SEATTLE - Despite having the odds stacked against them, the Seattle Storm managed to take the Phoenix Mercury into an extra period Thursday night, providing the 9,089 fans in attendance with another nail biter in a season of close games.  With injuries to key players Lauren Jackson, Sue Bird, Katie Gearlds, plus missing Swin Cash who was with family after the loss of her grandmother, the Storm played hard against a stellar Mercury team.  But Phoenix surged to victory in overtime, 92-84.

Tanisha Wright scored a game-high 24 points plus five assists and three rebounds. Photo by chuckarelei.

Brushing off the uphill challenge they faced in this game, guard Tanisha Wright said, “I think anytime we step on the court, no matter who is on the court with us, we expect to play a game and we expect to win a game.”

Wright led the Storm with another strong performance, scoring a game-high 24 points to go with three rebounds and five assists.  She also led the Storm with her seven turnovers.  Guard Shannon Johnson‘s 15 points were highlighted by some clutch layups as the shot clock expired.

“We are all professionals.  I’ve been playing for a long time, so I get the opportunity, I am going to try my best to knock it down,” said guard Shannon Johnson on stepping up to the responsibility to take the tough shot with the stars unavailable.

Camille Little (12 points) and Janell Burse (15 points) added nine rebounds and a block apiece.  Little was responsible for five turnovers as well. 

The Storm bench received a lift with some of the best play of the season from rookie forward Ashley Walker and center Suzy Batkovic-Brown.  Walker scored eight points to go with five rebounds while Batkovic-Brown added six points and six rebounds.

The story of the night was the strong play from injury replacement signings A’Quonesia Franklin and La’Tangela Atkinson.  Atkinson won the crowd over right out of the gate securing a defensive rebound and taking it the length of the floor for a layup shortly after checking into the game.  Her eight rebounds were highlighted by a third-quarter effort that saw her soar in from the perimeter to grab the rebound near the rim over the heads of the other nine players on the court. 

Atkinson was prepared to return to the league.

“I was excited and ready to play," she said. "I was focused.” 

She kept in shape after being waived by the Storm at the end of training camp so that she would be ready to contribute should she get the opportunity.  “Once I get the opportunity, I am going to go out and give 110 percent.  I just wanted to bring energy coming off the bench and I wanted to give a spark to the team.”

Atkinson had a single practice with the team after being surprised by the call from head coach Brian Agler this week.  Her hard work at the Coca-Cola plant over the past three weeks earned her enough respect from her manager to guarantee her job and allow her this week off as well as to be available for the playoffs should the Storm need her services. 

With the return of Bird and Cash the Storm will have the minimum nine players for the postseason barring another injury.  They will be unable to sign a player for the postseason even if both Lauren Jackson and Katie Gearlds remain on the injured list as long as no further injuries occur by the end of the week.

Agler noted the effort from his new signings.  “They were great. They did a great job for us, gave us good minutes.  La’Tangela was very active, gave us a lot of energy.  A’Quonesia, you know, she’s a little quarterback out there.  You know, she runs the show.”

The impressive effort by the Storm’s depleted roster was not enough to secure a win, though, as Phoenix controlled the overtime period with a 15-7 run. 

Phoenix star Diana Taurasi was not surprised by the difficulty her team faced defeating a short-handed Storm team. 

“This is the toughest place to play at, probably in the league.” 

She went on to praise the Storm’s coaching staff.

“You’re talking about a team coached by one of the best coaches in the world. You could have put in five Seattle Storm fans and they probably would have given us a game today.” 

Phoenix was led by stars Taurasi (22 points) and Cappie Pondexter (18 points) with strong performances from Le’Coe Willingham, Penny Taylor, Tangela Smith and Nicole Ohlde. 

The biased Key Arena crowd expressed their frustration at the three WNBA officials late in the overtime period when a foul was called on Batkovic-Brown as she blocked a Taurasi layup.  The replay on the arena monitors showed what appeared to be a clean block with no body contact.  However, Taurasi was sent to the line where her two free throws established a five-point lead for the Mercury which they managed to extend to a 92-84 victory in the final minutes of the overtime period.

The Storm, who have secured the second seed in the Western Conference, will end their season on the road in San Antonio on Saturday evening.  San Antonio is competing with Minnesota for the fourth and final slot in the playoffs and will likely need a win to make the postseason.  Seattle will face the third seed on the road to start the playoffs on Wednesday, September 16 on ESPN2.  Phoenix has secured the #1 seed in the Western Conference, but will face Los Angeles in Phoenix on Sunday and will secure home court throughout the post season with a victory.