Storm-Mercury Preview

By KATE HEDLIN
Posted May 21 2010 2:17PM

Phoenix coach Corey Gaines declared his team rusty after a sloppy season-opening victory. He also hopes a one-week layoff will have the defending WNBA champions better prepared than they have been in recent years to defend Seattle's Lauren Jackson.

The Mercury resume play Saturday night when they meet the Storm for the first time this year.

Phoenix (1-0) won three of four against Seattle (2-0) last season, and finished three games ahead of the Storm for the best record in the Western Conference. The Mercury, who had a league-leading 23 victories, went on to win their second title in three years while the Storm were ousted in the first round of the playoffs by Los Angeles.

Although Phoenix won the season series, it again struggled to contain Jackson, who has averaged 24.7 points against the Mercury the last three seasons.

She averaged 20.0 points in three games last season, missing the final meeting - a 92-84 Mercury win in Seattle in September - due to a back injury that kept her out of the playoffs.

Phoenix opened defense of its latest title with a 78-77 win over the Sparks last Saturday. Penny Taylor hit two free throws with 1.5 seconds remaining, and Diana Taurasi scored five of her 14 points in the final five minutes.

The Mercury held Los Angeles to 36.0 percent shooting, but weren't completely happy with the effort. They committed 22 turnovers, including eight by Candice Dupree in her Phoenix debut.

"(We're) a little rusty," Gaines said. "Twenty-two turnovers is not like us. It's going to take a little time for us to jell, it's a different type of team."

Gaines was referring not only to the addition of Dupree, formerly with Chicago, but that several of his players were competing overseas until last week. That included Taurasi, who finished 2 of 11 from the field.

Taurasi, the finals MVP, led the league in scoring last season with 20.4 points per game. She averaged 22.0 against the Storm.

She may have trouble putting up similar numbers Saturday as the Storm have excelled on defense early this season. After holding the Sparks to 67 points in a win last Sunday, Seattle rallied from nine down in the second half against Minnesota en route to a 79-76 win Wednesday.

The Storm limited the Lynx to 31 points after the break.

"I feel our core group, when we're out there on the floor, we have the best opportunity to come back and take a lead or execute down the stretch," said forward Swin Cash, who led all scorers with 24 points.

Jackson finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots. She has averaged 20.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.5 blocks so far in 2010.

Storm outlast Mercury, 95-89 in OT

Posted May 23 2010 12:48AM

PHOENIX(AP) Swin Cash scored seven of her 18 points in overtime and the Seattle Storm beat the defending WNBA champion Phoenix Mercury 95-89 on Saturday night after blowing an 11-point lead with 4 minutes left in regulation.

Lauren Jackson had 25 points and eight rebounds to lead the Storm, while Tanisha Wright added 14 points and nine rebounds. Camille Little had 14 points, including a layup with 2:58 left in the extra period that gave Seattle the lead for good.

It was the third consecutive overtime game between the teams and it broke Seattle's three-game losing streak to Phoenix. The Storm won their third straight to open the season while handing the Mercury their first loss in two games.

DeWanna Bonner had 24 points and 12 rebounds to lead Phoenix, which missed four of six shots in overtime.

Cash sank two free throws with 31 seconds left to give Seattle a 93-89 lead. Diana Taurasi missed a long 3-pointer with 22 seconds remaining and Sue Bird hit two more free throws with 19 seconds left to seal it.

The Mercury scored the last 11 points of regulation to force the extra period. Wright's basket with 4:08 left gave Seattle an 82-71 lead, but Bonner scored five points during the closing run.

Both teams had a chance to win in the final minute of regulation. Little had an open shot but tried to pass the ball and then grabbed it with 20.7 seconds left, getting called for traveling. Tameka Johnson and Bonner missed shots for Phoenix and then Wright missed for Seattle in the final seconds.

Johnson had 15 points and five assists while Penny Taylor and Candice Dupree scored 14 apiece for Phoenix.

Jackson had 15 first-half points and the Storm scored 17 points off 15 Mercury turnovers to take a 44-40 lead at the break. Phoenix stayed close by making 13 of its first 20 shots and shooting 58 percent (15 of 26) from the field in the first 20 minutes.

But the Mercury made just one miscue in the third quarter to stay within 66-63 going into the final period.

Jackson has averaged 25.2 points a game in the last 13 meetings between the teams, dating to 2006.

• Storm: --
• Mercury: --

• Storm: Agler
• Mercury: --

• Lead Changes: 8
• Times Tied: 2

• Arena: US Airways Center, Phoenix, AZ
• Officials: #7 Clarke Stevens, #27 Penny Davis, #42 Roy Gulbeyan
• Attendance: 10144
• Duration: 2:11