07/24/26 07:49:00
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07/24 19:48 CDT Delle Donne, Austin and high schooler Banks spark Washington to
Shooting Stars title
Delle Donne, Austin and high schooler Banks spark Washington to Shooting Stars
title
By DOUG FEINBERG
AP Basketball Writer
CHICAGO (AP) --- Elena Delle Donne, Shakira Austin and high schooler Jezelle
Banks led team Washington to the Shooting Stars championship at WNBA All-Star
on Friday night.
The trio scored 31 points to edge Seattle's three in the finals, with Banks
hitting two of the 4-point shots from just inside halfcourt to put the team
over the top.
Seattle had 24 points to finish as runner-up after missing all of the team's
4-point shots.
This was the first year that the contest was conducted. A skills competition
was done in previous All-Star weekends. The format was a two-round, timed
shooting competition in which teams had 70 seconds to score as many points as
possible from seven shooting locations around the court. The competition
featured shots ranging from a layup to the 4-pointer.
Washington had the highest score in the preliminary round, posting 35 points.
Once again, Banks hit 4-point shots to help her team reach the championship
round.
Seattle's squad needed to beat the 20 points that the Detroit/Dallas team put
up to advance to the finals. High schooler Tatianna Griffin hit two of the
4-point shots to help Seattle reach the finals. Minnesota finished in fourth
with 19 points with a team of Courtney Williams, Rebbekah Brunson and Ryan
Carter.
Detroit/Dallas had former Shock great Deanna Nolan, Wings All-Star Jessica
Shepard and high schooler Morghan Reckley.
Each shooting stars winner received $15,000. Each competitor, not including the
high school players, will receive $7,500. Last year, the winners of the skills
contest each received $2,575 from the WNBA.
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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
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