WNBA Phoenix Mercury

Mercury Devastate Sparks 77-60

by Andrew Nordmeier
July 27, 2005 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Phoenix Mercury


The Phoenix Mercury showed just how hungry they are for the playoffs and fed the Los Angeles Sparks a big bowl of Special K to show it.

Kamila Vodichkova hit on 10-of-11 shots from the field and scored a career-high 24 points to lead Phoenix to its second straight win 77-60 over the visiting Sparks Tuesday night at America West Arena. She hit on her first 10 shots, a WNBA record, and her lone miss came with 7:37 left in the second half.

Vodichkova was unstoppable inside and consistently powered her way to the hoop for easy lay-ups. It was going to be a special night when she scored eight of Phoenix's first 12 points in the first 5:32 and she never let up. The Mercury (9-12) used excellent ball movement to leave the Sparks (11-10) flat-footed and chasing the ball all night long.

"She was flat out awesome," Mercury Head Coach Carrie Graf said, "To go 10-of-11 against a team with size like that is just monumental. She's proving to us why we went after her in free agency."

The game was close late in the first half with Phoenix leading 24-21 with 7:32 left. The Mercury went on a 13-4 run over the next 5:25 to open up a 12-point cushion.

Not even halftime stopped Phoenix from continuing its white-hot shooting. Over the first 5:45 of the second half, Phoenix put on a 14-6 burst to widen the gap to 20 points at 55-35.

The Mercury's will to win was overwhelming and they pushed the lead to as many as 28 points with 3:25 left. Phoenix led 75-47 at that point and the Sparks put on a cosmetic 13-6 run to end the game and save some face.

Los Angeles may have lost more than the game. All-Star forward Lisa Leslie left the game midway through the second half with a sprained left knee. She had x-rays following the game and is scheduled for an MRI on Wednesday. Her status is uncertain for the Sparks' next game at Sacramento. This was the second game of a run of eight in a row on the road for the Sparks.

Diana Taurasi added 16 points for the Mercury and showed no signs of a sore knee. Penny Taylor and Maria Stepanova each added 10 in the win. Chamique Holdsclaw paced Los Angeles with 16 points.

The Mercury visits Minnesota Friday night and will try to push the winning streak to three games against the Lynx, 78-71 losers to San Antonio Tuesday night. Phoenix sits just two games behind Los Angeles for the final playoff spot.

"It's going to be five teams fighting for three playoff spots and we think we can be in the thick of that," Graf said.

Notes: Los Angeles played without Nikki Teasley who was sidelined with a foot injury...Phoenix won the battle in the paint 36-24, anchored by Vodichkova's 20 in the lane...Los Angeles had 14 more offensive possessions than Phoenix...Phoenix finished 19-of-27 from the foul line and outrebounded LA 44-35...Phoenix won the season series 2-1, the first time in franchise history they have achieved that feat; LA leads the all-time series 24-7...Attendance was reported as 8,249.

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