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Saturday, Jun. 2 9:00pm ET
Stiles says chemistry developing | |||||
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PREVIEW
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GAME UPDATE
SALT LAKE CITY -- Sophia Witherspoon is as dependable as ever and Jackie Stiles is starting to find her famed scoring touch. Witherspoon scored 10 of her 23 points in the second half, including a key uncontested basket with 12.6 seconds to play, as the Portland Fire survived a late rally to beat the Utah Starzz 76-71 Saturday night. "There was no way we were going to let this game go," Witherspoon said. Stiles, the rookie from Southwest Missouri State who is the NCAA's women's career scoring leader, added 16 points and hit two late free throws to seal the victory as the Fire spoiled Utah's home opener before a noisy crowd of 6,813. Stiles struggled in the preseason, averaging only 7.5 points after going for 30.3 points per game this past college season. She blamed the dropoff on adjusting to the WNBA and settling in with her new team. "In the preseason, we didn't have much chemistry since we were rotating so many players in and out," she said. "Now, it helps so much because we can define our roles and build on that chemistry." Witherspoon was wide open underneath for an easy bucket after Utah's Marie Ferdinand missed a jumper with 19.6 seconds remaining. Witherspoon gave Portland a 74-68 lead after Utah had rallied from a 14-point deficit. It was nothing new for Witherspoon, who was Portland's leading scorer last season after doing the same for the New York Liberty in 1998 and 1999. "She really set the tone for them," said Utah coach Fred Williams. "She's always been a big-play player." Sylvia Crawley scored 13 points and had a career-high 15 rebounds for the Fire, who took advantage of Utah's foul trouble early in the second half. Natalie Williams had 13 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Starzz -- her 21st straight double-double game, dating to last season. Ferdinand scored 13, including 10 in the second half. Through the first eight minutes of the second half, the Starzz committed eight fouls and Portland scored 14 of its 18 points from the line. Williams and Margo Dydek, who had 13 points, each had five fouls with 13:35 still to play. "We improved a great deal as far as being aggressive and taking it to Natalie Williams and Margo Dydek," Witherspoon said. "We knew they were the key and if we could get those two out of the game, we'd have a chance to win." Portland, which lost all three games to Utah last season, used a 14-7 run to open the second half and build a 56-42 lead. "We definitely had an opportunity," Natalie Williams said. "Down the stretch, what put us in the doghouse was we kept getting fouls called. We put them on the line. We'd miss our free throws and not box out." The Starzz rallied with a 14-3 run over a span of 4:12, then tied it at 66 when Ferdinand hit a 16-foot jumper with 3:26 remaining. Jennifer Azzi's two free throws made it 68-all with 2:02 to play, but Portland held Utah scoreless until Korie Hlede's 3-pointer with 4.8 seconds to go. Stiles, who hit two foul shots with 3.8 seconds remaining, missed four minutes early in the second half after falling on her backside while driving for a missed layup against Dydek. The injury wasn't serious. "I don't know how I forgot she's 7-foot-2," Stiles said. "I just ran into her, kind of bounced off of her and fell on my tailbone." | ALSO SEE WNBA Scoreboard RECAPS New York 75 Indiana 58
Portland 76
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