Ex-Techsters’ star on scoring surge after early struggles
, buddy@rustonleader.com
06-28-2006
Bad news appears to be ahead for opponents of the Seattle Storm in the Women’s National Basketball Association.Betty Lennox is returning to her old groove.
And that means, “defenses beware” when facing the Storm.
The former Louisiana Tech University star struggled at the start of this 2006 campaign, but she’s starting to catch fire, returning to the Betty Lennox mold that earned her Most Valuable Player honors in the franchise’s march to a league championship in 2004 and that has made her one of the league’s moist dangerous offensive performers.
In an early week loss of 84-74 against the Houston Comets, Lennox scored a season-high 29 points.
Over the past four games, she has averaged 19.3 points per game.
Attribute part of those early struggles to an automobile accident that she had, one in mid-May where she suffered back and neck stiffness after the car in which she was riding (and driven by her agent) sideswiped another vehicle.
“The beginning of the season I attribute to the car accident,” she said. “My shot was not falling – I’ve never shot like that in my life.”
But that nearly 30-point episode versus the Comets, well, that might
have delivered a warning sign to other teams around the league.
Just as her omission from the 2005 All-Star Game fueled her determination and pushed her to a sixth season of double digit scoring since entering the league as a Rookie of the Year recipient in 2000.
She is currently averaging 13.9 points per game, the second best mark of her seven-year career (her best being 16.9 in that rookie campaign).
Last week, Lennox also had a 23-point performance in a 76-74 loss to Sacramento.
“She’s really focused on her defense and that is what has helped spur her offense along,” said Storm head coach Anne Donovan.
“When Betty is on a roll, we ride her. She got off to a slow start this season but is playing well now.”
Maybe Lennox’ improvement from the early season can also serve as a catalyst for a struggling Storm squad, one that has yet to locate its
consistency.
Ironically, there have been reports circulating out of Seattle that such inconsistency might prompt team officials to trade Lennox for other players deemed more talented in all phases of the game.
Such talk recently irked Donovan, who quickly put a rest such speculation.
“It amazes me,” Donovan said about the rumor. “It’s ridiculous.”
Lennox has a WNBA career scoring average of 11.5 and is nearing a total of nearly 200 games played in the league.
Along with her current and rookie seasons, the former All-American for the Lady Techsters has compiled other double digit averages of 11.0 in 2001, 11.9 in 2002, 11.0 in 2003, 11.2 in 2004 and 13.5 last season.
A star at Texas’ Trinity Valley Community College prior to joining the Techsters, the outside sharpshooter played her first three years in the league with the Lynx before being traded to Miami.
She has been with Seattle for three seasons and was a major reason why the Storm won a league crown in ’04.
“It’s not just points, it’s the mindset,” Donovan said about what Lennox hrings to the game. “Betty, you have got to guard her. You can’t forget about her. She’s dangerous. She could miss her first 10 shots, yo
“I know she could hit the next 10, so it’s a diferent team with her on the floor.
“It’s one less defender who can focus on Lauren (Jackson) With “T”, they’re still shading off “T” in the post to try to clog things up there. It’s different. Betty’s a different type of player. She’s one of the best players in the league.”
Last summer, however, Lennox was left off of the All-Star Game rosters and that left her extra determined to prove her worth.
“If I really played for the negative people, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” Lennox said. “If I feel like I should be a part of something and I don’t get chosen, I just use that as motivation and continue to move forward.”
Because of her “no show” even as a reserve, the Storm was one of only two teams in the league without a player named as a backup.
“I know at the end that I’m distributing,” she said. “I am doing what I’m supposed to do on this Seattle Storm team. I guess everybody didn’t feel like I deserved to be an All-Star last year.
“But I can’t look back. I can only look forward.”
And the proof is apparently in the last several games, where she is back to being vintage Betty Lennox.
Storm opponents, beware.
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