but the honors belong to Alana Beard, Temeka Johnson, Sophia Young and Ann Wauters for pulling victory out of the jaws of defeat.

We now look at Records in Two-Possession Games. These were games decided by six points or less. Chicago leads the league with a 7-1 record in close games. The Dream are a pedestrian 6-8.

For Records in Double-Figure Games, we're better. We're fourth in the league, with a 4-2 record in games decided by 10 points or more. The best team? Indiana at 9-3.

First Quarter Performers

Swanny's Stats provides a break down of statistics in the first quarter alone of a game.

Most Points: Cappie Pondexter of the Mercury leads with 133 first quarter points, but Chamique Holdsclaw is right behind Diana Taurasi for 3rd place with 111 first quarter points.

Highest Field Goal Percentage: There are three players who have broken 60 percent in this category: Sylvia Fowles of the Sky hits 68.2 percent of her first quarter attempts, followed by Hamchétou Maïga-Ba of the Monarchs and Ruth Riley of the Silver Stars. Sancho Lyttle is 10th in the WNBA with 52.2 percent.

Lowest FG Percentage: Chasity Melvin of the Mystics has only hit 19.4 percent of her first quarter attempts. (Minimum 30 first quarter attempts.)

Highest Free Throw Percentage: Sophia Young of the Silver Stars and Candice Wiggins of the Lynx are tied with 100 percent. Chamique Holdsclaw is in 9th place, hitting 19 of 21 of her first quarter free throw attempts.

Most FT Attempts: Nicky Anosike of the Lynx is sent to the line more than anyone else in the WNBA in the first quarter by a wide margin. She's had 48 first quarter attempts, compared to Swin Cash of the Storm with 33.

Highest 3-Point Field Goal Percentage: Candice Dupree of the Sky is 6-for-10 from 3-point range in the first quarter to lead the WNBA. (Minimum 10 first quarter attempts.)

Highest Effective FG Percentage: Effective field goal percentage is (FG + 0.5*3PFG)/FGA. In other words, a 3-pointer counts as 1 1/2 field goals. Sylvia Fowles leads in this category at 68.2 percent effective shooting in the first quarter.

Most Rebounds: Erika de Souza leads this category far and away with 75 rebounds in the first 10 minutes. Sancho Lyttle is second with 57.

Most Assists: Sue Bird of the Storm leads with 34 first-quarter assists. (Becky Hammon of the Silver Stars is right behind her with 33.)

Most Steals: Tamika Catchings of the Fever has 20 first quarter steals, followed by Alana Beard of the Mystics with 19.

Most Blocked Shots: Tammy Sutton-Brown of the Fever has 13. Erika de Souza is tied with Nicky Anosike for third place with 10.

Most Turnovers: Sylvia Fowles of the Sky leads with 21 first-quarter turnovers.

Most Minutes Played: Candice Dupree of the Sky leads with 226 minutes played.

Single Game Highs

From Swanny's Stats, here are the single game highs for the 2009 WNBA season so far:

Points: Becky Hammon of the Silver Stars scored 38 points during San Antonio's victory against Sacramento on July 30th. Iziane Castro Marques is 8th on the list, scoring 31 points in Atlanta's home win againt the Lynx on June 30th.

Rebounds: Not only does Erika de Souza lead the list - she has both the first and second spots as well! She has scored 17 rebounds in a game two times this year - in the opening game of the year against the Fever and one month later when the Dream hosted the Sun. Sancho Lyttle is tied for 3rd, scoring 15 rebounds against the Sun on July 14. De Souza makes multiple appearances on the single-game high rebounding list.

Assists: Cappie Pondexter had 15 assists in a game between Phoenix and visiting Sacramento on July 15 - but Nikki Teasley (formerly of the Dream) is 2nd with 11 assists in a home game against the Shock on June 26. None of the other Dream point guards make the list.

Steals: Jia Perkins had 8 steals for Chicago against the visiting Mystics on June 27. Angel McCoughtry is tied for 2nd with 7 steals against the Liberty - we played that game last Saturday. She's also tied with several players who have had a 6-steal game - hers was against the Shock on July 22nd.

Blocked Shots: Candace Parker had six blocked shots against the Storm on July 22nd, but it took her three overtimes to get there.

Field Goals Made: Iziane Castro Marques is in a 3-way tie for first place. Along with Becky Hammon of the Silver Stars and Asjha Jones of the Sun, she has made 13 field goals in a game - hers came against the Lynx on June 30th.

Three Point Field Goals Made: Two of the premier players in the WNBA - Sue Bird of the Storm and Diana Taurasi of the Mercury - have made 7 3-pointers in a game. Bird's came on that 3OT game against the Sparks on July 22nd - the one were Candace Parker had 6 blocked shots - and Taurasi's came when Phoenix hosted the Lynx on June 17th.

Free throws made: Shavonte Zellous of the Shock made 17 free throws in a game in 2009. Remember which one that was? I think you do. It was when the Shock visited Atlanta on June 26th, and it seemed like they all came in the second quarter.

Turnovers: Former Dream player Betty Lennox made 9 turnovers in that 3OT game against the Storm in Seattle on July 22nd.

