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PG Samantha Prahalis (B1G Champ, 2x All-American, B1G POY, B1G Career Assists Leader, OSU HOF)

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Phoenix Mercury's Samantha Prahalis Named Rookie of the Month for June
Posted Jul 2 2012

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NEW YORK, July 2, 2012 ? The WNBA has named Phoenix Mercury guard Samantha Prahalis the Rookie of the Month for games played in June.

Prahalis led all rookies in assists (5.1 apg) and free-throw percentage (.963), converting 26 of 27 attempts. Among first-year players, she also ranked second in points (13.8 ppg) and third in steals (1.8 spg). Overall, Prahalis ranked in the top five in assists per game and was second in free throw percentage in. She had a career-high nine assists to go along with 11 points in an 85-66 loss to the San Antonio Silver Stars on June 1, and had a career-high in points (22) on June 23, in a 93-84 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks. Prahalis scored in double-figures in all but two games in June. She led the Mercury in assists and steals and placed second on the team in points for the month.

The sixth overall pick in the 2012 WNBA Draft presented by Boost Mobile, Prahalis is averaging more than 12 points and five assists for the Mercury.

Highlights of Prahalis? month included:

June 1 vs. San Antonio: Career-high nine assists, along with 11 points in an 86-66 loss
June 23 vs. Los Angeles: Career-high 22 points, along with 4 steals in a 93-84 loss
June 27 vs. Minnesota: 20 points and three assists in a 96-80 loss.
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http://www.wnba.com/news/phoenix_samantha_prahalis_rookie_of_month_june_2012_07_02.html
 
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Samantha Prahalis helps Mercury hold off Storm
Prahalis, the rookie point guard, hit key shots late to ensure a 75-68 win for the visitors.
ByJayda Evans
Seattle Times staff reporter

Phoenix rookie Samantha Prahalis belted out one of those screams normally not heard from WNBA newbies at KeyArena.

Prahalis dropped a pretty jumper after she crossed over Storm All-Star Lauren Jackson's, tying the score at the end of the third quarter. As Prahalis backpedaled down the court, she screamed at Jackson.

You'd think it would ignite a fire in Seattle. It fueled the flame for Phoenix instead, and the Mercury went on to win, 75-68, before 6,379 fans.

"We're not a hungry basketball team at this point," Storm coach Brian Agler said.

The Storm scrapped on defense and received its own highlight plays from rookie Shekinna Stricklen. But after a three-pointer by Stricklen cut the lead to 69-66 with 3:39 remaining in the game, All-Star Diana Taurasi spotted Dewanna Bonner on a backdoor cut to stall any momentum.

The 5-foot-7 Prahalis later connected on two free throws with 1:18 on the clock, then hit a floater over 6-foot-6 Jackson with 50.3 seconds left in the game to quiet the arena. The rookie point guard finished with 16 points and Bonner led with 24 to help Phoenix end a 10-game losing streak and improve to 5-19.

Agler held his team for about 25 minutes after the game to express his disappointment in their play. When media were allowed into the locker room, point guard Sue Bird repeated "We had a bad game" to nearly every question searching for analysis.

The normally unflappable all-star had a game-high five turnovers, Prahalis picking up three steals on the 11-year veteran.

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http://seattletimes.com/html/storm/2019032822_storm31.html

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[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlZzls19h0c"]Catching Up With Sammy Prahalis - YouTube[/ame]
 
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Samantha Prahalis is having standout rookie season for Mercury
Originally published: September 4, 2012
By BARBARA BARKER [email protected]

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The Phoenix Mercury's Samantha Prahalis dribbles against the
Photo credit: AP | The Phoenix Mercury's Samantha Prahalis dribbles against the Liberty during a game in Phoenix. (Aug. 23, 2012)

Samantha Prahalis' rookie season with the Phoenix Mercury has brought some difficult challenges. For example, it's not easy to find a good slice of New York pizza in the desert. Nor is it easy to get used to the oppressive summer heat.

"It's 95 degrees and that's at night," the Commack native said with a laugh in a recent phone interview. "It's a little weird."

Of course, getting used to a new area of the country isn't the biggest adjustment that Prahalis had to make since the Mercury made her the No. 6 overall pick out of Ohio State in April's WNBA draft. With early injuries to Diana Taurasi, Candice Dupree and Penny Taylor, the Mercury has won only six of 25 games this season and the rookie point guard has played a much bigger role than expected on what was a star-laden team.

