San Antonio Silver Stars Defeat Phoenix and Take Two Game Win Streak Into Playoffs
Fresh off an important win over Indiana, and in what turned out to be a preview of their first-round
playoffs series, the San Antonio Silver Stars (14-20) used an impressive second half of play Sunday to come away with an 83-82 win over the Phoenix Mercury (15-19). Sophia Young made a strong drive to the basket to complete a three-point play with just 0.9 seconds left to help win the game in dramatic fashion before 8,331 fans at the AT&T Center.
Playing their second full game without forward Chamique Holdsclaw, the Silver Stars knew it would take a total team effort to come away with the win and that is what Coach Sandy Brondello got from her team, though she felt there was room for improvement. " I have played in games where key players are out and sometime your lose that little mental focus," said Brondello. "We had stretches where we were good and stretches where we weren't so good."
Phoenix jumped out to a 6-0 lead to start the game before Michelle Snow got San Antonio on the board with a turnaround jump shot at the 7:51 mark of the first quarter. Snow would go on to score six points in the quarter. Teammate Ashley Battle scooped in a layup with 1:31 left in the quarter to help the Silver Stars take a 17-16 lead but Phoenix used back-to-back baskets to close out the quarter and take a 20-17 lead.
"Their bench players came in and were being aggressive. It was hard for us to contain some of the penetration, particularly of their guards, and we gave up some open threes," said Brondello. Phoenix opened the game by hitting three consecutive shots from behind the arc and finished the first quarter with a total of four three pointers.
San Antonio was able to outscore Phoenix 20-15 in the second quarter as they shot 50 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from behind the arc. Their defense tightened up and held Phoenix to just 26.7 percent from the field but the Mercury did manage to go 2-of-4 on three-point shooting. Becky Hammon helped lead the way for Silver Stars in the second quarter as she scored five points to go along with a couple of assists. Two of her points came with just 19 seconds to go in the half when she scored on a driving layup to help San Antonio take a 37-35 lead into the locker room at halftime.
After a Snow layup just seconds into the second half, Hammon heated up from three-point land and nailed back-to-back three pointers to push the San Antonio lead out to 45-37 with 7:28 left in the third quarter. Phoenix was able to keep the lead down to single digits as they withstood a Hammon scoring barrage that resulted in 15 third quarter points for the Silver Star's guard. Her red hot shooting helped the Stars take a four point lead into the fourth quarter of play as they held a 61-57 advantage.
Phoenix wrestled the lead away from San Antonio by opening the fourth quarter on a 6-2 run, helping them take a 65-63 lead at the 7:51 mark of the fourth quarter. Snow answered with a jump shot to tie the game and then with just over a minute to play she stepped to the line and sank a pair of free throws to knot it all up at 77-77 with 1:07 left in the game.
Hammon got back in on the action a few moments later when her jump shot put San Antonio back out in front 79-77 with just 34 seconds to play in the game. Taylor Lilly then got lose on the other end allowing her to sink a three-pointer and all of a sudden Phoenix was holding a one point lead with 19 second left on the clock.
San Antonio's Sophia Young drew a foul on the next possession but managed to sink just one of two free throws leaving the game tied at 80-80. DeWanna Bonner promptly returned the favor for the Mercury as she managed to get fouled moments later allowing her to sink a pair of free throws and put Phoenix out in front 82-80.
That set the stage for a dramatic finish and a chance for the hometown crowd to get a taste of some playoff style excitement as San Antonio looked to tie the game up coming off a timeout with just 2.9 seconds left to play. Young delivered as she drove for a layup and managed to overcome the tenacious Phoenix defense to muscle in a layup and draw a foul sending her to the charity stripe with a chance to win the game. She then calmly stepped to the line with 0.9 on the clock and sank her free throw to put San Antonio out in front for good by a score of 83-82.
Teammate Michelle Snow expected nothing less from Young. "She was going to finish it. She does this
every day, she is a great finisher, said Snow. When asked about how she feels about her team and the upcoming playoffs, Snow is confident they are where they need to be. "Our team is at the right place at the right time, we are peaking and we are playing extremely well," said Snow.
Hammon finished with 30 points on the night with a remarkable 6-of-10 three pointers made and 12-of-17 from the field. Snow added 22 points to go along with seven rebounds and Sophia Young totaled 13 points and 10 rebounds. Phoenix was led in scoring and rebounding by Tangela Smith with 20 points and 12 boards.
2010 WNBA Conference Semifinals Schedule Local EDT Broadcast
Game 1 - Thu Aug. 26 San Antonio at Phoenix 6:00PM 9:00PM ESPN2
Game 2 - Sat Aug. 28 Phoenix at San Antonio 12:00PM 1:00PM ESPN2
Game 3* - Mon Aug. 30 San Antonio at Phoenix 7:00PM 10:00PM NBA TV
