The Mercury is looking forward to the return of 6-foot-8 Maria Stepanova, who last played for the team three seasons ago. The Russian Olympian will hook up with the team sometime this week as the WNBA regular season enters the homestretch.

"When we see Maria in a Mercury uniform, when I see her land, I'll be greeting her with open arms," coach Carrie Graf said. "But until she gets here, we'll move forward. But we're obviously excited with the prospect of getting her back."

The Mercury (12-13) returns to action Wednesday in Detroit (13-14), then plays Friday in Houston before a Saturday game against Seattle at America West Arena. Stepanova could join the team as early as Wednesday, but Saturday is more likely.

The sooner Stepanova plays, the better, guard Anna DeForge said.

"I haven't had the chance to play with Maria, but I'm excited," she said. "Any 6-foot-8 girl is going to help. I'm really excited to get her and that presence in the middle. Hopefully, we can get rhythm and timing with her, and she can help us get into the playoffs."

Finding a home

Tamara Moore, who has provided a spark off the bench, finally will be with a team from start to finish. The third-year pro is with her fourth team. She has appeared in all 25 games for the Mercury but hasn't made a start, logging 14 minutes of playing time per game.

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"I feel fortunate," she said. "I'm not going to say it feels weird, but at the same time it's a blessing. I came in and worked hard in the off-season, and it's pretty much paying off. Our coaches really have a lot of confidence in the way I've come in, and they rewarded me by keeping me here."

Moore knows the little things, such as diving for loose balls and constantly harassing opponents, make her valuable.

"Anybody in this league would like to be a starter, but for me, if I know that's not going to be my role, I have to be ready to do whatever a team needs, whether it be defense, on the bench motivating my teammates, or if it means to be a vocal leader in practice, that's what I'm willing to do."

Beneficial month

DeForge, who thinks the Mercury has to win five of nine games to make the playoffs, said the break was beneficial.

"I think individually we improved," she said. "When collectively you put that together, it makes you better as a group, whether it's defending the post, pass poise, offensive, defense, we've worked on all of it.

"We've been able to prepare for everything we're going to see and face, and we're excited to get going."

Fans on hand

About 100 Mercury fans turned out Saturday for an open practice at Thunderbird High School. By the time the Mercury plays at America West Arena, it will be more than a month since its last home game, and keeping fans involved was one of the goals during the Olympic break.

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