by Odeen Domingo - Jun. 3, 2012 05:31 PM
The Republic | azcentral.com
There comes a moment, a play, a game when a rookie starts to figure things out. When her eyes are less enlarged by the lights and instead, her confidence revels in it.
Samantha Prahalis, the Mercury's sixth overall pick, is showing she's ready to be an WNBA player in her sixth career game. She took control of the game, the ball and what could turn out to be a special season during the Mercury's 79-72 win over the Tulsa Shock Sunday at US Airways Center in front of 7,178.
Prahalis scored a career-high 19 points but it was other things she did that were more impressive. She limited her turnovers to two and dished out six assists, the last signaling her unofficial "arrival" to the league.
The Mercury (2-4) needed a score to seal the win with a minute left. So Prahalis weaved through the Shock defense with a step to the left then a crossover to the right into the lane to draw the defense before passing to a wide open DeWanna Bonner for an easy layup.
"I think each game I'm getting a little bit better, a little bit more comfortable," Prahalis said. "My teammates are doing a good job helping me get through everything. It was a little overwhelming at first but I think I'm more comfortable as the games go by."
Bonner had game-highs of 23 points and 13 rebounds but knew she wasn't the lone story in this game.
"She's a great point guard," Bonner said of Prahalis. "She got the ball where it needed to be. She scored when we needed a bucket. She defended well. We've been riding her pretty hard these last couple of days trying to get her to understand Phoenix basketball. And I think she's doing great."
Prahalis played her best game yet even after after waking up Sunday morning with a bad sore throat and going up against the player she replaced -- Shock guard Temeka Johnson, who was playing in her first game at US Airways Center since signing with Tulsa as a free agent this past off-season.
Johnson spent the previous three seasons with the Mercury and helped the team win the WNBA title in 2009. On Sunday, she had 18 points and nine rebounds for Tulsa (0-6) but didn't outshine her rookie counterpart.
The Mercury's two wins this season have come against Tulsa. A victory Sunday looked to be easy after the Mercury made a run to take an early 12-point lead as the Shock missed 13 straight shots.
But then came the second half. The pace started to slow in the third quarter as 18 fouls were called, the same amount as the entire first half , and 12 were on the Mercury. That played into the Shock's hands. Tulsa chipped away at the lead minute by minute, foul by foul. The Shock cut the Mercury's lead to one point with 2:22 left in the third quarter.
But from there, the Mercury did just enough to keep a lead throughout with Prahalis capping the win with her late highlight drive and dish to Bonner.
After the game, Mercury coach Corey Gaines predicted big things for his rookie point guard.
"She'll be putting up big numbers soon," Gaines said. "Just give her time."
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