Mercury 71 - 78 Storm
Final
  for this game

Storm begin title defense with defeat of Mercury

Jun 4, 2011 - 9:13 PM Seattle, WA (Sports Network) - Camille Little had 18 points and nine rebounds as the Seattle Storm began their 2011 season with a 78-71 win over the Phoenix Mercury.

Sue Bird had 13 points and 10 assists while Swin Cash added 10 points for the Storm, who won their second WNBA title last season.

Reigning MVP Lauren Jackson had 15 points and seven rebounds for Seattle, which went undefeated at home last season and tied a WNBA record for regular season wins with 28.

Diana Taurasi, who won her fourth scoring title last season, had a game-high 31 points for the Mercury, who finished last season 15-19 and swept San Antonio in the first round of the playoffs.

This was a rematch of last season's Western Conference Finals, which saw Seattle take a 2-0 win in the best-of-three series.

Seattle held a 40-35 lead at the break and extended that to 60-47 after three quarters.

It was a 19-point game with 4:23 to play after Little made a jump shot to give Seattle a 75-56 advantage.

Phoenix made a late push as a Taurasi jumper with 16.1 seconds to play made it a 76-71 contest, but Cash put in a layup on the following possession to seal the win.






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