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Sun-Mercury Preview

Jun 19, 2010 - 6:13 PM By BRETT HUSTON STATS Writer

Connecticut (7-3) at Phoenix (5-6), 6:00 p.m. EDT

Rookie Tina Charles has helped Connecticut finally figure out how to win away from home, but Diana Taurasi and the Phoenix Mercury stand in the Sun's way of completing a winning road trip.

The two most recent No. 1 overall draft picks from the University of Connecticut square off for the first time Sunday in Phoenix, where the Sun haven't won since 2005.

Taurasi averaged 17.0 points as a rookie after being the WNBA's top pick in 2004, and Charles is off to an equally impressive start after Connecticut (7-3) made her the No. 1 selection this year.

Coming off a two-point effort last Sunday in a loss at Indiana during the worst game of her brief career, the 6-foot-4 center bounced back with her best, pouring in 26 points and grabbing a team-record 19 rebounds Friday in a 78-75 win at Los Angeles.

The Sun were 0-3 on the road this season and had dropped 11 in a row away from home dating to last season.

With Connecticut trailing 57-41 in the third quarter, Charles scored eight points during a 20-0 run. Her 15.5-point average leads all rookies, and her 10.9 rebounds per game are the most in the Eastern Conference.

Taurasi, meanwhile, leads the league with 23.0 points per game, and she scored a WNBA season-high 39 Friday against San Antonio. But Phoenix (5-6) blew a 15-point lead in the third quarter, and the defending champions fell 108-105.

"All those free throws in the second half just really slowed the game down," coach Corey Gaines said. "It slows the game down to a crawl and it's almost like calling 20 timeouts. The game just had way too many stoppages and when it wasn't for free throws it was because of a clock stoppage. Those sort of things hurt us."

The Mercury might be in good position to bounce back. Phoenix has beaten Connecticut five straight times overall, and Taurasi has averaged 26.5 points as it's won four straight over the Sun at US Airways Center.

Taurasi is getting plenty of help on the league's highest-scoring team (93.4 points per game) with four teammates averaging double figures. Charles, though, could benefit from more consistency from former Huskies teammate Renee Montgomery.

Montgomery is averaging 14.3 points and shooting 46.9 percent at home, but she's been held to 10.0 points per game and shot 30.9 percent on the road.