1. Chicagoland native Candace Parker came to town and gave the Sky its first sellout: late in the fourth, she fouled out, and the home team took L.A. to overtime behind 22 and 11 from the always-stellar Dupree.

Good news, overall? A promising night for the Sky? Not really: Fowles went down after an awkward rebound and left the game with a hurt knee. We'll know soon how bad it is; the word, right now, is "strain."

"I'm tired of these moral victories," said coach Key. As for Parker: "It's great to come home."

2. Minnesota remained undefeated by just barely beating the still-winless Dream.

In Atlanta, Betty Lennox went off against her old team; Wiggins, scoreless in the first half, came off the bench to score 22 in the second. "You have an advantage being on the bench where you can see sort of what’s going on," she said.

3. Houston won a game, edging the so-far-disappointing Silver Stars. Ajavon scored 15 but shot 6-21.

That's an odd stat line, but coach Thompson seems not to mind: "Matee is a rookie, but she's looking more and more like a vet," she commented. "Teams will always clamp down on Tina, so to have someone else willing to take that shot or dive for that loose ball is going to make us a better team."

4. The Mercury won a game too, defeating the so-far not-very-good Mystics with difficulty in Phoenix by making some late free throws. "We've a long way to go," Coach Gaines remarked, "but the elephant is off my chest."

We didn't stay up to watch the game, frankly, but it looks as if ESPN2 got the kind of high-scoring hot-shooting match they want when the Merc's on the tube. Diana tallied 29; Alana had 33, including an unreal six of eight from downtown.

5. The Liberty crushed the Storm at the Garden: the home team won the first quarter 22 to 6.

One reason for the hot start: Essence Carson, who got her first start last night. "I want to play a lot of people. It's a long season," coach Coyle said, clearly happy with the defensive energy the former Scarlet Knight shows.