"She's just been thrown into it," Mercury coach Corey Gaines said. "With all the injuries, we lost almost 60 points a game. We've asked her to do a lot of things that she wouldn't have had to do if everyone was healthy. And she's done a great job with it."

Prahalis, who returns to the New York area Wednesday night to play the Liberty in Newark, is averaging 4.5 assists and 12.1 points in 25 games. She is leading all rookies in assists and ranks seventh in the league, a pretty impressive feat considering that Phoenix is the WNBA's worst shooting team.

It is Prahalis' scoring ability, however, that has been the biggest surprise of her rookie season. Prahalis' 12.1 points ranks second among WNBA rookies, trailing only the Los Angeles Sparks' Nneka Ogwumike, who is averaging 13.5.

She's done all that while maintaining the flamboyant style, both on and off the court, that made her a fan favorite at Ohio State and a favorite villain around the rest of the women's college basketball world. Off the court, Prahalis sports an impressive collection of tattoos and dyes her blonde hair black. On the court, her flashy ballhandling skills had women's basketball fans comparing her to Pete Maravich.

Gaines, however, believes a more apt comparison is Steve Nash.

"I believe she's going to be a great player," Gaines said. "She's a lot like Nash. She has the ability to score outside. She has a runner. And she can create her own shot, which is tough nowadays. And of course, she has the ability to pass the ball and make people better."

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http://www.newsday.com/sports/baske...-standout-rookie-season-for-mercury-1.3951721
 
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Waived by the Mercury. More definitely meets the eye with this one, have a hard time that a small slump would lead to such an outright slap in the face move. Sammy has shown she's not scared to show some fire.


http://www.azcentral.com/sports/mer...nd-pick-samantha-prahalis.html?nclick_check=1
The Mercury waived its 2012 first-round draft pick, point guard Samantha Prahalis, on Thursday, just hours before the team played the Los Angeles Sparks at Staples Center.

Mercury coach Corey Gaines said in a statement that Prahalis was released because she wasn't getting playing time behind Diana Taurasi.

“Choices like this are never easy, but they are a part of the game,” said Gaines, who is also the team's general manager. “With Diana Taurasi, one of the best players in the world, moving to our lead guard position, the playing time just wasn't there for Sammy. This move gives us flexibility in the short term and gives Sammy the opportunity to continue her career elsewhere. We thank her for her time and work as a member of our team and wish her the best going forward.”

The Mercury (8-7) should have been able to trade Prahalis, a second-year pro who earned WNBA All-Rookie Team honors last season, and get something for her. But it doesn't seem like the team could find any takers.

Prahalis was drafted seventh overall out of Ohio State last year and started and played in 28 games, becoming a key player through an injury-plagued Mercury season. She averaged 11.6 points, 4.5 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game.

Prahalis looked to be on her way to an even better season in 2013, getting in better shape and working tirelessly in the off-season. But she didn't play well during the Mercury's preseason game against the Japanese national team and through the first two games of the season (both losses).

Soon after, Gaines made Taurasi the team's main ball handler and moved Prahalis, who has played in just eight games this season, to the bench. Prahalis hasn't played in the past two games and has averaged 2.3 points and 2.0 assists through 12.6 minutes played per game this season.
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Samantha Prahalis
Women’s Basketball (2009-12)
Samantha Prahalis had one of the most productive careers in Ohio State women’s basketball history. She ranks in the Top 10 in school history in nearly every statistical category, including points, assists, steals, field goals made, three-pointers made and free throws made. Prahalis is still the Big Ten leader in career assists with 901 and is one of just three players in NCAA history with 2,000 points and 900 career assists.

A two-time All-American, Prahalis capped her career by being named the 2012 Big Ten Player of the Year after averaging 19.8 points, 6.3 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game. She was also part of a pair of Big Ten regular season titles, three Big Ten Tournament titles, 109 victories and four NCAA Tournament appearances.

After her Buckeye career, she was the sixth overall pick in the 2012 WNBA Draft by the Phoenix Mercury. She averaged 11.6 points and 4.5 assists in her first season and was runner-up in Rookie of the Year voting. Prahalis then went on to make multiple stops overseas in Romania (2013-14), Russia (2014), Turkey (2015), Italy (2015-16) and Hungary (2016-17).

The Commack, N.Y., native coached three seasons at a pair of New York high schools from 2017-20 and is currently an assistant coach for the women’s basketball program at James Madison University.
 
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