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CamrnCrz1974 · Joined: 16 Jun 2003 Posts: 1687 Location: Central Phoenix

Three in a row...time for four.

Keys to the game:

1) Three-point defense. Washington shoots 38 percent from three. The Mystics have made over 100 three-point shots in 17 games. The most dangerous players, however, are the frontcourt players...DeLisha Milton-Jones and Charlotte Smith-Taylor. Penny and Kamila will need to step out and defend the perimeter.

2) Halfcourt game. Washington has a lot of athletic players and is much better in an open-court situation. In victories, Washington scores over 71 points per game; in losses, the Mystics score 63 points per game. Phoenix must execute in halfcourt sets and extend its defense to prevent the transition game, in constrast to what was necessary against Charlotte. Phoenix cannot get into a running contest with Washington, as the Mercury do not have the athletes.

3) Getting to the line. Mystics' opponents' have made 41 more free throws this season. And the Mystics are not a great foul-shooting team. Phoenix will need the post players and Shereka Wright to draw fouls and get to the line early and often. An early understanding of how the game is going to be called is key. To win, Phoenix needs to attempt 8-10 more free throws than the Mystics.

caune · Joined: 12 Jun 2002 Posts: 1542 Location: Phoenix

Oh and don't forget to frustrate the hell out of DMJ so she gets t-'d up and tossed;)

SportsFan48 · Joined: 12 Jun 2002 Posts: 1107

My keys to the game are similar to the keys for Charlotte. Outscore them and we should win.

I like cuane's idea. :wink:

cam, as usual, you are right on. Hope to see you there!!

1carol · Joined: 17 Jul 2003 Posts: 1014 Location: Phoenix AZ

Quote: http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0705/243662.html
abcNews Friday July 15
Mystics, Mercury Contend With Player Rivalry

Phoenix (AP) - When the Washington Mystics take on the Phoenix Mercury on Friday, all eyes will be on two players.

Washington's DeLisha Milton-Jones and Diana Taurasi of the Mercury are accusing each other of playing dirty in their June 21 game at MCI Center. Milton-Jones charged at Taurasi at one point in that game, but another player intervened before there were any blows.

The Mystics went on to win that game 77-56.

Both teams enter Friday's matchup playing well. Washington has won three of four and six of eight. They're in position to move two games over .500 for the first time since the 2002 season.

Phoenix won a season-best third straight with an 82-62 victory over visiting Charlotte on Wednesday.
Phoenix is 5-1 all-time at home against Washington.
Diana won't take any cr*p from D'Nasty but... my bet is on Diana keeping her cool. Tho I do have a hunch that both, having tested the waters & then some, will be reasonably OK to each other (key word being "reasonable). :twisted: :lol:

mb · Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2005 4:12 pm Post subject:

Diana may be sitting out tonight, as a precaution due to a minor knee injury.

Dunkin' Dan · Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2005 7:40 pm Post subject:

A bright start to the half, but as the game has progressed our weakness in the back court has become more apparent.
It's going to take a special team effort to get this one done.
(and so far Penny is certainly doing her best to make that happen! :D )

dcalleast · Joined: 28 Aug 2004 Posts: 8

Well, I'm happy. And Kudos to Penny!

Dunkin' Dan · Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2005 8:34 pm Post subject:

Is Penny kicking butt or what! :D :D

PTFan14 · Joined: 07 Jan 2004 Posts: 37 Location: OHIO

Wow!! Penny had a great game!! I miss watching her play so much! To get this win without DT is BIG!! Unfortunately Minnesota and Seattle both won tonight too. I hope we can keep up the great play!!
GP PENNY-u ROCK!!

Dunkin' Dan · Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2005 9:02 pm Post subject:

4 in a row! Me likeee very much :)
Washington pushed all the way, but we hung in there.
Judging by what I heard on the radio, Maria & Kamila made some key plays down the stretch to keep edging us in front, and even Anna showed up in the last couple of minutes after her 2nd-half disappearing act.

But when all is said & done, the biggest stat line belongs to Penny.
31 points @ 62%, 7 rebounds, 7 assists & 3 steals in a full 40 minutes of play-till-I-drop basketball. That caps off an outstanding fortnight of basketball for P-Money.
:D

SportsFan48 · Joined: 12 Jun 2002 Posts: 1107

There were a lot things happening in tonights game that would not show up on a stat line or maybe in the play by play of the radio.

We got good games out of our regular starters. Shereka started and did not really have an impressive stat line, but she played okay. She had a big bandage around her left hand and I have to think it may have bothered her shot and some ball control.

