Mercury-Storm Preview

By MATT BEARDMORE
Posted Aug 15 2012 5:26PM

With their next seven games at home and their three-time MVP set to return soon, the Seattle Storm aren't in such a bad position in the Western Conference.

The same cannot be said of the injury-plagued Phoenix Mercury.

Back from the WNBA's Olympic break, Seattle could reach .500 on Thursday night when the Mercury try to avoid a franchise high-tying seventh consecutive loss.

The Storm (9-10) and Mercury (4-15) met before the break July 13, and Seattle won 83-64 on the road to take a five-game lead over Phoenix for the final playoff spot in the West.

Seattle has won eight of 11 and has no road games until Sept. 8 against league-worst Tulsa. That could be particularly beneficial to point guard Sue Bird, who is back from London after winning her third gold medal. She had 11 points and three assists as the U.S. capped off the tournament with an 86-50 victory over France on Saturday.

"Personally, I'm very glad to be home - really," Bird told the Storm's official website. "If we had to travel, that would be tough. It's important. We obviously do well at home and it's a place where we're comfortable, so to get the second half of the season started that way is going to be great.

"We kind of paid our dues in a way having to play on the road so much early on. Hopefully now we can benefit from being at home."

The Storm's chances of making a move up the standings - they trail first-place Minnesota by six games - could also improve as Lauren Jackson is scheduled to return next week. The veteran center hasn't been with Seattle all season after training with the Australian team that took bronze in London.

While the Storm appear to be regrouping following a slow start, the Mercury are falling apart. If they lose Thursday, it will be the club's first seven-game slide since July 2-25, 2003.

Phoenix, loser of eight of nine, will be without forwards Candice Dupree and Charde Houston after both underwent left knee surgeries during the break. It's also uncertain when Diana Taurasi will return from a strained hip flexor, even though she averaged a team-best 12.4 points for the U.S. in London.

Taurasi has played in two games, last appearing May 26 versus Los Angeles.

With so many injuries, the contributions from DeWanna Bonner and rookie point guard Samantha Prahalis will become that much more important. Bonner, the league's second-highest scorer with 20.7 points per game, has totaled 30 in two losses to Seattle this season.

Prahalis had seven points and three assists July 13 after scoring nine with two assists in an 83-68 loss in Seattle on July 8.

Bird finished with a season-high 31 points in that contest to help Seattle win its fifth straight regular-season home game in this series.

Little's 17 points lead Storm past Mercury 72-58

Posted Aug 17 2012 1:08AM

SEATTLE (AP) Camille Little scored 17 points to help the Seattle Storm beat the Phoenix Mercury 72-58 Thursday night.

Tanisha Wright added 10 points for the Storm, which got to .500 (10-10) for the first time this season and has won nine of their last 12 after a 1-7 start.

``We always felt confident in our team,'' Little said after Seattle and the rest of the WNBA returned to action following the month-long break for the Olympics. ``When we lost those games, we were upset - we didn't expect to lose that many games. But we didn't focus on what anyone else was thinking. We were more worried about how we felt and how we could play.''

Seattle went in front for good on Thursday with a 10-0 run in the second quarter and led by 18 late in the game.

``We just weren't playing our basketball, and we knew we could play better,'' Little said. ``We just had to get some energy and get some rebounds, and we were off to the races then.''

Samantha Prahalis led the Mercury (4-16) with 15 points, and Alexis Hornbuckle chipped in 12. Phoenix has lost seven a row, three to Seattle.

DeWanna Bonner, the Mercury's leading scorer at 20.7 points per game, scored seven points Thursday night.

``We just couldn't score in the second half,'' Mercury coach Corey Gaines said. ``DB (Bonner) was 3 for 18, and we just couldn't score. We missed open shots. We've been trying to find our rhythm all year, and the injuries don't help.''

Sue Bird, fresh off of helping the United States win the gold medal last Saturday in London, had two points and three assists in 10 minutes of play. She sat out the second half with the stomach flu.

While Bird was back in action following the Olympics, Storm teammate Lauren Jackson and USA teammate Diana Taurasi were not in Seattle. Jackson, who missed the entire first half of the season to prepare with the Australia team that won bronze, is expected back Monday.

Taurasi did not make the trip because of a late return from London. She has missed 18 of the Mercury's 20 games this season with a strained left hip flexor.

• Mercury: --
• Storm: --

• Mercury: --
• Storm: --

• Lead Changes: 7
• Times Tied: 4

• Arena: Key Arena, Seattle, WA
• Officials: #39 Michael Price, #7 Clarke Stevens, #24 Tony Dawkins
• Attendance: 6987
• Duration: 1:41