WNBA Phoenix Mercury

Mercury Throttles Silver Stars 66-49

by Andrew Nordmeier
July 25, 2005 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Phoenix Mercury


The Phoenix Mercury used a 22-4 run to break open a close game and blow out the San Antonio Silver Stars 66-49 Saturday night at the SBC Center.

Phoenix (8-12) played most of the game without guard Diana Taurasi. She reinjured her knee hustling for a loose ball midway through the first half and didn't return.

"It's just a sprained knee. I sprained it a week ago and just re-hit it," Taurasi said, "It should be fine, but it'll just take awhile for it to heal."

With Taurasi down, Phoenix turned to its money player Penny Taylor. Taylor delivered with a game-high 22 points to guide the Mercury to its fifth win in its last six games. Taylor's night included 10-of-11 shooting from the free throw line. Kamila Vodichkova also added one of her better efforts of the year with a 19-point, 12-rebound outing.

"Vodichkova was huge for us with a double-double, Penny Taylor's scoring and Anna DeForge's defense on Ferdinand was huge for us," Phoenix Head Coach Carrie Graf said.

San Antonio (5-17) was done in by poor shooting in the second half and having All-Star Marie Ferdinand be a no-show for most of the game.

"Our offense was poor," Silver Stars' Head Coach Dan Hughes said, "We shot poorly and forced the action to create a lot of goals near the basket, based on our inability to hit on the perimeter."

The Silver Stars trailed the Mercury 36-33 with 17:03 left and that's when the Silver Stars went cold. Stone cold. We're talking top of Mount Everest cold.

Over the next 12:03, Phoenix put the big run together and took a close game and made it into a laugher, leading 58-37 with five minutes left. Only a Wendy Palmer-Daniel basket and a pair of Ferdinand free throws kept it from being 12 minutes of shutout basketball.

Ferdinand went 0-for-8 from the field and her only points came on four free throws. Katie Feenstra led the way for San Antonio with 12 points and eight rebounds. No other Silver Star scored more than eight.

Phoenix started off fast, leading by as many as 15 just six minutes in. Foul trouble put the Mercury in the penalty with 5:27 left in the opening half. San Antonio clawed its way back into the game with two field goals and seven-of-eight shooting from the line to get within four at halftime, 31-27.

The Mercury will try to inch closer to the fourth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference when they host Los Angeles Tuesday night at America West Arena. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2.

Notes: You wouldn't tell it from the scoreboard, but Phoenix's offense also took a five-minute break in the first half. The Mercury went without a point in a 5:55 span until Taylor's three-pointer with exactly six minutes left in the opening half...Phoenix leads the season series 3-0 over San Antonio...The Silver Stars started out the second half going 3-of-16 from the floor and wound up committing 21 turnovers...The 49 points allowed is the fourth-best defensive effort in Phoenix history...The Silver Stars never led...Attendance was 9,098

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