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WNBA Phoenix Mercury

Mercury Wins Over Detroit, Loses Stepanova

by Andrew Nordmeier
August 17, 2005 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Phoenix Mercury


The good news for Phoenix Mercury fans is that they are playing well as a team right now. So good that All-Star guard Diana Taurasi can score zero points and the Mercury (14-14) can win like they did over the Detroit Shock Tuesday night at America West Arena.

They can get obliterated on the boards with Detroit (14-15) taking a decisive 51-34 edge on the glass and still win. They got a lot of help from Detroit's poor second half shooting and came away with a 58-51 win.

"When you shoot 4-for-31 in the second half that's embarrassing basketball," Shock Head Coach Bill Laimbeer said, "We thought we had the game in control. We didn't want the game as much as they did."

Coupled with Sacramento's 72-63 win over Los Angeles, Phoenix holds a one-game lead over Minnesota for the fourth spot in the west. The Mercury is just a game behind Houston for third place and a game-and-a-half behind Seattle for second.

After the game, it was announced the Phoenix center Maria Stepanova would be leaving the team and heading back to Russia to help out her nation's women's basketball team.

"It's the decision of the president of the Russian basketball federation," Stepanova said via translation from center Kamila Vodichkova, "I'm very sorry about leaving but will go back home with a good feeling about the team."

If Phoenix makes it to the WNBA Finals, she may come back and said she wants to come back next year.

Taurasi kept an upbeat attitude despite losing a 6-foot-8 center.

"We didn't climb this hill to just let it go back down because we're losing one player," she said, "It's going to be hard to lose Stepanova. She might be our MVP with her scoring ability and size."

The Shock started out fast, leading by as many as 10 points 7:45 into the game. They also had an advantage as Taurasi and Vodichkova each had three fouls for Phoenix and forced the Mercury into a 2-3-zone defense.

With Phoenix in the zone, Detroit wiped the boards clean. They finished with 18 offensive rebounds, 11 of them coming in the first half. The Shock held a 28-13 edge on the glass at the break but only a 36-33 lead on the scoreboard.

"The biggest thing was that we got absolutely smashed on the glass in the first half," Mercury Head Coach Carrie Graf said, "we turned it around and matched them in the second half."

The only thing that kept it close for Phoenix was the play of guard Anna DeForge. She scored 12 of her game-high 14 points in the first half including a pair of threes to keep Phoenix in striking range.

It would be impossible to print the halftime speech the Mercury got without using expletives but it motivated the team and they took control.

The Shock couldn't hit from the field and the Mercury capitalized with an 8-2 run in the first four minutes to seize a 41-38 lead. The Shock used three of their four second-half field goals to tie the game at 47 with 11:16 left.

"It says something about our team. You don't anticipate beating a team like Detroit when one of your star players doesn't score a basket," Graf said, "It shows the depth and character of our team."

After that point, their only other scoring came on free throws from Plenette Pierson, Cheryl Ford and a basket by Ruth Riley. Riley's basket with 6:06 left was Detroit's final score of the night and tied the game at 51-51.

"It doesn't matter how many points you score. If you get a win you did your job. Taurasi said of her lowest offensive output, "Personally, you don't want to end up with a goose egg on the night but sometimes it happens."

Stepanova and DeForge led all scorers with 14 each. Vodichkova and Penny Taylor added 11 each in the win. Katie Smith paced Detroit with 11 while Cheryl Ford chipped in 10 in the losing effort.

"I thought our team didn't show in the second half which is very discouraging," Laimbeer said, "We didn't want to win the game."

Phoenix has a tough stretch ahead when they head to Houston Thursday to tangle with the Comets before hosting San Antonio Friday and Minnesota Sunday.

Notes: Phoenix finished its longest home stand of the year with a 4-1 mark, losing only to Indiana...The Mercury split the season series 1-1 and avenged a 66-63 loss at Detroit on July 31st when they blew a 17-point lead in the second half...The 15 points in the second half is the second stingiest the Mercury defense has played in a half; they held Seattle to 14 second-half points August 15, 2003...The only other time Taurasi didn't score was when she left the August 1, 2004 game against Washington four minutes in with an injury...Phoenix is 11-4 since July 2nd and is tied with Connecticut for the best record in the league since that date.

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