Mercury Too Much for Rockers

Playoffs or no playoffs, the Cleveland Rockers can’t beat the Phoenix Mercury.

The Mercury made it four victories in four tries this season against the Eastern Conference champions with a 78-68 victory Saturday over the Rockers in the opener of the WNBA best-of-three semifinal playoffs.

“Jennifer Gillom,” Cleveland Coach Linda Hill-McDonald said when asked to explain how her team can be 0-4 against Phoenix and 20-7 against the rest of the league. “That’s the only explanation I have.”

Gillom broke out of a tough shooting night to score 14 of her 21 points in the second half for the Mercury.

“I think it’s due to our transition game really,” she said of Phoenix’s mastery of the Rockers. “We wore them down. Cleveland likes the half-court game, and we took them out of that. I think we’re just a lot quicker team.”

Michele Timms added 16 points, including three of three three-pointers, for Phoenix. Timms said she had been working with a sports psychologist for the playoffs.

Michelle Griffiths added 10 points for the Mercury, whose reserves outscored Cleveland’s bench, 20-12.

Isabelle Fijalkowski, Cleveland’s 6-foot-5 center, scored 20 points and Janice Braxton added 18. But the starting guards, Suzie McConnell Serio and Michelle Edwards, were a combined five for 16. Eva Nemcova had only six points on two-for-eight shooting.