6/2 Storm vs. Mercury

The crowd seemed to trickle in a little late last night...perhaps a symptom of a sunny Friday evening game, but by the end of the evening they were as loud as ever. The same could be said for the Mercury who struggled until the fourth quarter when Cappie Pondexter and Diana Taurasi took over the game and tried to earn Phoenix its first win of the season. Sue Bird, Lauren Jackson, Tanisha Wright and Shaun Gortman made sure Paul Westhead earned his fourth consecutive loss for the start of his WNBA coaching career. Sue and LJ led with the offense and Wright and Gortman took the defensive assignments on Phoenix's scorers. The first seven minutes of the fourth quarter were all Phoenix as they closed their deficit with a +9 run, but when Anne Donovan settled on her final lineup at the 2:57 mark, Seattle held Phoenix to 2 points for the rest of the game while putting up 8, sealing the victory and setting a franchise scoring record to the delight of the by then raucous crowd.

Taurasi struggled through the first half, as did the rest of her team outside of rookie Cappie Pondexter and veteran/former Storm original Kamila Vodichkova. Taurasi left the half with only two points and a bad attitude. She complained to the refs repeatedly saying, "We're shooting airballs here, we're just shooting airballs," as she slapped her shooting arm indicating her feeling that the Storms defense was hitting them on their shots. Later in the game she spit on the Storm logo at center court, whether from habit or frustration, it was a gesture lacking the class we expect from WNBA stars.

Pondexter was brilliant throughout the game and simply phoenominal in the fourth quarter. She hit everything in the first 7 minutes of the fourth quarter, with contact, a hand in her face or simply finding an inch of space for a fraction of a second. Phoenix fans are in for a treat as she is bound to get even better.

Betty changed up her hair, going straight an in a pony tail for a new look. Shortly into the game a new attitude arrived as well. She took a few rough hits driving to the basket and after a careless turnover in the first half, Betty Basketball began. She started to score, but more importantly was creating shots for her team by cutting to the basket and drawing the defense.

Palmer, Burse and Jackson showed everyone that they will be one of the most dominant front courts in the league this season. They combined for 50 points and 28 rebounds.

Gortman and Wright combined for a solid defensive unit and demonstrated that AD may have a new closing crew for close games.

By the Numbers

Possessions: 78.86
Off Rtg: 126.73
Def Rtg: 113.67

Player	Floor %	Eff FG%	Ast Ratio	Tov Ratio	Stop %	Off Rtg	Net Points	Pts Prod	Pelton IR	Plus/Minus
Bird	29%	33.33%	33.33%	9.4%	42%	83.71	0.37	6.31	54.63	+10
Lennox	61%	9.09%	27.27%	9.4%	47%	140.33	3.84	13.61	127.59	+4
Castro	74%	63.64%	18.18%	9.4%	75%	149.61	1.79	3.48	118.77	+9
Jackson	56%	24.04%	0%	9.4%	51%	103.68	6.32	13.53	103.68	+15
Burse	61%	41.67%	5.21%	9.4%	65%	127.38	8.01	19.34	120.88	+8
Wright	64%	35.55%	0%	0%	53%	147.54	5.12	10.70	115.63	+3
Palmer	58%	36.06%	36.06%	0%	42%	117.98	2.29	6.92	76.44	-3
Gortman	47%	16.67%	50%	0%	49%	99.40	0.83	3.77	104.62	+3
Turner	24%	100%	0%	0%	60%	90.53	0.36	2.14	15.38	+1

Most Effective Lineups
Bird-Lennox-Castro-Jackson-Burse: +9
Bird-Wright-Gortman-Jackson-Burse: +6

Least Effective Lineups
Bird-Wright-Castro-Jackson-Palmer: -3
Bird-Lennox-Gortman-Palmer-Burse: -3