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Saturday, Jul. 15 7:00pm ET
79, 55 | |||||
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GAME UPDATE
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BOX SCORE
CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- All-Star guard Merlakia Jones led five players in double figures with 13 points as the Cleveland Rockers coasted to their fourth straight victory, 79-55 over the expansion Indiana Fever. Cleveland dominated from the start, jumping out to a 14-3 lead as Jones buried a three-pointer with 16:25 remaining in the first half. Jones shot 6-of-8 from the field. Defense also was a crucial aspect for the Rockers, who scored 22 points off 21 Fever turnovers. Rookie guard Helen Darling had three steals and Belgian rookie Ann Wauters and Chasity Melvin added two apiece for Cleveland, which harassed Indiana into 36 percent shooting (19-of-52). "We played a really solid basketball game," Cleveland coach Dan Hughes said. "I was a little concerned coming off a big win over Orlando and Indiana was coming off two big wins themselves and the fact they were playing back-to-back. We were fresh and that was a contributing factor, but we played very solid throughout the game." Wauters and Rushia Brown scored 11 points apiece and rookie Vikki Hall and Mery Andrade scored 10 apiece for Cleveland. After struggling for three weeks since the season-ending injury to starting forward Eva Nemcova, Cleveland heads into the All-Star break with a 12-8 mark. The Rockers improved to 2-0 against their Eastern Conference rivals and moved within a half-game of idle Orlando for first place. Rookie forward Danielle McCulley scored 17 points but was the only player to reach double figures for Indiana, which had its winning streak snapped at two games and was outrebounded, 30-18. "The Rockers are a good team, there's no question," Fever coach Anne Donovan said. "But we came out with zero energy and zero effort. Anytime the momentum we tried to muster was just squashed. It is disappointing. We had two great wins and then we came here and didn't even compete." Wauters came off the bench to block three shots, hit all four of her shots and grab eight rebounds in 20 minutes. "I think this is probably the best game I have had this year," Wauters said. "I think I am finally starting to adjust to the physical game and I am starting to fit in. Over here, its tougher competition. It is also different to have three games a week. It's really an aggressive and physical game, so I have to adapt to that." When Jones hit a 12-foot jumper from the sideline, the Rockers led 18-7 with 14:10 remaining in the opening period. They did not allow the Fever within single digits thereafter. Cleveland kept its offense in gear into the second half, opening its biggest lead at 66-36 on a jumper by Pollyanna Johns with 7:05 remaining. "We came out kind of laid back in the beginning," McCulley said. "We got off to that slow start and dug a hole for ourselves. Our defense was bad. When you have a team coming out and shooting over 50 percent from the field, it's kind of hard to beat that team. I just think we got outhustled." The Rockers shot 57 percent (33-of--58) and held a 42-24 advantage in points in the paint. | ALSO SEE WNBA Scoreboard RECAPS Charlotte 76 Washington 73
Cleveland 79 AUDIO/VIDEO   Cleveland's Suzie McConnell Serio scores off her own behind-the-back pass.avi: 1120 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 | |||||