Pierson Double-Double
Helps Down Sun

The energy level was definitely up at America West Arena for Wednesday’s Mercury-Sun matinee matchup, but it was still nowhere near that of Plenette Pierson’s.

The second-year forward racked up her first career double-double, thanks to a 13-point, 10-rebound performance that helped seal the 75-59 win for Phoenix. A sore hamstring had limited her minutes this season and even forced her to miss two games, but all that was forgotten as the Mercury fans fed off Pierson’s breakout game of the year.

“I have a lot of stored up energy that I haven’t been able to release, not being able to play,” Pierson said. “Today was my way of releasing it.”

And the forward admits she’s not even at 100 percent yet. A fully recovered No. 54 may be a scary thought for the Mercury’s upcoming opponents, but it leaves Phoenix Head Coach Carrie Graf salivating at the offensive and defensive possibilities. She says the team has been “desperately” and “patiently” waiting for the forward to return to form.

“I don’t know if those two words go together,” Graf laughed, “but it’s been like, ‘Yeah, Plenette take your time, but hurry up.’ You can see straight away. She attacks the glass, physically goes after rebounds, and today we shoot the ball at 53 percent and we still get 11 offensive boards. A lot of that was Plenette Pierson. If she’s not coming up with it, she’s making someone block her out; she’s shaking it loose. We need her presence and physicality in there. Not only that, she defends well, too. It’s nice having her back in the mix and obviously we’ll build and move forward with her there.”

When the Mercury and Sun first tangled in Connecticut a few weeks back, Pierson had six boards and four minutes in 21 minutes played. The forward put in an even 30 minutes Wednesday, just four off from her career high set last season.

Whether it’s for one minute or 30, Pierson says that, 100 percent or not, she’s ready to do whatever she can to ensure a Mercury "W" any given night.

“My role on this team is to be the energy off the bench,” Pierson said. “I’m coming in doing it however I need to do it. If that means getting defensive stops or getting rebounds or simply setting screens for my teammates, that’s how I’m going to get myself in the game and keep myself in the game.”

Kids Rock

As expected, the young crowd at AWA was loud and energetic for the first of two special matinees scheduled this season. The excitement they provided was not lost on the players, who were looking to snap a two-game losing streak after blowing a second-half lead in Minnesota on Saturday.

“When you get a lot of kids in here screaming and yelling, it helps,” said Penny Taylor. “It was a good atmosphere, and especially at the end, they pulled us over the finish line.”

“Those kids are crazy,” added Anna DeForge. “They’ll scream at the top of their lungs from the tip-off to the end of the game. It helps us out in tough situations.”

The next afternoon game is set for July 21 when the Mercury host San Antonio.

Australia Calling Penny Home

The Mercury’s trend of using the same starting lineup in all seven games so far will be broken next Friday against the Sparks. Penny Taylor will be in her native Australia to take part in a training camp required for her participation in the 2004 Olympics.

“There’s a selection criteria you have to meet to be selected,” she said. “I’ve been playing non-stop for two years, so I haven’t had the chance to be with the national team to meet that criteria. It’s come up now before the Olympics where I have to get this camp done. Once that happens, I hope to be selected.

“I’ve been overseas and in Cleveland, so I haven’t been able available to do any of the camps. Lauren Jackson and Tully Bevilaqua, the other Australians in the league, did theirs in March. I was still playing in Europe so I couldn’t do that.”

Taylor is scheduled to head back down under after this Friday’s contest against Charlotte and will return the following weekend in plenty of time to be back in the starting lineup when the Mercury host Minnesota on June 22.

“Losing Penny will hurt us a lot,” Taurasi admitted. “She’s a key part of our team, but you have to look for the positives. Someone else will step up and get some minutes and hopefully show everyone they can play, too.”

The Write Stuff

In keeping with the young peoples’ theme, the Mercury welcomed back last season’s Jr. Reporter contest winner, Kaitlin Winter, who had the opportunity to sit on press row and conduct post-game interviews with several of her favorite players.

While nervous at first, Kaitlin fit in nicely with the Valley press corps in the post-game interview process. The hardest part for the 15-year-old was remaining objective and not cheering on her favorite team during the game.

“I couldn’t do that every game,” she quipped.

Look for Kaitlin’s report on PhoenixMercury.com in the upcoming days.

The Mercury hosts the Charlotte Sting on Friday, June 11 at 7 p.m. at America West Arena.
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