"We have Diana, and you don't."

Those were the proverbial words spoken by UConn head coach, Geno Auriemma, before the Huskies played in the 2003-2004 National Championship game.

Tonight, Corey Gaines could've said the exact same thing.

It wasn't just her 30 points on 11-17 shots. It wasn't the additional 6 assists. It wasn't just her being active on the glass with a solid 5 rebounds.

It was much more than that.

It was her leadership and confidence that inspired this Mercury team to prevail over the Silver Stars, advancing to the Western Conference Finals. You could tell by watching her activeness on the court that she wasn't going to let the Mercury lose. Every single time the Mercury needed a big shot, or simply just to settle down, Taurasi was there to send a spark (pun intended) through the team and inspire confidence throughout the entire game.

As always, Taurasi deflected any individual credit to the entire team. "That's the way we want to play, we want to play unselfish," Diana said. "We want to make the extra pass, we want to create problems for people and you can only do that when you have people who are confident in taking and making shots and today was a perfect example of no matter what point in the game, whoever was in, those are the people we have confidence in. There were five people in double figures tonight, that is the way we want to play."

Still, it is hard to ignore the phenomenal game Diana had. "She's being modest," Cappie said about Taurasi. "But the way she played is team basketball. I had to tell her to go a couple times. That's what we do for each other." It's also hard to ignore the huge emphasis the X-Factor had in the game tonight. Over 7,000 loud fans kept the Mercury motivated and pumped. "I guess the home court came into effect," Gaines said after the game about the home court.

Taurasi helped ignite the rest of the Mercury too, when needed. Tangela Smith had a huge 4th quarter with 8 points and 2 big rebounds in the closing minutes. DeWanna Bonner came off the bench with 11 points and 6 rebounds, including 3 huge free-throws. Penny Taylor had a game-saving loose ball deflection in the final :30 seconds as well as her 11 points, 4 assists, and 6 rebounds.

Quite simply, it was an exceptional team effort that propelled the Mercury to victory.

After all, we knew the Silver Stars weren't going down without a fight. Becky Hammon and Vickie Johnson played brilliantly in the loss. "I'm really proud of my team," said Dan Hughes. "They did a lot of things well in this game it just wasn't enough. That's the type of team Phoenix has. You have to hit the mark in a lot of ways to beat them. We got close but we couldn't get it done. Give Phoenix a lot of credit."

As mentioned, Becky Hammon shot the ball out of her mind tonight hitting 6 three's on her way to a 29 point performance. "They have a lot of great players, that's what happened," said Becky. "I thought we did some things well but we had a couple of back-to-back turnovers down the stretch and they really hurt us. Phoenix will hurt anybody that doesn't take care of the ball because they're immediately coming back at you the other way."

On a more dreary note, Vickie Johnson played a fantastic game, which will be her last in the WNBA. "I just wanted to go out there and give everything I had," Johnson said about her distinguished career. "To leave everything on the court and just play hard. I think I did that, I have no regrets. I hope the fans of the WNBA know that I tried to play the game of basketball the right way." Perhaps more so than anyone, Silver Stars head coach Dan Hughes will miss Vickie. "The loss tonight is going to sting me," Hughes said. "But the way she [Vickie] played tonight is going to enrich me. I'm a better person and coach because I have had four seasons with her. I'm so privileged to be able to coach her. She looked like she was 23 years old on the court tonight."

In all, this win along with the play of captains Diana Taurasi and Cappie Pondexter should provide a setting for an epic showdown against the Los Angeles Sparks. "This is a great way to prepare for LA," Penny Taylor said after the game. "This is a tough, tough team but LA is a different team in the sense that they're bigger and have other threats. But this team loves to play basketball, we don't like resting, we want to play more games."

Luckily for Mercury fans, they will.

Plus, the Mercury has Diana Taurasi. The Sparks don't.

Other Notes

• Phoenix's 100-92 victory over the Silver Stars marked the first time in league history a squad has posted back-to-back games of at least 100 points in postseason play.
• Phoenix beat the Silver Stars on the glass each of the three games, and 8 out of the last 10 opponents they've faced.
• The Mercury are 14-0 when hitting at least 35 shots.
• Phoenix's benched outscored the Silver Stars bench, 26-4.