WASHINGTON
Maya Moore once "lit up" the president of the United States in a pickup basketball game.
On Tuesday, Moore and her Minnesota Lynx teammates lit up the East Room of the White House with huge smiles as they accepted President Obama's congratulations for winning the WNBA title last season.
"I had the pleasure of playing with Maya and she lit everybody up," Obama joked about Moore, who was visiting the White House for the fourth time after playing on championship teams at the University of Connecticut and the Olympics. "It is not fun when she's raining jumpers on you."
Moore returned the compliment. In an interview, she said the president, a hoops dreamer who plays regularly, "has a really accurate funky little left-handed jumper."
But it was Obama's praise for female athletes that really moved Moore and her teammates. "He appreciates us as role models for his daughters," Moore said.
The president ticked off superlatives for the first major league Minnesota team in 20 years to win a championship.
"There's no question that these are some outstanding basketball players," Obama said. "But they also find the time to raise money for breast cancer research, help local students with their reading. I hear they clean up pretty well for their Cat Walk for a Cure fashion show."