Offensive Fouls

Swanny's Stats has the statistics regarding offensive fouls in the WNBA for the 2009 season up to August 2, 2009.

The leader in offensive fouls committed is Nakia Sanford of the Mystics, with 14 such fouls. Thank goodness no one on the Atlanta Dream is on the short list. As for most minutes played without drawing an offensive foul, Lindsay Whalen of the Sun is at the top with 553 minutes....

...but in third place is Shalee Lehning of the Dream, who has played 345 minutes without committing an offensive foul. Can you imagine Lehning beating up someone at the post? I think not.

Whalen has not only played the most minutes without committing an offensive foul, but she seems to draw offensive fouls. She leads the WNBA in offensive fouls drawn with 12 fouls drawn. Oddly enough, Jennifer Lacy has drawn nine offensive fouls this season - it must be a hard way to make a living.

If the other team wants to beat up Jennifer Lacy, there are other players on the Dream our opponents stay away from. Iziane Castro Marques leads the WNBA in most minutes played without drawing an offensive foul, with 505 minutes played. Angel McCoughtry is third with 341 minutes played and no offensive fouls drawn.

Now, we come to what are commonly called "game violations". The first of these is "travelling". This involves the illegal movement of the feet. Basically, you've taken too many steps without dribbling the ball. DeMya Walker of the Monarchs has travelled 12 times this season - but Sancho Lyttle is in a multi-way tie for fourth with seven travelling calls against her.

There are several WNBA players who have committed what are called "ballhandling violations". Once again, these violations are crimes against the rule that says you have to move the ball by dribbling it. "Palming", "double dribble", "discontinued dribble", whatever. There are five players on the Dream who have two of these violations each: Chamique Holdsclaw, Ivory Latta, Sancho Lyttle, Angel McCoughtry and Coco Miller.

The final stat is "most 3-second lane violations". There is an area of the baskeball court called the "lane" - which is usually a rectangular box that is painted differently than the rest of the court. Before this lane existed, offensive players could go anywhere they wanted to.

Usually, they'd just hang around under the basket - particularly if they were tall. You just fed the ball to the tall person. Players like George Mikan would just hang around and dominate the area under the basket to the point that it unbalanced the game. A rule was passed - which had been around since the 1930s - that offensive players could not remain in the "paint" for more than 3 seconds at a time. (The rule was extended to defensive players, freeing up the path to the basket for the offense. However, the defensive violation isn't as called as often.)

Erika de Souza leads the WNBA in most 3-second lane violations with 11 - more than double of either Rebekka Brunson (Monarchs), Sylvia Fowles (Sky) or Lauren Jackson (Storm), who have five each. Michelle Snow had three 3-second lane infractions.

Most Three-Point Plays

Swanny's Stats is always good for a visit, even though he's undoubtedly a Lynx fan. Today's stat: three point plays.

A "three point play" is when you make are fouled while making a shot - and the ball goes into the basket. You get credit for the basket, plus a chance to make a free throw for the foul.

Becky Hammon of the Silver Stars is the league leader, getting 13 opportunities for a 3-point play - and making all of them. Sancho Lyttle is 7-for-8 on three point plays - in other words, only one time has she missed the follow-up free throw. Angel McCoughtry is 6-for-7.

There are only three WNBA players who have made a "four point play" in 2009 - you get that when you're fouled during a 3-point shot, you make the shot and you get a opportunity for a free throw. Those players are Diana Taurasi, Erin Phillips...and Ivory Latta, who had a four-point play against Phoenix in our 106-76 win.

Midrange Shooters

Swanny's Stats has their list of top (and bottom) "midrange" shooters. These are shots taken between 6 feet and 20 feet away from the basket and are split into three categories: 6 to 10, 11 to 15 and 15 to 20.

You can read about the 2009 league leaders there. Surprisingly, Erika de Souza is in the bottom 10 shooters when it comes from shooting from 6 to 10 feet. She shoots 30.8 percent for 7th place, but not as bad as Laura Harper of the Monarchs who is 2-for-16 from this distance.

In the 11 to 15 range, the Dream have two accurate shooters. Angel McCoughtry hits 50 percent of her shots that she makes from this range - good for 7th place - and Sancho Lyttle is 10th with 45.3 percent. Lyttle has made 24 field goals from this range, and even though Chamique Holdsclaw isn't on the list of most accurate shooters, she's made 19 field goals from 11 to 15 feet.

It's almost the same story from 16 to 20 feet. Sancho Lyttle is 9th on the list with 47.1 percent shooting from 16 to 20 feet - and once again, Holdsclaw isn't on the list in accuracy, but she's there in volume. She's tried 110 field goals from this range, and she's hit 43 of them, both tops in the WNBA.

Best Fourth Quarter/Overtime Performers

Well, Swanny's Stats has done it again. This time, he's given us a list of the best - and worst - performers of the WNBA in the fourth quarter or overtime.

