誇張的季前賽
83-44 新的鳳凰城果然不一樣！
New-Look Mercury Impressive in Preseason Debut
http://www.wnba.com/mercury/news/report_040508.html
By Steven Koek, PhoenixMercury.com
Posted: May 8, 2004
The Phoenix Mercury began the 2004 preseason Saturday
night with an impressive 83-44 win over the Seattle Storm.
Newcomer Penny Taylor, acquired with the first pick in
this off-season’s Dispersal Draft, led a balanced attack
with 13 points and pulled down a team-high five rebounds.
Rookie Diana Taurasi, the top selection in April’s WNBA
Draft playing in her professional debut and All-Star Adrian
Williams each scored 12 points.
“Whenever you get a win with a margin like that, I think
it’s confidence (building) for us,” said first-year
Head Coach Carrie Graf. “It’s all new and we’ve
got so many new young players. I think the girls are
enjoying the win right now, but we’ve got a long, hard
road ahead of us.”
In a game that was billed as a match-up between former
University of Connecticut stars Taurasi and Seattle’s
Sue Bird, it was a total team effort by the new-look
Mercury that took center stage. And while it was only
one preseason game, a runaway victory is a good start
in trying to erase memories of the dismal eight-win
season of a year ago.
“Mentally, it’s good to have a win,” Taylor
said. “Everyone here wants to win, regardless of
what happened last year. A win is a win and look at it
positively and take what you can from the game.”
Nikki McCray, the three-time All-Star signed as a
free agent to provide veteran leadership and a
defensive presence, did just that in scoring eight
points and creating four steals.
“Nikki focused on what she does well,” said
Graf. “She played some really nice defense.
She got a few fouls, but if you’re a defender,
you’re going to get a few fouls. She made baskets
that she can make. She slashed into the lane and
got a couple of lay-ups.”
The Mercury was without Kayte Christensen and
Plenette Pierson due to nagging injuries, but
everyone that was in uniform scored as Phoenix
outscored the Storm 48-13 in the second half.
Shareka Wright led reserves with 11 points in
a game-high 27 minutes, and Tamara Moore had
five steals and added nine points.
“We played a great second half and we’ve got to
be happy with that,” said Graf. “We learned a bit
of ourselves about how to control the momentum of
the game through our defense and ability to rebound aggressively.”
Local product produces
With her mom and several friends and former teammates
in the stands, Lindsay Taylor, a Chandler native, made
her presence be known in her first pro game. The 6-8 center
scored seven points and blocked a game-high four
blocks in 18 minutes off the bench.
“The first half I was really nervous,” she
said. “I knew I’d be nervous just going into the
game. After that, I knew I needed to use those minutes
as positive energy.”
“Four blocks and she may have changed another seven
or eight shots,” marveled Graf. “That kid was impressive.”
Taylor’s three-pointer put Phoenix up 65-42, igniting
a towel-waving explosion from the Mercury bench.
“I hit them during training camp and the coaches
know,” she said of her long-range shooting. “That’s
why I’m a trailer, so I can hit that shot. The
other teams don’t know that, but that is something
I’ve always been able to do, shoot the ball.
It’s just fun because they don’t expect it from
a 6-8 post player.”
The University of California-Santa Barbara product
did incur the wrath of the officials in getting
whistled for four fouls and understands she will need
to adjust after getting away with more physical
play during training camp workouts.
“In practice, it’s a lot more physical,” she
explained. “I was doing it during the game, and I
was getting fouls called for it. I just have to
learn the refs and learn how physical you can and
can’t be, and when to be physical. I was just
pushing the whole time because that’s what we
do in practice.”
--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc)
◆ From: 220.139.134.180
討論串 (同標題文章)
完整討論串 (本文為第 1 之 3 篇)：
1
1
WNBA 近期熱門文章
PTT體育區 即時熱門文章
