The Mercury controlled the second quarter in truly lopsided fashion, in front of a sold-out Mohegan crowd.
Connecticut won anyway. In the franchise's first-ever game without Sales, Katie Douglas excelled, Taj cornered the market on rebounds, Jones hit big shots, and Whalen-- along with Jamie Carey-- put the ball where it had to be; the Sun's 19-minute climb from a 19-point deficit-- and the fact that both teams like to run-- made the second meeting between these two teams the most thrilling TV game this year.
Reversing the pattern Sun fans expect, the last of many big plays was a Whalen field goal on an assist from Jones; double-teamed, a few feet from the basket, Asjha found Lindsay open under the backboard and across the paint: Lindsay sank an uncontested layup just before the shot clock expired.
The make put the Sun up by three with 00:50 to go. Jones: "I didn't know there were two seconds left." Whalen: "I just heard everyone yelling 'shot clock!'"
Merc fans will gnash their teeth, and Sun fans will rejoice, but the game well could have gone the other way, as several late jumpers from Merc shooters rimmed out. Phoenix, again, showed what's right, and what's wrong, with their pace: hot early, Westhead's trio of starting guards get tired, and tend to lose effectiveness in the last frame. One might think Crystal Smith could alleviate this problem, but Westhead gave her a DNP.
The Merc, again, appeared to have just one rebounder, the intrepid Vodichkova; the Czech center outmuscled Dydek, but couldn't outmuscle the combo of Taj and Jones, who both collected double-doubles. The home team also walloped the Merc at the line, with 22 makes to the visitors' 10, even though only three Sun players shot free throws at all.
Taj-- who had to overcome fourth-quarter back spasms-- called the win "unreal." Douglas says her team never doubted itself. Whalen-- who also exclaimed, to reporters, "Yes!"-- elaborated: "Jamie [Carey] told me that the best part about basketball is that there's a second half."
Lindsay thanks fans as she heads for the All-Star Game, where someone must replace the injured Sales.
Connecticut won anyway. In the franchise's first-ever game without Sales, Katie Douglas excelled, Taj cornered the market on rebounds, Jones hit big shots, and Whalen-- along with Jamie Carey-- put the ball where it had to be; the Sun's 19-minute climb from a 19-point deficit-- and the fact that both teams like to run-- made the second meeting between these two teams the most thrilling TV game this year.
Reversing the pattern Sun fans expect, the last of many big plays was a Whalen field goal on an assist from Jones; double-teamed, a few feet from the basket, Asjha found Lindsay open under the backboard and across the paint: Lindsay sank an uncontested layup just before the shot clock expired.
The make put the Sun up by three with 00:50 to go. Jones: "I didn't know there were two seconds left." Whalen: "I just heard everyone yelling 'shot clock!'"
Merc fans will gnash their teeth, and Sun fans will rejoice, but the game well could have gone the other way, as several late jumpers from Merc shooters rimmed out. Phoenix, again, showed what's right, and what's wrong, with their pace: hot early, Westhead's trio of starting guards get tired, and tend to lose effectiveness in the last frame. One might think Crystal Smith could alleviate this problem, but Westhead gave her a DNP.
The Merc, again, appeared to have just one rebounder, the intrepid Vodichkova; the Czech center outmuscled Dydek, but couldn't outmuscle the combo of Taj and Jones, who both collected double-doubles. The home team also walloped the Merc at the line, with 22 makes to the visitors' 10, even though only three Sun players shot free throws at all.
Taj-- who had to overcome fourth-quarter back spasms-- called the win "unreal." Douglas says her team never doubted itself. Whalen-- who also exclaimed, to reporters, "Yes!"-- elaborated: "Jamie [Carey] told me that the best part about basketball is that there's a second half."
Lindsay thanks fans as she heads for the All-Star Game, where someone must replace the injured Sales.
posted by Jessie B at 5:23 AM
