Diana has begun her two-game suspension for her fiery denunciations of Plenette Pierson and/or the league's refs. Cappie's still dealing with a hurt groin (she could come back next week). And Swoopes is still out.

Houston without Her Majesty versus Phoenix without their top two leading scorers? The teams were evenly matched, in the sense that both achieved, then blew huge leads: as you might expect if you follow the Mercury, they shot brilliantly early on, then let Houston surge ahead after halftime.

In the fourth quarter, though, the Merc got it back. Penny Taylor took over, finishing with 30; her team kept the Comets off the glass at the end. "We needed to get a win more than anyone realizes," Taylor declared. "Now we have a little bit of a break."

Crystal Smith worked hard for Houston, leading the visitors with 18. "It's always great to come back to play against your first team." she said.