Seldom was such a warm reception ever given to Marshall Faulk when he'd play a game in San Diego, or Vinny Testaverde when he'd travel to Miami to face the Dolphins.
Yet, for nearly five seasons, Phoenix Mercury phenom Diana Taurasi has traveled to the state where she became famous as a college player, and the crowd at Mohegan Sun Arena erupts with cheer as though the Pope is entering Yankee Stadium.
Taurasi, the former UCONN great scored a game-high 25 points as her Mercury (7-7) complete a season sweep of the Connecticut Sun (12-5). Phoenix won 87-80.
“I think we all enjoyed it. Today was fun," says Taurasi, who also tallied four defensive rebouns and . "It was two teams going at it really hard. Two teams that really wanted to win and it was a fun game to play in."
While Taurasi finished with the afternoon's highest number of individual points, teammate Tangela Smith earned the same honor for rebounds. She grabbed 11 boards (seven defensively, four offensively). Smith's career high in scoring came this Sunday, as she belted 21 points.
"I’m hitting shots that I’ve been getting," remarks the 6'4" center from the University of Iowa, "My teammates have been getting me the ball, so I’ve just been concentrating and staying aggressive.”
Getting Back To Business
Smith also applauds teammates for their top-notch play in recent weeks. After starting the season 0-4, the the defending WNBA champions have won 7 of their last 10 games, all without star forward Penny Taylor, who opted to spend the spring and summer months at home in Australia practicing for the Olympics. Many Mercury players are also still getting adjusted to first year head coach Corey Gaines' play style.
"We are learning on the run, so its kind of tough," admits Gaines. "We didn’t have a training camp and players came in on day of games. You have to learn by working at it."
Still Basking In The Sun
The Sun have worked at staying in first place all through the still young 2008 season. The loss however drops them to 12-5, and into a first-place tie with Detroit in the eastern conference.
"We keep digging ourselves these holes and we keep coming back and coming back," says a dejected Lindsay Whalen. "A couple of nights we were able to come back but it comes back to bite us and we have to figure that out.”
Whalen was second in scoring for Connecticut (14 points) behind only Asjha Jones (16 points). Jones also took home the team-high rebounding number, 9.
The Sun will now make ready for the red-hot Houston Comets, who visit Uncasville having won four straight.
The Mercury Tuesday will complete the fifth and final leg of their longest road trip of the year. They will travel to Atlanta for a rendezvous with the Dream.
"We just have to stay together," says Smith. "We were going away from what we were doing last year, but we went back to it."
