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Paul Westhead franticly called timeout at the 4:47 mark of the first quarter. With the Mercury increasing the intensity of the zone, the Storm would never find that kind of rhythm again. Phoenix ended the first quarter on an 18-2 run and went on to defeat the Storm 89-79 at the US Airways Center.
"We got off to a great start," said Storm Head Coach Anne Donovan. "We handled their zone real well; we got them out of the zone. We kind of lost our focus. They packed in the zone a little bit more and we just didn’t handle it well. We weren’t shooting the ball well, we weren’t taking care of the ball, and they were running it out the other way. Our transition defense was really an issue."
The Storm got another unworldly game from 
Lauren Jackson. Despite the Mercury at times assigning a defender to shadow her as part of the zone and running quick double-teams at her at other times, Jackson came within two points of matching the career high she first set in Phoenix last May. Jackson shot 11-of-18 from the field, hit four threes and all seven of her free-throw attempts and grabbed 11 rebounds, finishing with 33 points.
Unfortunately for the Storm, another Aussie was matching Jackson shot for shot at the other end. National teammate an close friend Penny Taylor, fresh off teaming with Jackson at the All-Star Game in Washington, D.C., scored 32 points - one off her career high. Taylor took advantage of any airspace she was given, hitting 12-of-18 shots, including four three-pointers in five attempts.
"She’s a great player," said Jackson. "She’s one of those players in the league, like Diana (Taurasi); not one person is going to be able to stop her. She’s very good. She’s one of the premier scorers in the league and she had a great game and we expect that from her."
Taylor and her teammates were able to get easy looks by whipping the ball around in halfcourt and transition. Phoenix racked up 15 assists on 16 first-half baskets, a nearly perfect ratio of unselfishness.
That the Mercury was able to get out and run its way to 28 fast-break points (Phoenix outscored the Storm 17-0 in the category after halftime) is testament to the team's surprising success on the defensive glass. When these teams last met, a 100-87 Storm victory in Seattle that was not as close as the final score, Janell Burse grabbed seven of the Storm's 13 offensive boards. The Storm's 37.1% offensive rebound percentage in that game dipped to 28.9% tonight despite the Mercury's vulnerability to offensive boards out of the zone.
"We ran the ball so well tonight," said Taylor. "I don’t know how many easy lay-ups we got on the break just because we were rebounding and getting out and running."
When Phoenix wasn't running off Storm misses, it was taking advantage of turnovers. The Mercury had 10 steals, including a career-high six for Taylor, and the Storm committed 20 turnovers. Six came from 
Tanisha Wright, filling in for 
Sue Bird at the point.
As dominant as Jackson was on offense, she and 
Betty Lennox (22 points, three three-pointers) were the only two Storm players who were really scoring threats. 
Iziane Castro Marques missed seven of her last nine shots after returning from a slightly sprained right ankle sustained in the first quarter. Burse, who had a career-high 19 rebounds against the Mercury in the first meeting, was limited to six points and six rebounds. In their stead, the Storm got little contribution from its bench, with only 
Ashley Robinson (seven rebounds) playing well.
By contrast, Phoenix's potent starting lineup was very balanced. All five players scored at least nine points and handed out at least three assists. And guard Kelly Mazzante came off the bench for a pair of key three-pointers during the Mercury's first-quarter run.
"That’s something you have to do," said Westhead. "You can’t rely on your two or three stars to get it done for you."
On this night, the Storm found that out the hard way.
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