I think I can safely say I'm not the only Mercury follower that is still mulling the following question around in my head - what just happened?

However, even though it was somewhat of a disappointing and confusing game, I'm still encouraged. There is no doubt in my mind that Phoenix will bounce back in a big way in games 2 and 3.

Honestly, I'm not exactly sure what to feel or think about this game. I'm still trying to comprehend what happened throughout the course of the night and attempting to make sense of it. It wasn't a typical game that we've become accustomed to seeing from the Mercury, but I hesitate in giving too much credit to San Antonio; partly because it's against my nature as a Phoenician, but also because I'm not sure it's fully deserved. "The tempo of the game was in our favor going into halftime despite the 3-point play by the Stars at the end of the half," Corey Gaines said after the game. "Their players were tired and we made our run, which we usually do. They had big shots from players who don't usually hit them. When we were on we were on their heels at the end of the game we turned the ball over. Turnovers will do you in especially with a team of this caliber."

So, instead of recapping the game and analyzing play-by-play, maybe it's better if I address the questions that have inevitably came up in the majority of our minds.

First, I'm sure the immediate initial thought is one of panic, but let's not get too ahead of ourselves. As I mentioned in Part 1 of my series preview, one of the lone keys that would lead to a Silver Stars would be the phenomenal play of their bench or someone other than the normal stars to step up.  Personally, with how inconsistent they've been all season, this scenario was the furthest from my mind. I was more worried about Becky Hammon and Sophia Young going off for 20-25 each. Well, they certainly proved me wrong tonight. San Antonio had over 20 bench points led by 11 from Crossley as well as a huge night 16 point game from an unexpected source, Lawson-Wade. "Edwige Lawson-Wade really gave us a solid game," Dan Hughes said. "It was just a good team win. We got good play off the bench in different ways, defensively and offensively. it was just a tough game and luckily we were able to control enough of it in the last two minutes to come away with a victory."

Second, tonight was a rare night for the Mercury's seemingly unstoppable 1-2 punch in Taurasi and Pondexter. They combined for a 9-26 night from the floor and never really got going. Still, the Mercury lost by just 1 point thanks in large part to the play of Penny Taylor (18 points) and DeWanna Bonner (15 points). "We have to be able to learn from this loss and take it back to Phoenix," Penny Taylor said about the game. "We were down the majority of the game. They were able to play good defense on us tonight. Offensively we struggled and we have to make sure to get set in our defense next game. We are down in the series but not out of it."

The offense seemed a bit lethargic throughout the game, as San Antonio would answer every time that Phoenix started making a run. Surprisingly, many of the shots came from an unlikely player like Riley, Wauters, Crossley, or Lawson-Wade. "There are some things that we can look at that we'll have to address for Game 2, but we did have enough periods where I thought our defense gave us a chance to play back at them," Hughes said. "We got some scores out of our offense in the transition, and that starts with your defense and your ability to play out of it."

Last, let's address the play at the very end of the game. With just under 30 seconds left and down by 4, the Mercury didn't foul and let the Silver Stars shot clock run down, taking a chance on their defense. I won't pretend to know more about basketball than Corey Gaines, so I'll just chalk that up to an unfortunate end to a strange start to the playoffs.

So, let's recap...

• The Silver Stars shot 46% from the field,
• Made 8 three-pointers,
• Had more assists,
• Less turnovers,
• Held Diana and Cappie to just 9 combined field goals,
• Played as well as they have all season,
• While the Mercury struggled all night...

...and beat the Mercury by a measly 1 point. 1.

This Mercury team, as we've seen all season long, is the most resilient team in the league; they never are out of a game and never give up. I, for one, actually feel encouraged with how poorly the Mercury played and still had a legitimate chance at winning the game - and probably should have! San Antonio played as well as I have seen them play all season and, theoretically, had the opportunity to win by double digits with the way the Mercury played.

There is no quit in this Mercury team, and they'll show it on Saturday night.

Watch out San Antonio...

The Mighty Mercury are coming...