In terms of fourth quarter/overtime points, Nicole Powell of the Monarchs leads all players with 114 points. (You'd think that Angel McCoughtry would be on that list, but no.) Sancho Lyttle is tied for 9thh in the WNBA so far this year with 77 points, along with Shameka Christon of the Liberty.

In terms of highest field goal percentage, we have not one but two players in the top ten. For those players with 30 fourth quarter/overtime field goal attempts, Nicky Anosikie is first with a 60 percent shooting percentage - but Erika de Souza is 5th at 56.3 percent and Sancho Lyttle is 6th at 55.6 percent.

Unfortunately, we have a member of the Dream in the bottom ten in fourth quarter/overtime field goal percentage. Angel McCoughtry is 7th at 35.1 percent, going 20-for-57 in fourth quarter shooting. At the bottom? Deanna Nolan of the Shock only shoots 21.4 percent in the fourth quarter.

As for free throw attempts, there are four players who haven't missed a fourth quarter free throw (minimum 10 attempts) - Shavonte Zellous, Nicole Powell, Essence Carson and Candice Dupree. Tamika Catchings of the Fever leads all players in fourth quarter free throw attempts with 37.

Who has the highest 3-point percentage in the fourth quarter (minimum 5 attempts)? Ebony Hoffman of the Fever has taken 8 fourth-quarter 3s and has hit 6 of them, for a 75 percent accuracy rate.

In fourth quarter rebounds, Crystal Langhorne of the Mystics is the leader with 38 - but Erika de Souza has 33 final quarter rebounds for 3rd place in the WNBA.

Who has the most assists? Cappie Pondexter of the Mercury leads that list with 26 fourth quarter assists. Looks like the Dream will find out how good she is tonight.

Maybe Angel McCoughtry isn't the most accurate fourth quarter shooter, but defensively, it's a different story. McCoughtry is tied for 3rd place with Tamika Catchings of the Fever for most fourth quarter steals with 10. Nicky Anosike of the Lynx and Tanisha Wright of the Storm are in first place with 11 steals each.

Lauren Jackson of the Storm leads the WNBA in fourth quarter blocked shots with 8 blocks.

"Most turnovers" is a misleading stat, because there are certain people who are always going to have the ball in the fourth quarter, and those players tend to be good. Tied for first is Lindsey Harding of the Mystics and Candice Wiggins of the Lynx with 16 fourth quarter turnovers - but Sue Bird and Cappie Pondexter are right behind them with 15 turnovers.

Part of the reason Lindsey Harding's fourth quarter turnovers are so high is because she leads in the category of most minutes played in the fourth quarter with 161. In 10th place is Sancho Lyttle. Lyttle has played 139 fourth quarter minutes.

In the Paint and on the Break

Swanny's Stats has some new special stats up on his site.

The first of these he calls Paint Production: namely, what is the highest percentage of field goals made from between one and five feet away from the basket? Lauren Jackson of the Storm made 71.4 percent of field goals she attempted from this distance, which leads the WNBA. Sancho Lyttle is 7th at 64.6 percent, Erika de Souza is 13th at 61.5 percent, and Chamique Holdsclaw is 20th at 56.7 percent. (The worst? Dominique Canty of the Sky has only made 40 percent of the shots she's attempted from close range.)

However, let's look at Erika de Souza. She is 67-for-109 from close range - this leads the WNBA in most shots made and most shots attempted from point-blank range. From close up, de Souza will make that kind of shot, and if she misses it, she'll just rebound it and try it again.

The other stat is Fast Break Points, which regards both points and assists made on the breakaway. Diana Taurasi of the Mercury leads with 63 points (and Cappie Pondexter is one point behind her.) However, Chamique Holdsclaw is 4th in the WNBA with 44 points, Izi is tied for 9th with 35 points, Sancho Lyttle is 12th, and Angel McCoughtry is tied for 13th. Atlanta loves the transition game.

For most fast break assists? That would be Cappie Pondexter and Temeka Johnson of the Sun, whose 24 and 23 assists leave the whole league choking on their dust. Leading the Dream are Shalee Lehning with 9 fast break assists, followed by a tie between Iziane Castro Marques and Nikki Teasley with 7 assists each.

The team breakdown of Fast Break Points and Assists:

Holdsclaw: 44-6
Castro Marques: 35-7
Lyttle: 32-5
McCoughtry: 28-7
de Souza: 17-0
Miller: 10-6
Lehning: 7-9
Teasley: 7-7
Snow: 6-0
Young: 6-0
Lacy: 4-0
Latta: 2-1

Leaders in Drawn Fouls

Swanny's Stats gives us a look at a WNBA stat that you don't see much of: "drawn fouls". What kind of players can other players just not resist fouling?

Sancho Lyttle is 17th in the WNBA so far this year. Angel McCoughtry is tied for 18th with Laura Harper of Sacramento. The leader in drawn fouls? Nicky Anosike of the Lynx with 73 drawn fouls.

The list for the Atlanta Dream:

Lyttle: 42
McCoughtry: 41
de Souza: 39
Holdsclaw: 39
Castro Marques: 32
Snow: 31
Lacy: 16
Miller: 16
Lehning: 15
Teasley: 12
Young: 11
Latta: 1