Diana Taurasi came 'home' last night to a sellout crowd on the Reservation, but it was Taj McWilliams-Franklin drawing the hosannas with 25 points and nine rebounds in the Sun's 85-68 win over Phoenix. Nykesha Sales added 21 points. Katie Douglas chipped in 11 points and Lindsay Whalen had six assists. The Sun have won 5 of 7 games.

For the Mercury, Anna DeForge led with 20 points and a career-high nine assists, and Taurasi contributed 19 points. They didn't receive much help. The team held a closed-door meeting in the locker room after the game. The Mercury are a team missing starters Penny Taylor and Kamila Vodichkova, who are completing seasons in Europe. Taylor is expected to play Thursday when the Mercury host Seattle at America West Arena.

WNBA president Donna Orender was at the Mohegan Sun Arena to kick off All-Star game balloting, and talked to the Waterbury Republican-American about Taurasi. "She is one of those rare athletes who not only back up who she is with a phenomenal game, but she is this outstanding personality that people just adore. Not only does she speak volumes for women's basketball in the WNBA, but I think she speaks volumes for sport in general. She is like a Tiger Woods. She is like a Michael Jordan. She transcends. We have to get behind her and get her out there in a bigger way."

In other game action, the Sting upset the Sparks 84-75 behind Sheri Sam's 24 points and a sharp performance behind Dawn Staley. The Sting forced 20 turnovers, converting them into 22 points. Staley contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds in 34 minutes of mistake-free ball. It was Dawn's fourth career double-double. For the Sparks, Chamique Holdsclaw recorded her fourth consecutive double-double, scoring 26 points and 11 rebounds two days after reaching the 3,000 point milestone. Lisa Leslie added 16 points and nine rebounds, and Tamika Whitmore had 14 points.