Mercury Rises to Occasion

The Phoenix Mercury used a 27-point performance Bridget Pettis and a secret weapon imported from Russia to advance to the WNBA finals on Tuesday night.

Pettis and 19-year-old Russian Maria Stepanova, a seldom-used reserve seeing her first playoff action, sparked Phoenix on a 19-0 run that led the Mercury to a 71-60 victory over the Cleveland Rockers in the deciding Game 3 of their semifinal series.

The Mercury will face the defending champion Houston Comets in the best-of-three finals that begin Thursday night in Phoenix. Houston won the Western Conference regular-season title by eight games over Phoenix.

“This is very exciting,” Pettis said. “Going back home is one thing really going for us. Houston is a great team, but we have shown we can beat them.”

Stepanova, a 6-foot-8 rookie who averaged 3.3 points in the regular season, had six points, two rebounds, a blocked shot, a steal and an assist during a decisive six-minute run that put Phoenix ahead, 57-39.

“You could say I was well-rested,” Stepanova said through an interpreter. “I was very ready to play but I didn’t expect to play that much.”

Stepanova also picked up six fouls in nine minutes of action, fouling out with 5:27 left. By then, Phoenix led, 59-48.

“I’ve never seen her play like that,” said Rocker center Isabelle Fijalkowski, who had a team-high 17 points. “I played against her in Europe and remembered you could push her around. She’s been practicing against the Americans and improved.”