Brittney Griner of the Phoenix Mercury controls the ball against Joyner Holmes of the Los Angeles Sparks in their WNBA game in Los Angeles. Photo: AFP
Brittney Griner played just fine in her first WNBA game in more than a year and a half - but her Phoenix Mercury team fared poorly in a 94-71 season-opening loss to the Sparks in Los Angeles.
Griner, returning from a full-season absence while she was detained in a Russian prison on drug-related charges, scored a game-high 18 points and added six rebounds and four blocks in 25 minutes and helped Phoenix build an 11-point lead during the first quarter. But that quickly fizzled.
"It's hard just taking a break anyway in between seasons," Griner said.
"I remember I had a month off one time, and I thought it was death. By the All-Star Game, I hope to be exactly where I want to be ... just getting back to how it was before all this happened."
The Sky, who beat the Mercury in the 2021 WNBA Finals in Griner's last action before Friday, took control by outscoring Minnesota 22-3 in the second quarter as the Lynx made just 1 of 15 shots from the floor and turned the ball over 11 times.
"It's our first game, so the rhythm needed to catch up with us," Sky coach James Wade said. "The cohesion was there; we just had to find our footing. I felt that we would settle down and get going because their intensity and desire were there."
Kahleah Copper scored 20 points and Alanna Smith added 15 points for the Sky, who trailed 24-22 entering the pivotal second quarter.
"Nobody had their head down," Copper said. "Nobody cracked. We kept coming together. ... It says a lot about the group and what we're trying to build as our identity."
- Reuters
