Young finishes with pride

San Antonio Silver Stars did not reach the final of the WNBA, unable to get over their western conference rival Phoenix, but for Vincentian Sophia Young, it was still a proud moment getting to the play offs.{{more}}

Young, in an interview with SEARCHLIGHT last Monday evening from her US based home, said that she was disappointed but proud of her team.

“It was a tough loss, but I am proud of the way we played”, the 23-year-old forward said.

She was referring to her team’s 0-2 loss to Phoenix in the final of the western conference. Phoenix shut out the Silver Stars, 102-100, in game one last week Thursday, and triumphed, 98-92, in the second.

Young’s efforts in both matches were insufficient against the more experienced opponents.

Young scored 24 points in game one, and had 18 rebounds. In game two, she recorded 19 points, with 10 rebounds.

In last Sunday’s second match, the Silver Stars led 28-23 in the first quarter, and 47-42 at the end of the half. The third quarter ended 67 apiece.

Young said just making the play offs was a great achievement for the previously struggling Silver Stars.

“Overall, I am happy with our performance. We traded some people, and you can see the drastic improvements”, she said.

On a personal note, Young summed up her season as “okay”.

She played and started in all of the Silver Stars’ 33 matches, finishing with a 16. 8 points per game average and 5.9 rebounds.

With her second year in the pro league behind her, Young is looking ahead to next year.

“I have to do some extra work on my game” she admitted.

Without divulging her weak areas, Young said “I’ve already started to work with one of the assistant coaches on some areas”.

Unsure of the direction her career will take in this the off season, Young is certain, though, that she will not be heading back to the Czech Republic.

Last year, she plied her trade in the European professional league, but had minimal returns because of an injury. (RT)