Mercury Rise To Occasion
Michele Timms scored 13 points, including 3 for 3 on 3-pointers, and the visiting Phoenix Mercury beat the Cleveland Rockers 68-63 Saturday.
Timms was one of four players in double figures for the Mercury.
Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman-Cline played 10 scoreless minutes for Phoenix, which improved to 2-1 and got its first road victory. Cleveland dropped to 1-2 before a crowd of 5,930.
Michelle Edwards led four doublefigure scorers for Cleveland with 14 points. She scored 12 in the second half, but left with 6:16 remaining after hyper-extending her left leg.
Mercury 68, Rockers 63
At Cleveland
PHOENIX (68) - Webb 2-3 3-4 7, Foster 3-9 3-4 9, Gillom 6-14 1-2 14, Pettis 5-15 3-4 14, Timms 4-5 2-4 13, Askamp 3-6 5-6 11, Jackson 0-2 0-0 0, Ambers 0-0 0-0 0, Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Lieberman-Cline 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-55 17-24 68.
CLEVELAND (63) - Nemcova 5-15 1-1 12, Braxton 5-8 2-2 12, Fijalkowski 4-7 3-6 11, Edwards 7-13 0-0 14, Woodard 4-9 0-0 8, Brown 0-1 0-0 0, Jones 1-4 0-0 2, Johnson 0-2 0-0 0, Nicholson 1-2 0-0 3, Boucek 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 27-61 7-11 63.
Halftime-Phoenix 33, Cleveland 25. 3-Point goals-Phoenix 5-11 (Timms 3-3, Gillom 1-1, Pettis 1-6, Lieberman-Cline 0-1), Cleveland 2-8 (Nicholson 1-1, Nemcova 1-5, Braxton 0-1, Edwards 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Phoenix 42 (Webb, Foster 7), Cleveland 35 (Braxton 12). Assists-Phoenix 13 (Timms 4), Cleveland 21 (Nemcova, Fijalkowski 5). Total fouls-Phoenix 19, Cleveland 22. Technicals-Timms. A-5,930.
Comets 76, Starzz 58
At Salt Lake City
Cynthia Cooper scored 20 points and the Houston bench combined for 34 points to lead the Comets to a win over Utah.
The Comets (3-1) had four players with double-figure scoring, including Tammy Jackson with 14 and Fran Harris with 13.
Utah’s Wendy Palmer, the only Starzz player to score in double-figures, had 14 points.
Houston, which hit 22 of 28 free throws and shot 50 percent from the field in the second half, never trailed again. Houston also dominated Utah on the boards, pulling down 36 rebounds to Utah’s 27.
HOUSTON (76) - Thompson 3-8 1-1 7, Arcain 1-6 2-2 4, Guyton 4-7 3-3 11, Perrot 0-1 0-0 0, Cooper 6-17 5-6 20, Woosley 2-7 0-0 5, Harris 2-6 7-8 13, Jackson 6-8 2-4 14, Pollini 0-2 0-0 0, Gay 0-0 2-4 2. Totals 24-62 22-28 76.
UTAH (58) - Palmer 6-17 2-5 14, Carter 2-8 2-2 6, Baranova 4-7 0-0 9, Hardmon 1-7 0-0 2, Reiss 1-5 0-0 2, Head 3-5 1-1 7, Booker 3-5 2-3 8, Williams 3-6 2-2 8, Hicks 0-0 0-0 0, Scott 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 24-61 9-13 58.
3-Point goals-Houston 6-15, (Cooper 3-6, Harris 2-4, Woosley 1-3, Thompson 0-2), Utah 1-9, (Baranova 1-1, Booker 0-1, Hardmon 0-1, Palmer 0-2, Reiss 0-2, Williams 0-2). Fouled out- None. Rebounds-Houston 49 (Guyton 9), Utah 36 (Carter, Baranova 6). Assists-Houston 9 (Cooper 3), Utah 18 (Palmer, Booker 4). Total fouls-Houston 18, Utah 22. A-6,529.