We didn't get much statistical support from the bench in points or rebounds, but the minutes played by our bench were productive. I was impressed with Ashley's aggressive moves to the basket and her rebounds, while sparse, were very timely. Angelina didn't do much in scoring but she was a factor in ball control and pure speed and hustle.

I liked Ivey's minutes. She came into the game at a critical point when the Mercury were turning the ball over a lot and seemed to have a calming effect. She was a little rusty but she can use this next week to get herself familiar with her new team.

Anna played a very solid game. She and Penny set the stage early in the game and while her shooting opportunities cooled off dramatically, she was still a factor. She had Alana practically tatooed to her all night long and that is not easy on any offensive player. But the fact that she was so hot early on, forced Washington to guard her. She also had one of the tougher defensive assignments, as usual. Her rebounds were key too.

And Penny....well you can not say enough about her. She had such an awesome game. She really took on the leadership role with Dee on the bench. I don't know how much motivation she has with her fiance on the sidelines, but if he is a factor....then he must stay, go on road trips, whatever. She totally took the momentum back when it looked like Washington was going to pass us up. She put us up by 5 very quickly and the Mercury never looked back.

Kamila was solid as usual. She is such a tough defender and a very smart player. We are very fortunate to have her in Phoenix.

Maria's presense in the paint is huge. She changed several shots...shots that missed. She still plays farther away from the basket more often than I prefer, but when she gets around the bastet with the ball, she is unstoppable.

I have seen enough WNBA games to realize that close games are usually won by the team who is the most aggressive coming out of the timeout that occurs around the 10 minute left mark. PJ's steal, the flagant foul and her subsequent free throws and three pointer were the turning point of the game.

Coaching was good too. It is amazing how much winning makes the coach better. It seemed the Mercury had the right personnel in at the right times for most of the game.

Good game, good effort all round.

kjg · Joined: 20 Feb 2004 Posts: 83 Location: NE Wisconsin

Last night's win was a big, big win, especially without Diana. Great game by Penny and others stepped up as well. Being at home for a stretch has really helped and I think the Maria-Kamilla tandem inside has taken some of the pressure off of the perimeter so they're getting better looks.
Nice job starting the thread, Cam, 4 in a row! I strongly recommend Cam start the thread for next Thursday. Gotta keep a good thing going!

caune · Joined: 12 Jun 2002 Posts: 1542 Location: Phoenix

Maria and Kamilla are making the difference because they can hit jumpers so they have to guarded so that frees up the perimeter players.
And it doesn't hurt that Penny is now very occasionally getting a call when she gets pounded on her way to the hoop!

Last nights game was just plain fun to watch!

Dunkin' Dan · Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2005 5:33 pm Post subject:

caune wrote: Last nights game was just plain fun to watch!

That game was even fun to listen to :)
When Penny hit that 3 down the stretch I even caught myself doing a little fist-pump & letting out a Lleyton Hewitt-style "C'monnnn!!"

caune · Joined: 12 Jun 2002 Posts: 1542 Location: Phoenix

Hey Dunkin Dan, did you hear the shout out to you on the radio? MB was sitting near the radio guy and yelled something for you :wink:
Do you listen to all the broadcasts? Cause I think a shout out to the fans down under from K Ray is definetely in order!

Dunkin' Dan · Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2005 8:56 pm Post subject:

caune wrote: Hey Dunkin Dan, did you hear the shout out to you on the radio?
D'oh! No, I didn't notice it. What did he say?

Quote: Do you listen to all the broadcasts?
The Friday night games are a never-miss thing, because they happen about 10:00am on a Saturday morning in my time, so I sleep in until the game starts and then eat breakfast with the computer speakers cranked up.
Games during the week are more hit & miss, depending on how busy I am at work. I almost always have the audio going, but how much I actually get to hear can vary.

Our office computer guy used to always be on everyone's back about 'wasting bandwidth' on internet radio, downloads, or whatever, but lately I haven't heard any complaints - even after watching a couple of full video webcast games - so I continue to push my luck :)

Thanks for the shout out, mb! 8)

mb · Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2005 11:05 pm Post subject:

During the game, when the arena became somewhat quiet I yelled, "Dunkin' Dan (used proper name), if you're listening, Penny's a ledge!"

During her postgame interview, mr anderso and I shouted "Penny's a ledge!" in unison.

CamrnCrz1974 · Joined: 16 Jun 2003 Posts: 1687 Location: Central Phoenix

Quote: Nice job starting the thread, Cam, 4 in a row! I strongly recommend Cam start the thread for next Thursday. Gotta keep a good thing going

More than happy to oblige. Lets keep this up. If we can finish 12-5 or 11-6 at home, we will have a good shot at the playoffs.