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Originally Published: September 27, 2008

Young's buzzer-beater breathes life into Silver Stars

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By Mechelle Voepel
ESPN.com
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Nine years ago in the Lone Star State, New York's Teresa Weatherspoon made a halfcourt heave to extend her team's season. It became to the WNBA what Charlotte Smith's 3-pointer in 1994 was to women's college basketball: the Miracle Shot.

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AP Photo/Eric GaySophia Young's buzzer-beating turnaround jumper from 14 feet gave San Antonio a 67-66 win and forced the West finals to Game 3.

On Saturday, San Antonio's Sophia Young nudged her way into the all-time highlight reel. Her basket wasn't a 3-pointer, and it didn't come in the WNBA Finals or the NCAA championship game. But for women's hoops followers, it moved into that pantheon.

Young, who brought an NCAA title to her school in Texas, kept alive the hope for a WNBA title for her pro team in Texas. Her graceful lunge -- you can use those two words back-to-back when you're talking about Young -- produced a buzzer-beating shot that hit the glass, hit the rim, bounced up, went in … and caused some Texas-sized pandemonium in the arena. (You might also have heard some maniac screaming in Waco, Texas, where Baylor fans were cheering their former star.)

With Young's basket, San Antonio beat Los Angeles 67-66 in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals. It sets up a Game 3 on Sunday (ESPN2, 5 p.m. ET) that looked like it wasn't going to happen when the Silver Stars' offense froze up in the latter part of the third quarter.

San Antonio had taken control of the game earlier in the period, leading by as many as 14 points. Then with their length and physicality, the Sparks began to assert themselves again and gained the edge with their defense.

You could feel it slipping away from San Antonio. The team with the best record in the regular season was about to face a second consecutive crushing end to the season. Last year, the Silver Stars lost Game 1 of the Western Conference finals to Phoenix on a controversial foul call that sent the Mercury's Cappie Pondexter to the line for the winning free throws.

Then San Antonio lost Game 2 in Phoenix, after which guard Becky Hammon cried talking about how close she'd become to her teammates in her first season in San Antonio. She vowed the Silver Stars would challenge for the WNBA title in 2008.

And they appeared to be a strong team heading into the playoffs. But they needed to scrape by in overtime to beat Sacramento in the deciding game of the first round, then looked overmatched in a 15-point loss in Game 1 of their series with L.A.

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AP Photo/Eric GayLisa Leslie had 17 points and three of Los Angeles' eight blocks.

On Saturday, the Silver Stars' backs were against the wall from the tip-off, but they grabbed some breathing room when they surged ahead in the third quarter by running some solid offensive sets and not being intimidated by the L.A. defense.

However, L.A. guard Temeka Johnson gave the Sparks a quick injection of energy late in the third quarter. And with that, L.A. seemed ready to close out the game and the series and await its Eastern Conference foe.

But the Silver Stars had a little magic left. In fact, they had a lot.

Hammon's 3-pointer off a smart assist from Erin Buescher cut the Sparks' lead to 64-63 with 52 seconds left.

That was a must-make basket. Then came a sequence that saved the game for San Antonio. Hammon missed a 3-pointer, but Buescher performed some acrobatics to take the rebound away from Lisa Leslie.

Buescher's ensuing shot was blocked by Candace Parker -- who had a brilliant game with 19 points, 17 rebounds and four blocks -- but Young grabbed the rebound and was fouled on her attempt at a putback.

She made both free throws, giving the Silver Stars a 65-64 lead. So with 11 seconds left, San Antonio was faced with stopping an L.A. team that, of course, has three Olympians.

One of them, DeLisha Milton-Jones, then grabbed an offensive rebound off a miss from Johnson and made the putback that seemed to seal the game and the series for Los Angeles.

With 1.8 seconds left, most figured that the inbound pass would go to Hammon if possible, that the Silver Stars would want their Olympian to have the final chance to keep the season alive. The Sparks, though, wisely put Parker on Hammon, and there was no opening for her.

Instead, the ball went to Young, in her third pro season.

Now, a little look into the history vault: Baylor fans no doubt recall a buzzer-beating perimeter shot Young hit to force the second overtime in a triple-OT loss at Nebraska in January 2005. That game ended in disappointment for Young, but a few months later her team won the national championship.

How many times could you watch that last shot she hit Saturday? Unless you are a Sparks fan, endlessly. Vickie Johnson made the inbound pass. Young -- who finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds -- turned, shot and fell to the floor in celebration. Her teammates mobbed her.

Sure, nothing yet has topped T-Spoon's trey at the buzzer in Game 2 of the 1999 WNBA Finals in Houston, a series the Comets won in Game 3.

But Young's season-saver gave the WNBA another replay classic. And it gave the Silver Stars at least one more precious day.

Mechelle Voepel of The Kansas City Star is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. She can be reached at mvoepel123@yahoo.com.