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Mercury-Silver Stars Preview

Jun 22, 2009 - 6:44 PM By KATE HEDLIN STATS Writer

Phoenix (5-2) at San Antonio (1-3), 7:30 p.m. EDT

Becky Hammon couldn't lead San Antonio to a win over the Phoenix Mercury earlier this month. The Silver Stars, though, like their chances to win Tuesday night's rematch better with their star guard expected back in the lineup.

Hammon should on the court for the Silver Stars after missing two games as San Antonio faces the Mercury at the AT&T Center.

Hammon was absent for her WNBA team's last two contests while playing for Russia in the European women's championships. Without her, the Silver Stars (1-3) lost 77-61 at New York on Friday and fell 71-58 at Connecticut on Sunday.

Hammon averaged 18.0 points and 6.0 assists in her first two games and should provide an offensive boost for San Antonio, the lowest-scoring team in the WNBA at 65.3 points a game.

She may not be able to bring her team a win against Phoenix, however. Hammon had 20 points and eight assists June 6 but the Mercury (5-2) rolled past the Silver Stars 90-79.

While Hammon is expected back, guard-forward Vickie Johnson and reserve guard Shanna Crossley are uncertain for Tuesday. Johnson missed Sunday's game following a death in the family while Crossley sat out with a sprained left knee.

Without those three players, the Silver Stars were outrebounded 38-31 by the Sun and held to 10 points in the fourth quarter, going scoreless for the first 3:21 of the period.

"I thought we competed well in our situation, but Connecticut played well enough to win," coach Dan Hughes said. "The ability to get to the glass was probably the separation factor."

Hughes' team looks to avoid a third straight loss when it faces the Mercury, who dropped into a tie with Seattle for the Western Conference lead with a 93-84 loss to the Storm on Sunday. That snapped Phoenix's three-game winning streak.

Playing their third game in five days, the Mercury were outscored 34-20 in the first quarter. They closed to within three late in the game before suffering their first home loss in nine contests.

"Whenever you come out with less energy than you want to and they get out to a big lead, it's hard to get back into the game and when you finally do, it's taken all the energy out of you," said guard-forward Diana Taurasi, who scored 25 points. "We've got to do a better job of coming out from the first quarter and setting the pace early."

The Mercury were outrebounded 37-22 and shot 41.5 percent from the floor. Phoenix tops the league with 92.0 points per game and is among the leaders in field-goal percentage at 46.0, but is near the bottom of the WNBA with a 32.9 rebounding average.

"(The rebounding) really hurt us," coach Corey Gaines said. "Rebounding is the thing. If we don't get the rebound, we can't run."

Gaines' team plays its next three and four of five on the road, with the upcoming three-game trip coming over a five-day period.

The Silver Stars will look to do a better job of containing Mercury rookie DeWanna Bonner, who had 16 points and 11 rebounds against them earlier this month.

While Phoenix took the first meeting with San Antonio this year, the Silver Stars swept the three-game season series in 2008. The Mercury, though, have take three of the last four matchups at the AT&T Center.