By Mike Slane
June 2, 2007: Scoreboard |
Video Play of the Day | Photo Gallery | Today in the WNBA Archive
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DeMya Walker, Sacramento's leading scorer, returned to the bench on crutches after suffering a right knee injury in the first quarter of Saturday's win over Los Angeles.
Rocky Widner/NBAE/Getty Images
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Sun Ruin Taurasi's Return to CT
Mercury's Streak Ends:
The Sun spoiled Diana Taurasi's return to Connecticut and prevented the Mercury from matching their best start in nine years with a 76-67 victory on Saturday afternoon. Coming off a 21-point performance in Thursday's win over the Silver Stars, Taurasi, who led the University of Connecticut to three consecutive National Championships, was limited to just 13 points on 4-of-11 shooting from the field and 2-of-7 from beyond the arc as the Mercury were held to their lowest scoring outing of the season. Asjha Jones led Connecticut, which improved to 3-2 early in the season, with 24 points, including 11 of its first 15, while Nykesha Sales and Lindsay Whalen finished with 18 apiece. The Mercury dropped to 4-2. Their best start in franchise history was 5-1 in 1998 when they made their only Finals appearance.
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ALSO MAKING HEADLINES ... |
Defending Champs vs. The First Dynasty:
The Comets won the first four WNBA championships. The Shock have won two in the past four years, including last season's historic five-game series against the Sacramento Monarchs. On Saturday, Detroit looked like the team with a better chance to win another title as it remained undefeated this season with a 77-71 triumph in Houston. Cheryl Ford led the charge with 15 points and 14 rebounds, while Katie Smith scored 17, including 10 in the fourth quarter. Tina Thompson and Michelle Snow scored 20 apiece for Houston, which will be without injured forward Sheryl Swoopes for two to four weeks.
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"Chaotic. But that's sports. They're unpredictable. You have to make split-second decisions and do the best you can.''
-- Monarchs head coach Jenny Boucek said when asked to describe her debut in front of a sellout Arco Arena crowd. .
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Tina Thompson, Comets
20 pts, 8-15 FG, 3-4 3-pt FG in 77-71 loss vs. Shock
Asjha Jones, Sun
24 pts, 10-15 FG, 4-5 FT in 76-67 win vs. Mercury
Michelle Snow, Comets
20 pts, 8-12 FG, 4-4 FT in
77-71 loss vs. Shock
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Yolanda Griffich, Monarchs
7 pts, 1-8 FG in 88-85 win vs. Sparks
Penny Taylor, Mercury
5 pts, 1-7 FG, 0-2 3-pt FG in
76-67 loss at Sun
Hamchétou Maïga-Ba, Comets
2 pts, 1-6 FG in
77-71 loss vs. Shock
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Sunday's Games ...
Mercury at Liberty : 4 p.m. ET
Lynx at Sky: 6 p.m. ET
Mystics at Fever: 6 p.m. ET
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For the first time this season, someone not named Becky Hammon led the Silver Stars in scoring. On Saturday, it was second-year guard Shanna Crossley who paced San Antonio to a 78-68 win in Seattle with all 14 of her points in the fourth quarter. Crossley shot 4-for-5 from 3-point range to help the Stars build a 20-point fourth-quarter lead en route to their second win over the Storm this season. Hammon, who scored more than 20 in the previous three games, finished with 12 points and four assists.
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Leading-scorer DeMya Walker went down with a right knee injury midway through the first quarter, and Nicole Powell picked up the slack. Powell poured in 19 points and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds to guide the Monarchs to an 88-85 home win over the Sparks in the first meeting between the two teams since last year's Western Conference Finals. Powell also added one assist and two steals, including a key defensive play on Chamique Holdsclaw with two seconds left to end a late rally from Los Angeles.
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