Seattle, WA – Tanisha Wright dropped 21 points and grabbed 61 thrashing of the Phoenix Mercury in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.
Camille Little scored 17 points and pulled down 11 rebounds and Lauren Jackson chipped in with 13 points for the defending champion Storm, who finished the regular season with a 21-13 mark and locked up the second seed.
Penny Taylor led the Mercury with 13 points and veteran guard Diana Taurasi scored 11 points for the 2009 champions, who were 19-15 in the regular season and finished third in the West.
The teams finished the first quarter tied at 19, but Seattle asserted its dominance over the Mercury the rest of the way, outscoring them in each of the final three quarters, including a 29-11 thumping coming out of halftime.
Phoenix struggled from the field, shooting only 29.7 percent, and turning the ball over 15 times, while Seattle shot 39.1 percent.
The Mercury will look to bounce back on Saturday as the teams will meet for Game 2 of the best-of-three series in Phoenix.
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