Silver Stars set franchise record for points in win over Mercury

SAN ANTONIO -- Sophia Young scored 25 to help the San Antonio Silver Stars set a franchise record for points with a 106-89 win over the Phoenix Mercury on Saturday night.

The Silver Stars matched the WNBA record for points in the first half set by Seattle on Aug. 4, 2007 against Phoenix.

"I was enjoying the ball movement," said Silver Stars head coach Dan Hughes of his teams play. "They didn't need me at that point. Play calling was good. It was fun to watch. You don't get a lot of time as a coach where you feel there's a rhythm they could enjoy."

Young, who tied a career high with 29 points in Thursday's 95-83 loss to Phoenix, had 14 in the first half that helped San Antonio open up a 61-42 lead at the half.

Becky Hammon, who recorded a season low seven points in Thursday's loss, had 21 with six assists. Ann Wauters added 13 points, Megan Frazee 12 and Ruth Riley 10, as San Antonio (11-13) ended a two game losing streak, and a stretch that saw them lose five of their last seven.

"Defensively, I think we executed our game plan. That's always key for us," said Hammon. "When we're on top of our game defensively, most of the time we're on top of our game offensively. Just a great team win. Everyone walks away happy."

Diana Taurasi scored 21 points and Cappie Pondexter added 20 for the Mercury (17-8), who lead the Western Conference.

"I don't know, they [San Antonio] took care of business and played well," Phoenix coach Corey Gaines said. "We usually have six players in double figures, but that wasn't the case tonight and that definitely didn't help our cause."

Phoenix cut the deficit to 64-52 in the third quarter, but Hammon hit a 3-pointer to squash the rally.

Vicki Johnson reached a milestone by playing in her 400th WNBA game, which is more than any other player in league history. The 13-year veteran announced on June 11th that this would be her final season.