Mercury-Silver Stars Preview

By KATE HEDLIN
Posted Jul 02 2012 2:02PM

Becky Hammon and the San Antonio Silver Stars are taking advantage of some fast starts.

The Silver Stars will go for their sixth straight home win as they take on the Phoenix Mercury on Tuesday night.

San Antonio lost four of its first six games, but things seem to be clicking now. The Silver Stars (7-5) have won three in a row and five of six, including a 93-84 victory over defending champion Minnesota on Sunday.

Hammon had 23 points and eight assists while Sophia Young added 22 points and 10 rebounds. San Antonio went 13 of 25 from 3-point range, with Hammon connecting on 7 of 13.

The Silver Stars, one game behind Los Angeles for second place in the Western Conference, haven't won four straight since opening the 2011 season 4-0. Young is averaging 21.7 points during this three-game streak.

After struggling to open games earlier in the season, San Antonio has been much more effective lately in the first quarter. The Silver Stars haven't trailed during any of their last three games after leading by an average of 10.0 points entering the second period.

Over the first six games, San Antonio never went into the second quarter with a lead.

"Right now we're all on the same wavelength," forward Shameka Christon said. "We come out with a lot of energy, and obviously that's to our advantage."

Sunday's victory also was the Silver Stars' fifth straight at home. They've scored 95.0 points per game in the last three, including 21.3 from Hammon - nearly six above her season average.

Phoenix (4-10) already knows how difficult playing in San Antonio - and against Hammon - can be. Hammon scored a season-high 30 points, hitting 7 of 9 from beyond the arc, in an 85-66 home win over the Mercury on June 1.

The Silver Stars never trailed in that game and will try to get out quickly again as they meet a Phoenix team which is closing a stretch of four road games in one week.

The Mercury failed again to win back-to-back games for the first time this season with a 90-77 loss at Washington on Sunday. They had defeated Chicago 84-81 on Friday.

Phoenix, allowing a league-worst 87.2 points per game, has given up at least 90 in three of the last four.

Candice Dupree (left knee contusion) sat out a fifth straight game for the Mercury, who also were without Diana Taurasi (hip flexor) and Penny Taylor (torn ACL).

"Ultimately, I'm just happy that we play hard no matter what the score is," Charde Houston told the Mercury's official website after scoring a season-high 26 points Sunday.

"We played hard tonight and we know things will turn around for us."

The Mercury have dropped three straight in San Antonio.

Adams, Hammon lead Silver Stars past Mercury

Posted Jul 03 2012 11:32PM

SAN ANTONIO (AP) Danielle Adams scored 24 points and Becky Hammon added 22 as the San Antonio Silver Stars rallied for an 82-81 victory over the Phoenix Mercury on Tuesday night.

Sophia Young had 12 points and 14 rebounds to help San Antonio (8-5) win its fourth straight overall and sixth straight at home.

DeWanna Bonner had a career-high 38 points and eight rebounds and Charde Houston added 19 points for Phoenix (4-11).

Hammon scored 17 points in the second half as the Silver Stars rallied after trailing by 13.

``That's why she's the player that she is,'' San Antonio coach Dan Hughes said. ``Some players you kind of look at where they are during a game, but you never do that with Becky. She'll give us the best she has got. She is a heck of a player.''

Hammon scored seven points in the final 1:05, including a tiebreaking three-point play that put the Silver Stars ahead for good after Bonner's two free throws tied the score at 75-all. Hammon made two free throws with 38.5 to go, extending the lead to five.

Alexis Hornbuckle hit a 3-pointer less than 8 seconds later, and Hammon made two more free throws with 2.4 seconds remaining to seal the victory. Bonner's 3 at the buzzer provided the final margin.

``We played so hard,'' Houston said. ``I think our effort and energy is never questioned, but tonight, despite everything that happened, it came down to the last play. No matter how we fought, we came up short.''

Adams sparked San Antonio's rally, scoring 20 points and grabbing four rebounds in the second half. She shot 8 for 13 over the final 20 minutes, including 5 for 7 in the fourth quarter.

``We let Adams get going in the second half,'' Bonner said. ``She played a great game. She shot lights out in the second half. I don't know if she even missed a shot.''

Adams scored nine points in a 17-5 run that cut the Silver Stars' deficit to 52-51 with 2 minutes left in the third. Hammon's first 3-pointer since late in the first half tied the score at 61-all with 7 minutes left and Adams' driving layup 19 seconds later gave them a 63-61 lead.

San Antonio extended its lead to 66-61 when Hammon pretended to run upcourt, stole the ensuing inbounds pass and converted a three-point play.

After failing to shoot better than 33 percent in the first three quarters, the Silver Stars closed by making 2 of 3 shots and 9 of 10 free throws. They closed the game shooting 35 percent from the field, including 5 for 30 on 3-pointers.

``We just told each other to keep pushing,'' Adams said. ``Keep going, keep playing defense. We play off of our defense.''

The Mercury dominated the first 23 minutes of the game before San Antonio closed the score.

Bonner's 3-pointer gave Phoenix a 7-6 advantage, the first time San Antonio had trailed in five games since losing June 22 at Seattle. The 6-foot-4 Bonner dominated San Antonio's smaller defenders, scoring 19 points in the first quarter while shooting 6 for 9 from the field.

``A couple of times we had decent pressure on them and they hit some tough shots,'' Hammon said. ``You've got to give them credit. I thought they played pretty well.''

Bonner's 16-foot jumper gave the Mercury a 33-23 lead with 3 minutes left in the first half as they limited the Silver Stars to 28-percent shooting from the field.

``Offensively, I can't remember us missing that many wide open shots,'' Hammon said. ``It was just one of those nights.''

Silver Stars reserve Tully Bevilaqua announced prior to the game that she is retiring after this season. Bevilaqua has spent 14 seasons in the WNBA, including two with San Antonio. She has played in 449 career games, scoring 1,900 points and is one of only four players in league history with 800 career assists and 500 career steals.

• Mercury: --
• Silver Stars: --

• Mercury: --
• Silver Stars: --

• Lead Changes: 6
• Times Tied: 4

• Arena: AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX
• Officials: #4 Sue Blauch, #24 Tony Dawkins, #8 Daryl Humphrey
• Attendance: 6912
• Duration: 1:57