Phoenix zoomed way ahead of the Silver Stars, then played well enough to preserve the W. Over 10K fans watched Paul Westhead's high-speed squad pick up where they left off.

The Diana, just back from Russia via her sister's wedding, did well and got help. New Merc acquisition Tan Smith looked wonderful (the team needed height-- and Westhead's style suits her); Kelly Miller had a superb first half.

San Antonio couldn't remember how to play basketball until too late. ""If we'd have been sitting down 10 or 11, this would have been a heck of a finish," coach Hughes said.

"We will be a better basketball team than we [showed] tonight," says coach Westhead, "so I'm excited." Should his Merc worry, again, that their uptempo style generates late-game fades?